TOTAL LOVE - MATTHEW 5:38-42

 Total Love

5:38-42

That being said, we now come to a difficult part of the sermon. Some call it the high point of the sermon. It is certainly counter cultural. 

The first point of this section regards retaliation or revenge. Jesus said you have heard “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. People still quote that today to say I am going to get revenge for what you did to me or mine.

The quote comes from the Old Testament. It is stated in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. Let’s look at the Exodus passage. 

Exodus 21:1 through 23:33 contains civil laws. You might remember that the Old Testament law is traditionally categorized into three divisions: Moral (eternal ethical principles like the Ten Commandments), Ceremonial (temple rituals, sacrifices, and dietary restrictions), and Civil (governmental and judicial rules specifically for the ancient nation of Israel).

Exodus 21 contains many penalties for wrong doing. Verse 20 says, when men fight and hit a pregnant woman and cause the baby to be born, there are penalties. If the baby is injured, the one who struck the mother is penalized with the sam harm suffered by the baby, eye for eye etc. The Leviticus passage applies the same concept to injuring any person.

So these are prescribed penalties for assaultive offenses. But they are limitations as well. God limited the punishment to fit the offense. For example, you cannot kill a person who hits you and gives you a black eye. 

And we see that these are not set out as personal revenge, but for legal proceedings. But the Rabbis in Israel extended it to allow personal revenge. This might remind you of the American western movies. You would see that, if a person was hurt, the relatives would come riding into town and shoot or hang the offender. 

The Deuteronomy passage applies the concept to a false witness in a judicial proceeding. 

The Rabbis seemed to overlook Leviticus 19:18, which specifically prohibited taking vengeance (personal revenge) against a fellow Israelite. 

Jesus taught that the punishment provisions did not apply to personal relationships, only to the justice system. Instead, personal relationships are to be based on love. Leviticus 19:18 says “love your neighbor as yourself”. 

Here is the difficult part: our duty to of love even requires us to forego retaliation and accept injustice done to us. Jesus said “do not resist one who is evil”. (38) 

Jesus then gives four examples.

First, if someone slaps you on the cheek, turn the other cheek, make it available for slapping. This refers to a backhand slip mean as an insult. You do not slap him back and escalate the conflict. 

Second, if someone sues you to take your tunic, let them have your tunic and cloak. 

Third, if forced to go a mile, go two miles. This likely referred to a Roman soldier requiring a person to help carrying their equipment. 

Fourth, give to beggars and borrowers. (42) 

All of the examples are about people imposing themselves and their needs or desires on you. But Jesus does not tell us to resist the impositions, rather, he teaches us to react to them in love. In love, we forgo revenge and retaliation, and in love we give people what they need.