An Eye For An Eye

When we looked at this passage a number of weeks ago I pointed out to you that
the Old Testament injunction and I for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was never
intended as a license for personal revenge. You'll recall that's how the Pharisees
interpreted it and that's how they taught it. You hit me, I hit you back and I can
do it in the name of God. Instead we saw that an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth in fact was intended in the Old Testament to restrain this
human impulse to hit back and to defend ourselves to take personal
vengeance and it does that in two ways it does that first of all by assigning
justice issues to governmental authority. Let me explain what I mean by that. Let's
suppose you hurt me. Now how are we going to avoid my natural impulse to hurt
you back and starting a cycle now that can produce vengeance and destruction
for generations to come? Well we avoided by having central governmental
authority. You heard me I report you to the police. The police investigate. The
police perhaps will aid charges they will haul you into court. There will be
a trial. If my charges stick then you are convicted. You will be punished and
justice will have been served. Governmental authority means that somebody is
seeing to the justice happens and I don't have to do it myself. That's God's
provision under this Old Testament legislation to keep me from having to fight
my own battles. It's like in your house when you're raising children. How do you
keep the strong from oppressing the weak? How do you keep kids from fighting with
each other? Well you as parents you are the boss and you maintain some
measure at least you try to of law in order. You protect the weak, you punish the
wrongdoer and that's how justice is maintained. So that's the first way in which
this Old Testament legislation was designed to stifle the human impulse for
personal vengeance and getting even. And then the second way in which an eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth refrained personal vengeance was by limiting the
punishment to fit the crime. As I said three weeks ago an eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth not only means you get what is coming to you in a sense of
justice but it also means you're not getting more and then what you deserve. You
don't get hanged for stealing a loaf of bread and you don't get whipped for
giving somebody a dirty look. So at the risk of sounding repetitious
let me underscore it once again and I for an eye was never intended to give
permission for you and me as individuals to carry on vigilante justice. No it was
intended to restrain that impulse by putting it in the hands of government and
then by limiting even in the hands of government so that the punishment would
fit the crime. Now once you understand that then you understand exactly why
Jesus says what he does here in Matthew chapter 5 you have heard that it was
said eye for eye tooth for tooth but I tell you do not resist an evil person. If
someone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also and if
somebody wants to sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well.
If someone forces you to go one mile go with him two miles give to the one who
asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Jesus is
not contradicting the Old Testament law. Now remember as always he goes back to
the original intent of the law and he says the original intent of the law was
never to give you permission to beat up one another. Now the original intent of
the law was to curb inside us that desire for vengeance that desire for
getting even. Jesus says in this passage it's not good enough just to curb the
negative to curb the desire for getting even. No he wants us to go the
extra mile. He wants us to lay down our lives even for those who are our
enemies. He sums that up in the next paragraph in the concluding portion of
Matthew 5 when he says if you love those who love you what reward will you
get are not even tax collectors doing that at some future point Lord Willik will
look at that and we'll see that being a Christian empowered by the Holy
Spirit means you live your life at a much higher level you have heard that it
was said I for I tooth for tooth but I say to you now all of that having been
said this leaves us of course with some very practical questions of interpretation
what does this look like if you try to live this out I mean what does not
resisting evil look like what is turning the other cheek look like if a
robber comes into your house and wants to take everything that you've got are
gonna let him do that or a government wants to pass unbiblical legislation do
we need to just stand by and let them do that or an enemy nation wants to
invade your country are you gonna stand by and let that happen or you meet a
beggar on the street the empty not only your wallet into his little hat but
throwing your shoes and your coat and your cloak and everything else as well
those are very practical questions God's people have had many different
interpretations of how literally you take this passage now and put it into
effect and without belaboring the point I think one of the best ways for us to
try to address this is to look at Jesus himself because clearly Jesus
practiced what he preached and it's very interesting if you look at the life
of Jesus in the light of what he teaches us here in this particular passage
here are some of the questions that we can ask is he non-resistant in the face
of evil does he always turn the other cheek and the answer and this probably
doesn't surprise you is both yes and no yes in the context of personal insult
and injury no in the face of all other kinds of evil and let me take a few
moments this morning and try to walk you through that and spell out the
particulars of that a little bit first of all in the context of personal
insult and injury the Lord Jesus always turns the other cheek and he never
defends himself Isaiah put it this way many years earlier concerning Jesus he
was oppressed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth he was led like a
lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shears is silent so he did not
open his mouth and in the New Testament Peter puts it this way when they hurled
their insults at him he did not retaliate when he suffered he made no threats
instead he entrusted himself to him who judges just lay now take just a
moment and look at your own life what happens when somebody slenders you what
happens when somebody hurts you or otherwise mistreat you well you know as
well as I do everything on the inside rises up very naturally in protest and we
want to fight we want to be justified we want to be explained we want to hit
back and when you look at Jesus her remember now is the Son of God worthy of
worship worthy of adoration worthy of the greatest honor when you look at
Jesus he never had any of those reactions every time he refused to defend
himself and he used to fight for and refuse to fight for himself because his
hope and his trust was in God of the Father the Apostle Paul follows a very
similar practice when he says concerning himself to this very hour we go
hungry and thirsty we are in rags we are brutally treated we are homeless we
work hard with our hands when we are cursed we bless when we are persecuted we
endure it and when we are slendered we answer kindly so this is the context in
which Jesus says don't resist the evil one turn the other cheek give to him
asks of you don't give in to this natural impulse for self-defense self
justification lay it all down instead be concerned about the well-being of the
other person that's the principle that comes to expression here and you see
it modeled in the life of Jesus you see it modeled in the life of Paul and you
see it modeled in the life of Christian community to one degree or another
throughout the course of human history this resistance this this unwillingness to
give into our fleshly desire to be justified and to be defended and to be
excused the Lord wants us to learn to lay that all down and to trust him who
judges justly to look after us and to look after our own needs think of how much
less anxiety most of us would experience when we find ourselves in those kind
of situations if we could just leave things in the hands of God knowing that
our reputation our success our future and our hope is all in his hands now that
having been said does that mean Jesus just stands back and allows evil to
dominate does it mean that he is simply a doormat and the answer to that is a
categorical now because if you look at the life of Jesus and also the life of
Paul in other contexts where the issues of justice are involved what it isn't
just about their personal justification they are highly resistant to evil and I
can think of two examples in the ministry and in the life of Jesus that are
powerful illustrations of this truth the first is the cleansing of the temple
you recall this story happened in the context of Palm Sunday is recorded I
believe in all four scriptures Jesus comes into the temple in Jerusalem sees
the money changers his blood boils makes a whip according to one of the
gospels turns the tables upside down chases the money changers out of the
temple says to them my father's house is to be a house of prayer for all
nations but you've made it a den of fears the only recorded act of violence on
the part of Jesus and if anybody ever tells you you know that all Jesus is
this kind friendly peacemaker who wouldn't harm a fly people like that don't
read the Bible because the Bible is categorical about Jesus says
reaction against evil now why does he get so upset well you've heard us talk
about that before from up here the court was the court of prayer for the
Gentiles it was the one place where the Gentiles could come and pray to God
and by setting up their business in the court of the temple they were not only
giving opportunity for their own greed but they were also keeping the Gentiles
from coming near to God and that is what infuriates Jesus but even
so what gives him the right to beat the snot out of all these people in the
temple well you got to remember he's the son of God the temple is his father's
house and when it comes to the temple Jesus has ultimate authority and so when
he sees the name of God being slandered and abused in the purposes of God
being frustrated Jesus steps into his place of authority and he takes care
of evil he drives them out because he's come to do the father's will so here's
the principle the principle is this when we are placed in a position of
responsibility now listen carefully when we are placed in a position of
authority and responsibility we must exercise our power when we are in a
position of responsibility in authority we have our responsibility to resist
evil and so if a robber comes into your house and a robber is going to harm your
family then you have an obligation as parents in that family to fight back
what Jesus talks about here doesn't nullify our responsibility in areas where
we do have the responsibility and if a foreign army invades your country then
you fight back and if a criminal element wants to take over you fight back if
you're a policeman or you're a governmental agent or you are in some other
position of authority it is your job to defend those who are under you that is
not a time to turn the other cheek that is not a time to lay down and let them
walk all over you this isn't now about personal vengeance this isn't about
personal anger that's a whole other subject no this is about exercising the
authority that God gives you even as Jesus cleans up in the temple let me
stop there do you see the difference very important to understand that
difference because while most of us in our culture may not have you know a lot
to do with this Christians all over the world struggle with this issue of how
do I relate to power that is abusive and that wants to destroy and some
Christians say well you got to lie down let them run all over you and they
quote this passage don't resist the evil one well Jesus didn't practice what
he breached if that interpretation is correct he resisted evil in his father's
house now let me give you another example Jesus not only cleansing the temple
but in his child before the high priest and you may recall that as he was
being tried by the high priest and the high priest was asking him all kinds of
questions there comes a point where one of the officials wasn't very happy with
his answer and strikes him in the face literally in John 18 verse 22 and he says
to Jesus is this the way you answer the high priest so picture this here's
Jesus he is literally being struck on the cheek which is precisely what he
talks about in the sermon of the man right turn to him the other also now what
is Jesus do does he turn the other cheek no he does not in fact he goes on to say
he challenges the official in his actions he says if I said something wrong
then testify as to what is wrong but if I spoke the truth why did you strike me so
notice what's happening here in the face of judicial evil Jesus isn't just
turning the other cheek he is challenging the improper behavior of the
official and interestingly enough the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 16 does
exactly the same Acts chapter 16 is the story where Paul and Silas are preaching
in Philippi and great and wonderful things are happening but they have this
little girl who has a spirit of divination and maybe you remember the story she's
running after them all the time and Paul gets tired of this so he turns around
and he casts that spirit out of her and you think people would be happy with
that but it's a little bit like pimping the people that were pimping her out
we're making good money that source of
revenue was now lost you want to get in trouble as a Christian you cut
into the world's pocketbook and you'll soon enough find out where their
values lie and so what happens Paul and Silas get thrown into jail doesn't stop
them even though they're in in stocks the Bible says at midnight they were
praising and and praying and God sends this big earthquake somebody said God
came down and saying base the whole place just shook all the doors open wide
the Philippian jailer falls in his knees and gives his life to Jesus you will
recall in that story and then and this is where it gets really interesting the
next morning the magistrates and their officials to the jailers house to say
that Paul and Silas are now free to go remember the story now if you do you
may also remember Paul's response here's what Paul says Paul said to the
officers they beat us publicly without a trial even though we are Roman
citizens and through us into prison and now do they want to get rid of us
quietly no let them come themselves and escort us out now you read that and you
say to yourself Paul what is the matter with you aren't you being a little like
vindictive why not just go quietly and be glad you're out of that place no he
says I'm not leaving until they come here and they apologize and they lead us
out of this city how do you square it well you square it like this this has
nothing to do with Paul personally being insulted he's not bent out of
shape because he's been badly treated he's used to being badly treated and he's
used to trusting God in that process this is not personal no this is in
defense of the law and the Roman judicial system because you see they had
violated their own laws as a Roman citizen Paul had been whipped and put into
jail without due process of law and they could get themselves into a lot of
trouble for that because one of the privileges of being a Roman citizen was
that they were very particular about how the law was applied in a just and in
a proper fashion the Romans prided themselves on their jurisprudence and so
Paul here is not talking about oh my feelings have been here tonight want you to
come hold my hand and walk me out of the city Paul's too big a man for that but
he says you violated the law and if you can do it to me you can do it to anybody
else and so while he never steps into defend himself he upholds the law and he
wants to make sure that other people do also are you with me in what I'm trying to
describe do you see the difference between personal fighting back personal
vengeance and standing up for what is right so the principle here again is this
the principle is though we must never defend ourselves out of this need for
self-justification because God is our defender as his people that does not
mean we just turn a blind eye to injustice wherever there is injustice we
must step into the situation and do our best to uphold the law on that level we
fight back we fight back because that's our obligation that's what Jesus did
and that's what Paul did and so now you're driving along the road and in front
of you is a drunken driver he's weaving all over the place and you wonder who
he's going to hit next are you going to call him in and report him I think you
better or give you another example my son Jonathan and I just before he got
married I went with him to to buy him a little car and we were talking to the
car dealer out of the county about how this all worked and the car dealer told
us how you have to have a license to do this and all this sort of stuff and how
the big competition sometimes is people who bypass the proper legal process
and who just sell cars off their yard without a license to deal it and how he
had in fact just that week reported to such people to the authorities and you
have an example there of how fine a line that is you see because at what point
is this self-serving and are you acting out of a spirit of indication and at
what point are you really trying to uphold the law and make sure that and
everybody benefits by the fact that life is being conducted honestly and there
are in people sliding under the table causing everybody to slide down into the
kind of level of dishonesty that you see in some Latin American countries you
can see it in Soviet Russia where everybody does what is right in his own eye and
the power goes to the powerful and the weak are the ones that get down
trodden there's a difference between fighting for our own rights and fighting
for those rights that are the standards that everybody ought to observe and I
want to close this morning with one more story from Hudson Taylor's history that
I think captures both of those elements is a very short story but it captures it
Hudson Taylor you will recall his missionary China in the 1800s one of the
first to adopt Chinese dress and the story is told that Hudson Taylor was
standing by the river and had called over one of the boats in the river to take
him someplace and as he was waiting for that boat to come in another Chinese man
of significant rank didn't recognize Hudson Taylor as a Western man because he
was in Chinese dress and he pushed him out of the way to get to his boat first to
the extent that Hudson Taylor fell into the mud he was going to step into his place
in the boat but interestingly enough the boat man said no this European man is
the one who called me over and he is the one who gets first dibs on where he is
going and just because you're pushing your way into that doesn't mean you're
going to get your way and then Hudson Taylor got up out of the mud got into the
boat but graciously allowed the other dude to come into the boat with him and
began sharing with him the gospel and that little story tells us both sides of the
issues that I'm trying to address with you this morning the boat man in
refusing to give in to the powerful Chinaman stood against evil and for
justice because Hudson Taylor had called the boat in first he did what was
right and what accords to the spirit of what Jesus talks about here in the
sermon of the mat Hudson Taylor on the other hand in being gracious to his
opponent and not going on the inside you got this coming to you I hope it takes
two hours for the next boat to come along but by inviting him into the boat
demonstrates the spirit of this commandment of not fighting back on issues of
personal injustice and personal wrong and thereby giving opportunity for the
gospel to be shared and the challenge for you and me for gonna follow Jesus is
to live according to that spirit to know that when it comes to personal
issues of reputation personal issues of hurt personal issues of wounding we
don't get all bent out of shape as if the whole universe revolves around us no
we follow biblical steps towards reconciliation and towards restoration we
learn to die to ourselves and to our own self-importance because ultimately God
is in charge and he's the one that's gonna look after us but at the same time
in those places where you and I have responsibility to resist evil where we
have authority where we occupy a position or where we see the law is being
broken it's our job as Jesus and Paul did to resist evil and to stand for
truth because otherwise a whole society falls apart and it takes God's grace
and courage and strength to see the difference between those two because we
easily cross over and think we're standing for truth and justice and for
righteousness when really all we're doing is just fighting ourselves that's
what Jesus talks about and that's how he invites you and me to live
you are God I'm everlasting to everlasting you are God and holiness you stand secure through
culture shifting sent and changed by all the entities of man and
there's a nation's rise and fall your sovereignty remains you are you are you
are the one true God everlasting to everlasting you are God
and everlasting to everlasting you are God wait for mess your love extends three
times a turbulence a ducting nose who call upon your name and every generation
joins the song to pray for praise you are you are you are
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