Good morning from the Panhandle. It County Fair week here, we are a small county so there's not a lot at the fair, but it is cool to see the things there and visit with the folks. I have been entering photos in the Fair since we moved up here, it fun to show off my hard work. But all I have to do is go sign in, get a number, and then log in my photos. It is the folks who are on the Fair Board that do all the real work, you could say, “they go an extra mile,” to make sure we have a great fair. With that segue, come on in and sit down. Today we are going to open our Bibles to Matthew 5:38-42, so grab a coffee or a diet coke (my drink of choice) and let's dive into God's Word.
"You have heard that it was said, "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' 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. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:38-42).
When he was an attorney, Abraham Lincoln was once approached by a man who passionately insisted on bringing a suit for $2.50 against an impoverished debtor. Lincoln tried to discourage him, but the man was bent on revenge. When he saw that the man would not be but off, Lincoln agreed to take the case and asked for a legal fee of $10, which the plaintiff paid. Lincoln then gave half the money to the defendant, who willingly confessed to the debt and paid the $2.50! But even more amazing than Lincoln's ingenuous settlement was the fact that the irate plaintiff was satisfied with it. - Daily Walk, May 22, 1992.
Someone has said, “It is hard to get ahead of a fellow when you are trying to get even with him.” Because retaliation is a universal instinct, Christ Jesus deals with the urge to get even.
The Pharisees’ perversion of the law of retaliation. The trouble with a law designed to limit retaliation and punish fairly is that it could be appealed to as justification for vindictiveness.
The Pharisees did just that, they changed the permission to retaliate to a positive command. The Pharisees taught that one must retaliate when he is wronged. They made it a personal matter and suggested that people go around the judges and do their own retaliating. Their approach was legalistic. They thought only of one’s own rights and not the rights of others. In some cases the Pharisees were even acting as judges themselves.
What did Christ Jesus teach about retaliation? What Christ Jesus is doing here is combating a personal as opposed to a judicial use of the lex talionis (leks ˌtälēˈōnəs). Lex talionis is the law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and degree. An example of this is found in Leviticus 24:19-20: "If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.” The lex talionis was instituted to curb evil because of the hardness of men’s hearts. “God gives by concession a legal regulation as a dam against the river of violence which flows from man’s evil heart” (John Piper, Christian theologian and author).1 But now Christ Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the law; is saying if someone strikes you, don’t strike back.
As disciples we are to live by the higher law of love and thereby respond to the treatment we receives from others in a manner reflecting the love of Christ Jesus. This love was ultimately expressed by Christ Jesus on the Cross, where He expressed the deepest love to His enemies and extended forgiveness to all. Peter writes, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
Christ Jesus' teaching prohibits retaliation and prescribes the way of love.2 Christ Jesus practiced this precept when He was slapped (John 18:22 – 23). He gladly gave up the right to defend Himself in order that He might save a lost world. Peter, who stood watching that night, later wrote, “When they hurled 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).
This passage contains the essence of the Christian ethic, and is the distinguishing characteristic of Christian conduct. This is clearly taught by Paul in Romans 12, in various statements: Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (vs. 17–21).
John Miller (Christian author) divides this section into four principles relating to four major dimensions of life: “one from the realm of inter-personal relations (‘If any one strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also’), another from the realm of jurisprudence (‘If any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well’), a third from the realm of politics (‘If any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles’), and a fourth from the realm of business (‘Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you’).”
I know it hard to not retaliate when some one does something wrong to you. But that is when you need to fully rely on God and go the extra mile. We as disciple of Christ must be true to our new citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom of peace after the model of the Sermon on the Mount. We must recall Christ Jesus’ words that the citizens of His kingdom are like salt to the earth, light to the world and yeast in the loaf; the minority which influences the whole but never dominates it, but instead live by a higher ethic of love.
Thanks for dropping in for this time of fellowship and study. I pray that you find this useful in your life. So until next timer may our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus richly bless you and yours.
Biblesurfer
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