Monday
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. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
(Matthew 5:38-42, NIV)
The verses for today and tomorrow are both taken from the Sermon on the Mount which was introduced in Sunday’s reading. These two parts of Jesus’ teaching represent some of the most radical of all his statements. Today’s verses are as difficult for us to believe and to follow as they were for the people in Jesus’ time.
Jesus begins by quoting Mosaic law (Exodus 21:22-25) which established the principle of exact retribution, which limited compensation due to a victim and restrained revenge – an eye for an eye, but no more; revenge without linits was a common response to an injustice in the culture of that time, especially if a family feud developed. Although Jesus does not contradict the principle of retribution, he states that this principle is not applicable to our personal relationships, where love, not justice, ought to be the dominant characteristic.
What a difficult lesson! Jesus teaches that our response to someone who wrongs us is not retaliation, but acceptance of the wrong without developing a spirit of revenge. Jesus illustrates this radical teaching with four examples taken from the everyday world of his listeners, examples that must have been painful to hear. The illustration of being struck on the right cheek does not refer to a fist fight, but rather the back-handed slap of a master to a slave, a Roman to a Jew – the demeaning blow of a powerful person to the face of a weak one. In a similar way, going a second mile is a clear reference to the practice of the occupying Roman army of commandeering Jews to do forced labor.
The purpose of this teaching is to forbid revenge and to establish the principle of non-retaliation in the personal lives of his followers. We must not conclude that Jesus is prohibiting the administration of justice or suggesting that we acquiesce to injustice. Rather, Jesus is forbidding us from taking the law into our own hands. An “eye for an eye” is a principle of justice that belongs in the courts of law; in our personal lives, we must not repay evil with evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). If in response to a blow to the cheek, we retaliate with a return slap, then the perpetrator has taken control of the situation and determined our reaction. Jesus gives us the freedom not to respond according to the actions of our attacker, but to respond in love.
Prayer
Lord of love, remove the spirit of revenge and vindictiveness that often controls our hearts and determines our actions. Teach us the freedom that can be found in not repaying evil with evil, but overcoming evil with good. Amen.