Motmedel - Countermeasures
Den andliga kampen
Exegesis and Exposition
17Pay back no one evil for evil. Think beforehand what is good ❐in the sight of all people❒. 18If it is possible so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay,” says the Lord. s 672 20❐But if❒ your enemy hungers, feed him. If he thirsts, give him to drink. For by doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head. 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
The exhortation not to repay evil for evil is a mark of early Christian parenesis (cf. 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9), and it is likely that Paul’s words here reflect his knowledge of the Jesus tradition (Matt. 5:38–39, 44–45; Luke 6:29, 35).1 We should not conclude that such a theme is lacking in the OT, for retaliation against enemies is censured there also (Exod. 23:4–5; Prov. 17:13; 20:22; cf. also Sir. 28:1; T. Gad 6.1–3, 7; T. Jos. 18.2; T. Ben. 4.2–3; Jos. As. 28.5). The same theme is reiterated in verse 19: μὴ ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδικοῦντες (mē heautous ekdikountes, do not avenge yourselves). The desire to retaliate almost overwhelms us when we have been treated unjustly. Perhaps the difficulty of resisting revenge provoked Paul to add the word ἀγαπητοί (agapētoi, beloved) here. Even though believers are severely mistreated by others, they should never forget that they are dearly loved by God and chosen to be his own. Rejection by others is a deep wound, but the salve of God’s love for us is the best healing for it. Verse 17 leaves no doubt that getting even is evil, and verse 21 demonstrates that if we do strike back, then we have been overcome by evil. This command is not fulfilled if one’s heart is filled with vengeance and an intense desire to get even, but we resist acting on our desire for revenge. Paul, like Jesus, demands that our hearts be filled with love, forgiveness, and mercy even to our enemies.2
The second command in verse 17 should probably be related to the command to avoid retaliation. Thus when Paul says “think beforehand what is good in the sight of all people,” his point is that all people, even unbelievers, recognize that refraining from getting even is good. Cranfield (1979: 646) suggests wrongly that the norm of goodness contemplated here is the gospel. This strays from the obvious reading of the verse, which appeals to what is good in the sight of all human beings (Murray 1965: 138–39; Dunn 1988b: 748; Fitzmyer 1993c: 656). The norms of the gospel are ultimate, but Paul never denies that many of the norms of the gospel are also beautiful and lovely in the sight of all people (cf. Rom. 2:14–15; 2 Cor. 8:21). Such a conception was not new with Paul, for the wording of the verse reminds one of Prov. 3:4. The spirit of Paul’s advice is captured s 673 in Rom. 12:18, which exhorts believers to be at peace with all people. One of the marks of Christians is a winsome and friendly spirit that delights in peace and harmony, not arguments and division. Nonetheless, Paul recognizes that the goal of peace with all people cannot be realized perfectly. He qualifies it with the words εἰ δυνατὸν τὸ ἐξ ὑμῶν (ei dynaton to ex hymōn, if possible so far as it depends on you). In other words, peace with all people is not possible in every situation. One cannot violate the truth of the gospel and devotion to Christ in order to make peace with those who resist the truth. Further, one may desire to be at peace with others, but they do not extend the same hand of charity back. In this instance peace is unattainable, not because we have failed to strive for peace but because the other person refuses to reconcile.
Thus far in the text admonitions to resist vengeance have dominated. In verse 19 believers are exhorted to “give place to wrath” (δότε τόπον τῇ ὀργῇ, dote topon tē orgē). Whose wrath is in mind? It is quite impossible to see a reference to the believers’ own wrath, for Paul wants them to avoid it (cf. Eph. 4:26–27), not to leave room for it! Nor could he be saying that we should not infringe on the wrath of our enemies, for the whole context is directed to the response of believers and our own temptation to respond with vindictiveness and anger. Nor is it plausible to see a reference to the wrath of the state, for the function of the government is the subject of the next paragraph, not this one. Thus with most commentators I think the wrath mentioned here must be God’s wrath (cf. Rom. 2:5, 8; 3:5; 5:9; 9:22; Eph. 2:3; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:16; 5:9). Most important, the OT citation from Deut. 32:35 that immediately follows demonstrates that God’s wrath must be in view, for he is the one who will wreak vengeance on those who warrant repayment.3
The reference to God’s wrath and leaving room for it is exceedingly important in interpreting this text. When we believers are mistreated, abused, and our rights are infringed upon, the desire for retaliation burns within us because we have been treated unjustly. We are not to give in, however, to the desire to get even. Rather, we are to place the fate of our enemies firmly in God’s hands, realizing that he will repay any injustice on the last day. Dunn’s view (1988b: 749) that the wrath of God relates both to the present era and to the last judgment is improbable since “God’s wrath” usually refers to end-time wrath in Paul, and it is difficult to see how any repayment from God occurs in this present era. This text suggests that believers will not be able to conquer feelings of revenge unless we know that ultimately there is justice, that God will set all accounts right. s 674 We would fall prey to retaliation in the present if we did not know that God would vindicate us in the future. Thus the recognition that God will judge our enemies is crucial for overcoming evil with good. Believers can leave the fate of their persecutors in God’s hands, knowing that he is good and just and that he does all things well. Believers are also to pray, of course, that God would bless those who persecute them (Rom. 12:14). This means that we pray for the salvation of our oppressors, hoping that they will turn from their evil and be rescued from the wrath to come. Nonetheless, we need to know (cf. 2 Thess. 1:3–10 for the same theme) that those who do not repent will experience judgment.
Verse 20 is the converse of the main theme of verses 17–19. Verses 17–19 admonish believers not to take revenge, but in verse 20 believers are exhorted positively to do good to their opponents. They are to feed their enemies if they are hungry and provide them drink if they are thirsty. Cranfield (1979: 648) remarks rightly that “food and drink” here stand for doing good of every kind. We are to be so free from vengeance that we delight in doing good to those who hate us. In enunciating this principle Paul draws on Prov. 25:22. The difficult part of the verse appears in the reason for the positive command. In doing good to your enemy, “you will heap coals of fire on his head” (ἄνθρακας πυρὸς σωρεύσεις ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, anthrakas pyros sōreuseis epi tēn kephalēn autou). The most common view, which reaches all the way back to Augustine, is that enemies will experience burning shame and remorse for their despicable behavior toward Christians when they see that Christians still return good for evil (Sanday and Headlam 1902: 365). This will provoke them to repentance and salvation. Klassen (1962–63) argues that burning coals do not symbolize shame and remorse but the change of mind that occurs when good is returned for evil. He locates the background in an Egyptian rite of repentance and remorse (cf. W. Wilson 1991: 195–96). This suggestion is improbable, for the evidence in favor of the rite is sketchy at best, and evidence is lacking that Paul had any knowledge of the ritual.4
The problem with all of the above suggestions is that they depart from the most natural meaning of “coals of fire.” We need not seek an obscure Egyptian ritual, for the OT background provides clarity s 675 on the meaning of the metaphor. Upon reading the OT we discover that the metaphor is always negative (2 Sam. 22:9, 13 = Ps. 18:8, 12; Job 41:20–21 [41:12–13 LXX]; Ps. 140:10; Prov. 6:27–29; Ezek. 24:11; Sir. 8:10; 11:32), signifying especially God’s judgment. A notable example of this usage is found in 2 Esdr. (4 Ezra) 16:53: “Sinners must not say that they have not sinned; for God will burn coals of fire on the head of everyone who says, ‘I have not sinned before God and his glory’ ” (NRSV). Even if the 2 Esdras text is post-Pauline, the point being made here still stands, for the argument is that the metaphor was consistently used in a negative way, particularly of God’s judgment. Thus the text in 2 Esdras reflects the meaning of “coals of fire” in Paul’s time. Such an interpretation also has a long history, harking back to Chrysostom (Homilies on Romans 22 [on Rom. 12:20–21]; so also Schlatter 1995: 240; Stendahl 1984: 139–49; Piper 1979: 115–19; Lang, TDNT 6:945).
Most scholars today reject this view because how can one do good to others if one’s ultimate motivation is that God will heap coals of fire on them in the eschaton? The difficulties of this interpretation are exaggerated by most scholars, for the reference to God’s judgment here parallels the promise of God’s vengeance in verse 19 (so Piper 1979: 116). Indeed, that verses 19–20 are parallel strengthens the case for “coals of fire” being a reference to God’s judgment. Just as readers are to refrain from revenge because God will judge (v. 19), so too they are to do good because he will punish their enemies (v. 20). Dunn (1988b: 751; cf. Byrne 1996: 384) says that ἀλλά indicates that verse 20 stands in contrast to verse 19, so that God’s judgment cannot be in view in both cases. But he misses the point of the contrast. The contrast between the two verses is found in the actions of believers, not in the judgment of God. In verse 19 believers are commanded not to take vengeance, but in verse 20 they are now commanded to do good. But is it not psychologically improbable that the promise of God’s judgment would free believers to do good to their opponents? Not any more improbable than the argument found in verse 19, where God’s future vengeance frees believers from taking revenge on their enemies. In both cases, believers are liberated from taking justice into their own hands and are free to do good because they know that God will right all wrongs in the end. Those who continue to resist repentance must experience God’s wrath, for otherwise he cannot remain faithful to his name (cf. Piper 1979: 117–18). Similarly, Jesus could refrain from cursing his adversaries because he entrusted himself to God, “who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). The sure realization that God will vindicate us frees us to love others and to do good to them, and even to pray that God will bless them (Rom. 12:14) and bring them to s 676 repentance.5 Believers will not chafe at any oppressor being brought to repentance, because they trust the goodness and justice of God, knowing that he does all things well and that they themselves were deserving of wrath (1:18–3:20). Thus the ringing call to “overcome evil with good” (νίκα ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ τὸ κακόν, nika en tō agathō to kakon) is a restatement of 12:20a. The evil to be overcome is not the evil that lodges in the heart of believers. It is the evil of their enemies that inflicts such misery on them. Believers should not let the evil they experience at the hands of others master them, so that they fall prey to evil (v. 21a). They are called to surmount every evil by doing good, and what gives them the courage and strength to do so is the belief that God is a righteous judge who will set straight every wrong that is don