Monday, July 12

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3

This verse is how the Sermon on the Mount begins. It is Jesus’ opening line for the greatest sermon ever preached. You may remember that to be poor in spirit means to have an accurate view of yourself in relation to God. It means to understand your spiritual condition apart from him; if to be poor is to be in great need, then to be poor in spirit is to be in desperate need of God. The passages we will meditate and reflect on throughout this week (Matt. 5:38-48) is really just a deeper explanation by Jesus, of what it means to be poor in spirit.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and 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. - Matthew 5:38-39

Jesus is referring here to the part of the Old Testament law that dealt with retribution and justice, in other words, setting the wrongs right. We actually find the words “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21) referring to the civil or national law of retaliation. This law protected the innocent and guaranteed the limits of retaliation. It made sure that the punishment fit the crime. If someone knocked out your tooth, you had the right to knock out his tooth (but you could not smash in all of his teeth!) This law prevented the offended person from taking law into his own hands and using any retaliation he wanted.

This kind of thing may sound harsh to our modern ears, but it was actually very wise and merciful. It was wise in that it took into consideration the natural human tendency to want revenge more than justice. (If somebody hurts me, I want to hurt him even more.) It was merciful in that it sought to prevent personal vendettas and vigilante justice. The law was given to the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. It was to be a moral civil code, enforced by the appointed leaders of God’s people. It was never intended to give individuals permission to exact personal revenge.

When you first read Jesus’ teaching on this concept, it sounds almost like he is contradicting this ‘eye for an eye’ principle. He seems to be saying that we should just go ahead and let them poke our eyes out!? In order to get what Jesus is really saying here, we have to understand what the Pharisees and Rabbis were teaching at that time. They (the Scribes and Pharisees) had extended this principle of retribution intended for the legal system to the realm of personal relationships. They were using the law to justify personal revenge, which was the very thing it was intended to prevent!

The Bible clearly teaches us not to seek personal vengeance.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. - Romans 12:19

This is why Jesus teaches us to lay down our desire to get even, surrender our need to make the other person pay, even relinquish our rights of retribution. We are to leave all of that in the hands of the authorities, and ultimately in the hands of our God.

If you are wondering how you will ever find the inner strength to live this way, consider Jesus himself for a moment. He is the ultimate example of one who voluntarily set aside his rights for the sake of another. He is the one person in the universe who could have exacted retribution and be justified in doing so, yet he surrendered himself into the hands of sinful men and gave himself up for us!

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 justly.
- 1 Peter 2:23

Have you been wronged by someone?

Are you looking for some way to get even with them or teach them a lesson?

Are you wishing they would pay for what they did to you?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you gave up your rights so that we might have life. Help us to surrender our hearts to you and to leave all of our desire for self-defense, self-justification and self-preservation at the foot of your cross – Amen.

Jeff Frazier