Retaliation
Notes
Transcript
You have heard...
You have heard...
20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged.
21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money.
22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
17 “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.
18 Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life.
19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him,
20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.
21 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death.
18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,
19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.
21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Jesus says...
Jesus says...
do not oppose or bring opposition against the evil insulter.
Slap signifies an open hand insult, below the eyes
Do not escalate the violence
Why? 1 Peter 2:23
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Does He prohibit self-defense of any kind? Luke 3:12-14
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,
14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
There is to be no vigilante justice, especially in the case of insult, God has ordained for crimes to be punished
What if the government is corrupt, people are allowed to unjustly sue me, or the government forces me into public service?
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
How do i defend myself then if needed? Luke 12:11
11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,
We must be a people who are entrusting ourselves to the Lord at all times. He is worth having faith in. He will take care of His people
Deut. 32:31-43 “31 For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves. 32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter; 33 their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps. 34 “ ‘Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries? 35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’ 36 For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free. 37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, 38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection! 39 “ ‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; …”
What about beggars? Must I give in to their request?
What about beggars? Must I give in to their request?
You are never required to give foolishly
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
Give to the truly needy when it will actually benefit and not harm
Heart for Enemies
Heart for Enemies
Jesus reveals to us God’s heart for the enemy. If He did not have a heart for His enemies, we would never become children of God. Rom. 5:10 “10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
Therefore, Jesus expands on how to relate to fellow man, neighbor, enemy, whoever
Love and prayer - a desire for them to be set free from their bondage to sin and corruption and death
Eph. 6:12 “12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him
30 (I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse),
Instead, we are to be like our Father - peacemakers, Matthew 5:9 “9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The sorting has not taken place, He will do that. Until then He bears with the evil in patience. Rom. 9:20-24 “20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”
Response...
Wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord
To wait! That means to pause and soberly consider our own inadequacy and the Lord’s all-sufficiency and to seek counsel and help from the Lord and to hope in Him
Piper, John. 2003. Desiring God. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers.
Psalm 25, 27, 31, 33,37,38, 39, 40, 52, 62, 69, 106, 119, 130,
A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.