How to Win: Winning in Revenge

IINTRO/WELCOME/IMAGE

Hey everyone!

If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE football fan. I love to watch football. Whether it’s a Saturday college gameday on in the background while I’m working on things at home, or a Thursday night game that I am watching, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, or Monday night, I love to watch football! Also, shoutout to my wife Kate who loves it almost as much as I do so it makes picking a show to watch 100x easier.

With the NCAA national championship being this last weekend, I was wathcing the postgame interviews with some of the players and was really blown away at their levels of humility and respect for one another. Then fast forward a day, I sat down to write this sermon and was thinking through football players that have demonstrated what it really means to be humble in the face of the public eye.

One player, Tim Tebow came to mind. Now, many of you were probably just being born when he was playing for the University of Florida, where he led them to back to back BCS championship victories. Not only was he a great quarterback, he was a man of faith. He shocked the world when he displayed bible verses like John 3:16 under his eyes on his eye black. (PHOTO)

Tim was a Heisman trophy winner and went on the be drafted in 2010 to be the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He played in the NFL for 7 seasons from 2010-2017, though he led the broncos on a winning season into the playoffs, he really was not known for his talent as an NFL quarterback.

He WAS known for his public and outspoken faith in Jesus. He had a pre game routine of running down to an endzone, taking a knee and praying. What was a genuine act of faith quickly became the laughing stock of public NFL media. Where he lacked standout talent as a quarterback, people mocked and elevated him for his faith in Jesus. The media went crazy over him, and labeled his act of praying on a knee as “tebowing” (PHOTO). Players would mock his prayer pose if they intercepted him, fans that cheered him on were told they suffered from “Tebow Derangement Syndrome” and in a New York Times article, it was written that Tebow was “overrated, annoying, overexposed, and a religious nut job”. Many fans and NFL analysts were calling for religion to be kept out of sports and for Tebow to be sat down because of his faith and he mediocre quarterback skills and they believed that he was only kept in the NFL because he was a publicity stunt. (VIDEO)

As you can see, this “tebowing” became a big thing. While Tim could have responded in a hate filled, angry way, he responded in a way of Grace and Love. He just wanted to be a example of Christ’s love and he wanted for people to see God’s love in his actions.

NEED

I tell you this story today because we are continuing in week 2 of our How to Win at JH/HS series where we are studying through Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. The title of my message tonight is Winning in Revenge and how Jesus calls us to respond with Grace and Love in the face of injustice. We need this message tonight because all of us go through life and face times where we are mocked or made fun of and the world encourages us to respond one way but Jesus has called us to respond in a higher way.

BIG IDEA

If there is one thing I want you to remember tonight it’s this. If you want to Win at HS/JS, embrace a higher standard of love. (different way to phrase this for JH?)

How do we do this? We do this by rejecting retaliation, responding with love.

We are going to be looking at what Jesus says about this is Matthew 5:38-42. So, if you have your bibles, go ahead and open up there.

TEXT

Matthew 5:38–42 CSB

38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

POINT 1 - Reject Retaliation (38-39)

Now in order to understand this passage a little bit more, we need to understand the context in which Jesus is teaching. Jesus quotes, “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”, which is the old testament law that was meant to keep punishments fair for everyone. This law at the time was put in place to limit revenge and to keep all punishments equal to the crime commited. But, By the time Jesus came to the earth, people had abused it and used it just an excuse to get revenge. But Jesus is calling us to live differently. To choose love over payback.

We also see Jesus saying “if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” In that day, a slap across the face was a huge, embarrassing, and demeaning insult. It was sign used for public humiliation. Typically when someone received this punishment, you could imagine they would want nothing else but to respond back with the equal amount of anger and violence to get back at the person that has wronged them. But this is not the way that Jesus wants us to respond. The original law wanted payback but jesus taught peace and love.

Why is this important? Before I get into it, I need to say one thing. What I am not saying and what Jesus did not say was if you are in a situation where you are being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, you do not have to just keel over and let it happen. Please get out of whatever situation you are in and let myself or Danny or a responsible adult know. BUT! Maybe you have been in a situation like this. Maybe you HAVE been physically hit, but maybe someone did something to you that felt quite like a slap across the face and you just didn’t know what to do so you just lashed out. Maybe your sibling said something that hurt you, a good friend of yours said something that hurt or embarrassed you, or someone who constantly picks on you said something that was a lie that everyone believe and now you’re hurt and embarrassed and all you want to do is lash out in anger and get the payback that you feel you deserve.

Here, Jesus is talking about how we respond when someone does something wrong to us. Our duty as followers of Jesus is not retaliation but the acceptance of injustice without revenge. While we feel like an injustice has been done against us, Jesus calls us to respond out of love.

There was a time in my life where I actually went through something like this, where I was totally blindsided by someone that I thought was a friend. I had built up and put time into this relationship in what I thought was a legitimate friendship with this person and let then into information in my life that I trusted them with and ultimately was terribly backstabbed. People were calling me about rumors they heard and it was very traumatic and super painful. In the moment, I wanted nothing more than to knock on the their door and just rip him a knew one. I wanted to do to him exactly what he did to me! I prayed about it and sought wisdom and knew it was best to do nothing but pray for him and for his situation in life. Because had I retaliated out of anger and not love, it would have done nothing more but hurt me. By doing so, God intervened and that person was removed from my life. Had I gone the way my flesh wanted, it would have been WAY messier and WAY less redemptive. But, since I responded with love and grace, God had his way and the situation passed.

POINT 2 - Respond with love (40-42)

Respond with Grace. Respond in a way that reflects God’s grace in our lives. In verse 40, Jesus talks about someone taking your shirt and you giving them your coat as well. In that day, a shirt was often used as a payment for a legal problem (make a funny comment here about being sued and taking off your shirt). Typically these were valuable pieces of clothing that were used for bartering or trading, so, giving them up was a big deal. Not only were they valuable, it was nothing like it is today. They only had a couple of shirts so, giving them up was hard! Now, all of us have like 50 shirts to, tossing one away is easy! The coat on the other hand, according to old testament law, was exempt from being taken because it was too severe of a punishment. So, Jesus commanded to do even more than what the court had ordered them to do. Here, you need my shirt? No problem, here’s my jacket too.

While this is talking a lot about laws and courts of those days, it is a beautiful lesson that Jesus taught on seeking reconciliation and love with someone who has wronged them by going above and beyond the expectations of that day. He taught us to respond, not react.

He also talks about “going the extra mile”. Going two miles when forced to go one. This is a practice that was used by the Roman Soldiers that would force people to carry their backs for a mile at a time. To do more than one mile was unheard of.

Think about your sibling if you have one…. they toss you your backpack that is full and heavy and they say “hey carry this for me”. You grab it… strap it on and walk. Then when it’s time to be done, you keep going. Then, when it is over, you bring it inside and then help them with their homework. That is going the extra mile! You don’t argue it, you don’t yell in their face, you do it out of love. You go the extra mile to serve them.

WHY?

So why do we as christians need to respond with love?

I ask this and think back to the story about Tim Tebow. Why did he respond the way he responded when he was faced with mockery and hurt? In that video I showed earlier, he said “I never did it for any cameras… I just tried to ask for grace and humility before the big moment…while I think it was cool that prayer was being talked about, I also wanted to remind people it is not about this act that I do but it is about this person that I am talking to.” That was his why. To point people to Jesus. It is a reflection of God’s grace on us. It softens the hearts of those who are against us and it builds and encourages reconciliation. It breaks this never ending cycle of revenge. (potentially expand on this)

I remember when I was a kid, my older sister Bekah and I would get in the stupidest fights ever. I would say like 99% of the time I was the one to cause the fights but there were a few times where I wouldn’t. But, rather than turning the other cheek or responding with love, I would FREAK out and take it way too far and then I would end up getting in trouble because I lacked the self control to just move on. It always felt like there was this injustice done against me.

Imagine a campfire. When someone wrongs you, it's like they’ve tossed a small ember your way. If you respond with anger or retaliation, it's like throwing more wood onto the fire. Instead of dying out, that little ember ignites into a roaring blaze, fueled by your reaction. But if you respond with love and grace, it's like pouring water on the ember—extinguishing it completely and preventing the fire from growing. This is what Jesus is calling us to do.

I was reminded of a quote today that Jacob Rasmussen heard from one of you guys - if it was you please let me know and it was this “acting like a christian is easy, reacting like a christian is hard” and it is so true! You and I can act all day long but then the second something bad happens or someone hurts us, our faith and our face we wear just disappears! It was like it was never there! Why is that? Why do we struggle when we get angry? Jesus set the example for us.

1 Peter 2:21–24 CSB

21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

CLOSING

This is the standard in which Jesus preached and is the standard in which he fulfilled. He fulfilled and demonstrated this while on trial and while hanging on the cross. While Jesus stood trial and was wrongfully accused, he stood silent. He did not argue, he did not fight back. He was stripped of his clothes, beaten, given a crown of thorns, mocked, spit on - how would you respond if someone spit in your face? Whipped and beaten beyond recognition - his flesh was pulled away from his bones, he was forced forced to carry his own cross, and he was nailed to the cross. While hanging on the cross his shoulders were pulled from their sockets, knees were broken, nails driven into his wrists, a spear driven deep into his side.

And how did he respond when he looked his killer in the eyes? Luke 23:34 - “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”

That is what it looks like. In the face of the trials, in the face of the struggles, the wrongdoings of others, Jesus showed us how to respond without anger. without hate. But, with love.

If you are here today and you want to begin to surrender your retaliation to God, here are some easy ways that you can do it.

If someone does something wrong to you:

Pause - Think. Literally ask yourself the question, what would Jesus do?

Pray - Pray for patience and pray for that person!

Act - Do not act out of anger but act out of love. Someone spreads a rumor about you? Tell someone something you love about that person? Someone takes something from you? Give them another.

If we want to begin to love like Jesus did and Win at High School/JH, we need to begin to Reject retaliation, and respond with love.

We are going to back into a time of worship here and I want to leave you with some things to think about. Is there someone in your life that has wronged you? How did you react? Did you react how God would want you to? Or did you respond with anger? I want to encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer during this time of worship and reach out to that person that you need to make amends with.

Lets pray.