NO RIGHT TO RETALIATION

Introduction

-{Matthew 5}

-Pastor Ray Stedman recalled a story that took place during the Korean War. Some officers rented a house and hired a Korean boy to cook and do housework for them. He was a cheerful, good-natured young man, and the soldiers soon had a lot of fun playing practical jokes on him. They would nail his shoes to the floor or balance a pail of water on the door so that when he opened it, the water would come splashing down on him. But no matter how many tricks they played on him, he always took it with good humor.

~The soldiers eventually started feeling bad about the mean tricks they were playing and sat down one day with the Korean boy. They said, “We’ve been doing all these mean things to you and you’ve taken it so nicely. We just want to apologize to you and tell you that we are never going to do those things again.”

~“You mean no more nail shoes to floor?” “No more,” they assured him. “You mean no more water on door?” “No more.” “Okay, then,” he said, “no more spit in soup.”

-Whenever something is done to us or against us, the natural, fleshly, fallen nature wants to do something in return—it wants to retaliate. We enjoy “pay back time.” We like to see it in our movies or entertainment—the underdog getting back at the bully or whatever.

-But Jesus says that retaliation is not a reflection of the righteousness of God, and is not a value embraced by the Kingdom of God. And those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ are to live as members of that Kingdom. As Jesus earlier said in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:20 LSB

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

-So, for example he says it’s not good enough to just not murder someone physically, but anger toward them in the heart is still murder; and more like that. He continues this teaching here on the subject of retaliation. What we learn is that a servant of Jesus Christ does not have the right to retaliate when wronged or slighted, but rather they wait on God to repay as He sees fit. May we all trust God to take care of us in His way and His timing whenever we are wronged. And may we take on the character and attributes that He calls on us.

Matthew 5:38–42 LSB

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your garment also. 41 “And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

-{pray}

-A value of the Kingdom is that children of God do not seek to avenge themselves, but live out a higher righteousness that is reflective of their Savior. There are just a couple of lessons that we want to take away from the passage today. First, Jesus points out:

1) A misunderstood principle

-As He has done throughout this particular section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus quotes a portion of the Mosaic law and gives the true meaning of it, in contrast to how the scribes and Pharisees had lived it out. The scribes and Pharisees twisted God’s law to their own advantage, looking for loopholes in how they could appear to technically follow the law, but still live out of their flesh and fallen nature.

-Jesus quotes something that has become known as the LEX TALIONIS which is Latin for law of retaliation. And Jesus seems to make it clear that the scribes and Pharisees took this principle out of its context. The first mention of this principle is found in Exodus 21 which is part of the Book of the Covenant—statutes and ordinances to govern Israelite society. Showing how Israel could put the Ten Commandments to work in their nation, God talks about what is to happen in cases of personal injuries. So, God says:

Exodus 21:23–25 LSB

23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

-Now, the purpose of these commands was not only telling Israel as a nation to seek justice in the case of personal injury, it also was a guide that would prevent the nation from exacting overly severe punishment for a wrong or a crime. In one sense, it could be viewed as their version of the Eighth Amendment, trying to prevent cruel and unusual punishment.

-So, for example, you wouldn’t put someone to death for knocking out a tooth. The law said a tooth for a tooth. You knock out someone’s tooth, your tooth is going to get knocked out by the collective society—by the judges and the law-keepers of the nation.

-But what happened is that the scribes and Pharisees twisted this law from something judicial to something that was personal. They viewed it as a right to exact vengeance for any wrong or slight or offense that they experienced. If someone got them in some way, they felt they had the right to strike back at the person they thought had wronged them.

-And that’s the thing—they thought that they had the right. It didn’t matter what God said. It didn’t matter what the law said or actually meant. They were going to get back at anybody that did anything to them that they didn’t like because they were more concerned about their rights than what WAS right. So, they twisted the Scripture to their own liking.

-And here is the thing about being a child of God by faith through Jesus Christ. When you come to Jesus, you become the servant/slave of Jesus Christ and you lose all your rights to whatever it is that He says and calls us to. There is a reason Jesus is called Master and Lord—He has authority over us. He says what we can and cannot do.

-You are a servant under the authority of a Master. You have been bought with a price. If your supposed rights come into conflict with Christ and His commands and His Word, you then actually don’t have those rights. And that includes the right to avenge yourself. God says:

Hebrews 10:30 LSB

30 ... “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.”...

-So, the scribes and Pharisees misunderstood what the principle was for. And so, in its place, the second lesson we see today is that Jesus gives us:

2) A meritorious guide

-As He has in the previous sections, Jesus says BUT I SAY TO YOU, meaning that He is going to give the actual, authoritative interpretation of what was always intended with the law. What Jesus says is how to live the right righteousness before God on this matter. Eye for eye and tooth for tooth is not a call for personal vengeance. Rather you are to live in this certain way because this is actually a reflection of Kingdom values.

-And if I were to sum up what Jesus is saying is that we are to consider the good of the other person. This will lead nicely into the section we’ll get to next week where Jesus says we are to love our enemies. Even though people may do things to you, you don’t do things back at them to get them. You give up your rights and you take it, and you consider the good of the other person because you don’t want to shut the door to the gospel.

-However, with that being said, in no way, shape, or form is Jesus saying here to be a doormat, to just allow physical violence to happen to you and yours, to allow yourself to be robbed or go broke. Jesus seems to give some very specific examples to give a picture of what He is talking about, and they all have a connection to the culture of first century Judaism, so we need to figure out a way to bring it in to the 21st century. So, let’s try to do that, as we look at the four examples He gives to guide us on how to live meritoriously. He first talks about an:

a) Unavenged insult

-Jesus says:

Matthew 5:39 LSB

39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

-Now, at first it might seem like Jesus is saying that if you get assaulted, just go ahead and let them assault you some more. But that is NOT what Jesus is saying.

-The Ancient Near East was very much an honor society, and if somebody impugned that honor in any way, it was taken as a very grave insult. So, one of the ways that someone might insult another person is to slap them across the face with the back of the hand. The problem wasn’t just the physical aspect of the slap, but that the person was insulting and dishonoring the person that they slapped. It was a personal insult.

-I think about those movies that might depict Europe in the 1700’s or thereabouts. And when two guys had a beef with one another, one of them might take off their glove and backhand slap the other guy with the glove, and then say something very snobby. In essence they were insulting the guy and seemingly challenging him to a duel.

-So, we could think of Jesus speaking along that path. Which means that Jesus is saying that when someone insults you and dishonors you, you don’t insult or dishonor them back. You take it.

-It is a very human, natural, fleshly reaction that when insulted you are going to dish it right back at them. They say you’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny, so you just want to get a jab back at them and say something to the effect of: I know four fat people and you’re three of them. You want to trade insult for insult. But then all you’re doing is fueling the fire of constant jabs back and forth, with no end in sight. Think of how that not only reflects on you, but also on the Savior you say that you serve.

-Jesus says that it is not supposed to be that way with you. You do damage to the Kingdom. It’s ridiculous the amount of back and forth insults I see between Christians on social media. And non-Christians see that and wonder why in the world they would want to be a part of that garbage.

-But if they take a jab at you verbally or on social media and you ignore them or bless them, they’re going to wonder what’s up with that. When you react that way, they will want to know why, and who knows, you may win them over to the Lord. Then, next, Jesus talks about a:

b) Receptive reconciliation

-Jesus says:

Matthew 5:40 LSB

40 “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your garment also.

-Again, Jesus is not saying that you literally let people take the clothes off your back and leave you naked. Rather, He is speaking to the importance of reconciling with another person as much as it depends on you. And it’s a warning against doing anything that might ruin that chance of reconciliation.

-So, if you wronged someone in some way (whether they are literally taking you to court or not), Jesus is saying you do what you need to do to make things right. Don’t let your wrong be a cause of them putting up a spiritual wall against Christ. You make restitution if there is some sort of need for restitution, and if it means that you go above and beyond the actual cost, then that’s what you do. Do whatever you have to do to make things right and reconcile with the person.

-But even if there is a dispute that is not caused by any wrongdoing on your part, you still do what you need to do to reconcile with that person. And if it means suffering personal loss in order to reconcile with a person, then you suffer the loss. The relationship is more important so that a door may be open to the gospel. And then, next, He called us to:

c) Transcendent compassion

-Jesus said:

Matthew 5:41 LSB

41 “And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

-This is obviously from where we get the phrase GO THE EXTRA MILE. It started with the Persian empire who could conscript people to do work for the king. Then something similar happened in the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day where Roman soldiers could conscript / force someone to help carry their load for a mile. That is obviously not something anyone would want to do willingly, but they were forced to do it. Jesus is saying that in similar situations, go above and beyond what is expected for the good of the other person. Consider it an act of compassion to do extra in helping and dealing with people.

-In trying to think of a modern equivalent, I thought about how we hate to be inconvenienced. We guard our time, and hate it when anybody imposes themselves upon us and our time. We try to guard our time. Time is money and all that. But if someone needs to take up some of our time, we don’t just give them the bear minimum. We give them what is needed, and add some more even to that. And then there is one final example, that of:

d) Generous giving

-Jesus says:

Matthew 5:42 LSB

42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

-Now, Jesus is not saying for us to give all our money away to anybody and everybody. Then we’d all go broke. What He is saying is not to close the doors of generosity because of who someone is or because of what someone had done. If someone who insulted you or was just generally a pain in your neck or maybe was even your enemy was in need, you still generously do for them what you can. You do not turn them away just because of who they are or what they did.

-It made me think of maybe and Israelite found an Iranian who posed no threat and needed food and water—they were thirsty and starving. It’d be easy for an Israelite to turn their back on an Iranian in our current world politics. But Jesus would say—that’s not of God. You give to the one who is in need. You are generous to the someone no matter their background or your history with one another. Then you are most like your Savior.

-Think about the doors that would open when someone who had a problem with you in some way, or was insulting to you, was found to be in need and you were the one to help fulfill that need. They’d wonder why—and we can tell them about the Jesus who is the why.

Conclusion

-We hear what Jesus is saying in this passage, and there is a part of us that just doesn’t like this at all. If someone does something to me or mine, the natural reaction is to hit them right back with not only whatever they did to me, but a whole lot more on top of that.

-Jesus said that is not how we do things in the Kingdom. That kind of action is no better than the scribes and Pharisees, because that’s exactly what they would do. Our righteousness is supposed to surpass that. And who knows what God could do with your life and actions if you live like this.

-Dr. J. Stuart Holden conducted worship services for the British Highland Regiment. While in Egypt, a sergeant told him how he became a believer. “A private [in my battalion] who became a Christian while we were in Malta,” the sergeant told Holden. One night, the private came in exhausted, but took the time to kneel outside his tent to pray. Annoyed by this, the sergeant said he took off his muddy boots and slapped the soldier on the side of the head and dropped them there. But the private just went on praying. The next morning the sergeant awoke to find his boots by his tent, cleaned and polished but that same private who he hit with them. “That,” the sergeant said, “was his reply to me [and what I had done]. . . and because of it I was saved that day.”

-But Jesus is not requiring anything of us that He didn’t live out Himself. He gave up His rights as God to take on humanity. He stepped out of the glories of heaven, taking the form of a servant, obeying to the point of death on a cross.

-In His life and at the time of His death, He was mocked and insulted and then nailed to the cross. Jesus didn’t strike back. Jesus didn’t trade insults. He did not retaliate. He said FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY ARE DOING. And He died to pay for those sins that were committed against Him. Not just for their sins, but ours as well. And He instituted a memorial for us to celebrate to remember that in place of insults, He extended mercy...

{LORD’S SUPPER}