The Spirituality of the Law: Retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42)

CFCW-06/22/2014 The Spirituality of the Law: Retaliation (Matthew 5:38-42) Introduction America has a love affair with personal rights. It has been this way since the founding of our nation. Listen to the words of the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. 1 So, according to the political theory of our Founding Fathers, the very legitimacy of a government is dependent upon its commitment to the preservation of personal rights. A government that does not protect personal rights should be altered or overthrown. And, as Americans, we will fight for our rights! Defending our rights is viewed as virtuous. In fact, the concept of personal rights is viewed so favorably in America that political parties often recast social issues in terms of personal or civil rights. Some recent examples are the supposed right to healthcare and the supposed right to marry anyone you want. And so the list of personal rights continues to grow. What makes standing up for our rights so popular? It is simply the reality that when we defend our rights we are defending ourselves. The instinct to defend SELF is both natural and strong. It is present from birth. So I never had to teach any of my children to defend themselves. I never had to pull one child aside and say, Hey, if your brother or sister hits you, you really need to hit them back hard. I never had to teach my children to retaliate. I never had to say, If you both want the same toy, the way to figure out who gets it is to kick and punch and claw until one of you starts crying. By nature, we feel very justified in standing up for our rights. That is the way of this world. And that is what makes our passage this morning so striking. As we look at Matthew 5:38-42 this morning, we will see Jesus give commands to His followers that feel very strange and supremely difficult. They cut against our nature and our natural responses. The way of the Kingdom of Heaven is VERY different than the way of this world. Those who follow King Jesus live by a completely different set of standards than the men and women of this world. Background This morning we are continuing our study of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (5-7). Here Jesus is setting forth for His disciples a description of the citizens of the Kingdom (5:1). Jesus is the great King and He is giving a clear picture of what those who follow Him (Christians) look like both in regards to their character and in regards to how they live in the world. Christians are 1 Cited from http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/the-declaration-ofindependence on 06/20/2014. 1

salt and light ; 5: 13-16). Those who follow Jesus are distinct from the world around them and it is that very distinctness that makes them effective. Christians do not positively impact the world when they are LIKE the world. Instead, Church History demonstrates that the times Christians have most powerfully impacted the world for good have been precisely the times when they were most DISSIMILAR to the world (e.g. The Great Awakening and subsequent revivals). As we have studied this sermon, we have come to a section (5:21-48) where Jesus is contrasting His teaching concerning the Law of God with the false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20). We have seen that the scribes and Pharisees were misinterpreting and misapplying the Law in a number of different ways. First, we have seen that they made the Law something wholly outward and external. But Jesus has taught us that the Law of God is spiritual (Romans 7:14). The Law is concerned not only with our outward actions, but also with our inner heart attitudes. And we have seen that the scribes and Pharisees had twisted the intent of Law in such a way that they were leading the people of Israel to do precisely the OPPOSITE of what God wanted. The Law gave regulations on divorce to limit and regulate divorce, but the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees actually multiplied divorce (5:31-32). The Law was concerned that people would keep their vows and oaths, but the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees actually increased lying and deception (5:33-37). This morning, we are going to look at another example Jesus gives of the false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 5:38-42. Here Jesus deals with the issue of retaliation or getting revenge for wrongs done against us. This is a tough passage of Scripture because the teaching of Jesus here contrasts so strongly with what we feel as JUST in our hearts. There are few commands in the Bible that clash more with our natural inclination to protect our person and our honor than the commands found in Matthew 5:38-42. 2 -Daniel Doriani And yet, we need to hear Jesus teaching this morning and we need to ask God to conform our hearts and our actions to His Truth, not our often skewed and self-interested understanding of justice. MIM: Because they have died to SELF, Christians should never retaliate against others, but instead should do good to others. Matthew 5:38-42- 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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. This morning we are going to study this passage using three statements: -The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees led to personal retaliation. -The teaching of Jesus absolutely forbids personal retaliation. -Jesus practiced what He preached. 2008), 175. 2 Daniel Doriani, Matthew, vol. 1 in Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2

I. The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees led to personal retaliation (5:38) A. In 5:38, Jesus repeats his formula You have heard that it was said... The vast majority of men and women in Jesus s day had never studied the Law of God for themselves. Instead, their knowledge of the Law of God came from the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. But the scribes and Pharisees were teaching falsely. And so what the people of Israel in Jesus day had heard was incorrect. They had a skewed understanding of the Law of God. And Jesus had come to correct the understanding of His disciples regarding the teaching of the OT Law. B. So what was the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees? Jesus relates that in 5:38b, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is the famous principle of Lex Talionis. Basically stated, it is an ancient legal principle that requires that the punishment fit the crime. The OT records this specific commandment three times (Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21), and in each instance, the commandment is set in a context of the way the CIVIL government is to punish those who have harmed another person. It is a just law that accomplished three purposes: a. First, it served to reduce crime because those who wanted to harm others knew that if they were caught they would suffer the same harm. So if a man knocked out the tooth of another man in a fight, he knew that the judge would order his tooth to be knocked out as punishment. It instilled an appropriate fear of doing wrong because the punishment was certain (Deut. 19:19-21). b. Second, it insured that the punishment was carried by the proper legal authorities. So, according to the Law of God, an individual had no right to take personal revenge. Instead, he was to present his case to the judges of Israel so that justice would be carried out. c. Third, it insured that those who were punished for their crimes were punished appropriately. It didn t matter how powerful or weak the man was who was facing punishment for harming another person. He would receive what was just ( an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ) no more and no less. This was important because the natural tendency of the human heart is to severely punish those who offend us. Illustration: We all have something of the spirit of Lamech who boasted about killing a man who had wounded him. Genesis 4:23-24- Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 24 If Cain s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech s is seventy-sevenfold. C. And that is the problem with the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. The OT Law was meant to help the JUDGES of Israel insure that the punishment fit the crime. Its goal was to limit PERSONAL revenge and make sure that only appropriate authorities meted out punishment. But the scribes and Pharisees had TWISTED the Law. The Law was intended to help Judges administer justice in the courts, but the scribes and 3

Pharisees made it a principle that legitimized taking personal revenge. And so they taught people that the Law permitted and even commanded them to retaliate for personal offenses an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And, of course, once people start taking personal revenge, the violence only escalates. Illustration: We all know from personal experience that revenge quickly escalates into increasing violence. The wounds we give one another get worse and worse. Before Missy and I moved to Williamsburg, we lived in Kentucky, just a few hours from the Kentucky-West Virginia border where the famous feud between the Hatfield s and McCoys took place. Many know about this famous feud that spanned 30 years and led to 13 deaths. But did you know that the feud was kicked off by a legal dispute over a pig? 3 And we are all sadly familiar with the on-going conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which never ends because both sides feel justified in continuing to take revenge. And we all experienced something of this spirit when our nation was attacked on 9-11. I heard from professing Christians on more than a few occasions the EVIL sentiment that we should just bomb the whole Middle East and all Muslims out of existence and be done with it. 4 It was just this kind of cycle of revenge and violence that the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees promoted. And we need to be honest that there is something of this in our own hearts. 1. Why do we feel justified in raising our voices higher than others when they raise their voices with us? It is this spirit of revenge. 2. Why do we allow ourselves to replay the unkind words others have said against us in our minds and then think about how we could put them in their place by saying just the right cutting words? It is this spirit of revenge. 3. Why do we tend to completely write people off who have offended us? Well, that s just the kind of person HE is! This is the murder in the heart Jesus condemned in 5:21. It is this spirit of revenge. 4. Husbands and wives, why is it that we always feel the need to get the last word? Often, it is this spirit of revenge. There is too much of the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees in our hearts. That is why we need the Lord to correct us as He does in 5:39-42. II. The teaching of Jesus absolutely forbids personal retaliation (5:39-42) A. In 5:39, we see Jesus lay down an absolute principle. He says, But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. The word for resist here in the Greek (anthisteimi) has the idea of standing against or opposing. In the context, Jesus is speaking of a harm being 3 See http://www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys/articles/the-hatfield-mccoy-feud accessed online on 06/20/2014. 4

done to us by another person. 5 Clearly, Jesus is saying that Christians should never retaliate against others. Christians are NEVER authorized to seek revenge against others. Romans 12:19-20- Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. B. But the wording is even stronger than that. To not resist means just that. It means that we aren t even to defend ourselves. These are startling words. 6 C. Never seek revenge? Never retaliate? Don t even defend ourselves? Don t stand up for our rights? We feel like the disciples when they said, Lord, increase our faith! (Luke 17:5)! By giving this command, Jesus is not saying that the principle of Lex Talionis ( an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth ) is unjust. The law is holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7:12). Rather, Jesus is correcting the false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees and making it clear that there is no room for personal retaliation in the life of a citizen of the Kingdom (Christians). And He is going further and saying that Christians should not even resist the wrongs that evil people do against them. What Jesus isn t saying: A lot of confusion has come about by people mishandling the Lord s teaching here. Here are a few other things that Jesus is not saying: 1. He is not laying down laws for the governments of nations to follow. Jesus is not speaking to nations at all. He is not speaking to non-christians either. He is speaking specifically to His disciples (5:1) and instructing them on what it means to follow Him what it means to live as a part of His Kingdom. 2. He is not saying that Christians are called to be philosophical pacifists. Christians can certainly serve in the military. It is noble work to defend others. When John the Baptist was asked by the soldiers what they need to do to demonstrate their repentance, he did not say, Stop being soldiers. He said, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages. (Luke 3:14). In other words, Be good soldiers. 3. He is not saying that we need to let evil run rampant in our churches and our communities. Paul resisted (Gk. anthisteimi) Peter to his face when Peter had comprised with the teaching of the Judaizers because Peter was in effect distorting the Gospel message by his behavior. Paul knew that that would hurt others in the Church (Gal. 2:11). And in terms of our community, we have an obligation to protect the weak and vulnerable (cf. Isaiah 58:6). 4. It does not mean that Christians are to have no concern about justice. One way we know for sure that Jesus is not giving an absolute prohibition against standing against evil is that Jesus 5 John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7 in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 332. 6 R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew in NICNT (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Co, 2007), 219-220. 5

himself stood up against evil. When He was being judged before the High Priest on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus protested when He was wrongly slapped in the face. John 18:22-23- When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? 23 Jesus answered him, If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me? But here Jesus concern was not for Himself, or His rights, or His personal safety. Jesus came to die. Jesus concern was with the fact that the Law of God was being broken. Christians should be very concerned to defend the law of God and Christians should be very concerned to stand up for others. The Principle of Dying to SELF So we need to be careful how we understand Jesus here. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not laying down a new set of laws for us to follow. Rather He is giving us principles to live by. He is describing how Christians live in the world. So we are not to take His commands absolutely literally. The immediate context makes that clear. Jesus had just commanded his disciples that if their right eye caused them to sin, they should gouge it out and if their right hand caused them to sin, they should cut it off (5:27-30). We are not intended to take those commands literally. Instead, we are to learn from these commands the principle that sin is serious and that we need to do whatever it takes to root sin out of our lives. In the same way, Jesus is giving us a principle here. Above all, as we look at this command of Jesus ( Do not resist the one who is evil (5:39), we need to understand that He is laying out a principle of dying to SELF in order to do good to others. As Christians, our focus must never be on ourselves, our interests, our desires, our rights. We died to SELF when we were crucified with Christ ( I (emphatic) have been crucified with Christ Galatians 2:20). George Muller, the great man of faith, said in this regard: There was a day when I died, utterly died to George Muller and his opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame of even my brethren and friends; since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God. 7 The Logic of the Beatitudes How is this possible? How can we die to SELF so much that we have no interest in even defending ourselves? It is only possible when you consider WHO the citizens of the Kingdom are. Do you remember the beatitudes we studied earlier? We noted that there is a logical progression in the Beatitudes. The citizens of the Kingdom are poor in spirit (5:3). They recognize their sinfulness and the fact that they have nothing to offer to God. That leads them to mourn over their sinfulness (5:4). And it is those that mourning for their sinfulness who become meek (5:5). They are done with SELF and living for SELF. Instead, they want to live for God s will and not their own. And that is what we said it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness (5:6). Even when it is personally costly, Christians are those who have died to SELF. They are no longer interested in defending themselves and standing up for their rights. Instead, they are interested in doing what honors GOD and what blesses OTHERS. They are the only ones who can live the kind of life that Jesus pictures for us in the rest of this passage. 7 Cited in Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 1971 edition), 257. 6

D. So from 5:39b-42, Jesus gives four illustrations of what it might look like to DIE to self. These are pictures. They are not new laws and we are not to take them strictly literally. But even then they are challenging to us because they call us to follow Christ. And as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, The call to follow Christ is the call to come and die. So these are four pictures of what it might look to die to self in order to follow Christ and do good to others. This is not an exhaustive list. 8 Only God knows how many ways we will be called to DIE to SELF in following Jesus (cf. Acts 9:16). We will only discover this as we continue to learn in what the Puritans called The School of Christ. a. Illustration #1- Dying to one s REPUTATION. Matthew 5:39b- But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 1. If we were to take this command turn to him the other also, strictly literally, it would mean that we could never defend ourselves against the physical violence of others. But it is not loving to others to let them sin against us. We should do what we can to restrain the violence of others for THEIR sakes and for the sake of those they might harm. 2. So what is this, then? It is a picture of complete non-retaliation when one is personally attacked. Most people are right-handed and in order to strike someone on the right cheek, it would have to be a back-hand slap something that even in our day is extremely demeaning. But Jesus says that Christians are to be the kind of people that refuse to retaliate even when their reputation and rights are attacked. Illustration: So this might not look like a physical blow to the face. But maybe it will look like an unjust accusation against our character by an employer. It might look like a sharp word said against us by our spouses. How should we respond? Those who follow Jesus respond gently perhaps with a kind word. Proverbs 15:1- A soft answer turns away wrath. Application: How is it possible to respond this way? How can we die to what others would think of us if we didn t defend our reputation? It is only possible through the fear of God. I must be more concerned with what God thinks of me than about what others might think of me. b. Illustration #2-Dying to one s LEGAL RIGHTS Matthew 5:40- And if someone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 1. This is a picture of a courtroom situation where someone is suing a believer probably over debt. It would be a cruel thing to sue someone to the point of taking their clothing from them. A tunic was a piece of inner clothing. In Jesus s day, most people were very poor and only had one or two sets of clothing. It would seem very appropriate for a Christian to defend himself in court. 8 Ibid., 247 7

2. But Jesus s command is remarkable, let him have your cloak as well. What makes this so remarkable is that the Law of God gave people an inalienable right to keep their cloak, a warmer outer garment (Exod. 22:26-27; Deut. 24:12-13). Christians should go out of their way to demonstrate their lack of bitterness and resentment towards others even if it means giving away what no one can legally take from them. This is the attitude of dying to SELF that Paul wanted the Corinthians to have in 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6:7- To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? c. Illustration #3- Dying to one s PERSONAL LIBERTY Matthew 5:41- And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 1. This third illustration speaks of the way a government might oppress or infringe upon the liberties of those under its authority. In the first century, Rome ruled the Western world and Roman soldiers had the right to force their conquered subjects to carry their weapons and other items for one Roman mile (slightly less than a modern mile). The most famous example of this is when Simon of Cyrene was forced by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus cross (Matt. 27:32). Can you imagine how despised a work it must have been to have had to carry the weapons of those who were oppressing you with those very weapons? 2. And yet, Jesus catches all of us short when He says, go with him two miles. Again, we are not to take this literally, as if now we are forced to go two miles instead of one, but we don t have to go one foot further. Instead, the idea is that the Christian should be the KIND OF PERSON who, when commanded to do something belittling or humbling or irritating, even by an authority he doesn t like, doesn t retaliate, but instead goes above and beyond what is required with a cheerful heart. What kind of love must be in the heart of such a person? It must be God s love. Application: With the aggressive swing of our culture against biblical Christianity, we might be forced to live out the implications of this command sooner than we imagine. If so, we must obey with cheerful hearts, whenever the commands of the government do not contradict the commands of God. d. Illustration #4- dying to one s POSSESSIONS Matthew 5:42- Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 1. This command is as straightforward as it is shocking. Give freely to everyone, whenever they ask? We would all be broke in a week! But again, we aren t to take these commands strictly literally. Sometimes it is UNLOVING to give money to someone you know will only abuse it. There is 8

a kind of helping that actually hurts the other person who is enslaved to sin. 2. And of all the illustrations I found this verse the hardest to understand in context because clearly there is no reason for the Christian to retaliate against someone who is merely begging for food or money. But if we remember the principle that Jesus is driving at, that Christians are to die to SELF, this illustration fits. What [Jesus] is considering is the tendency of a man because of self, and a self-centered spirit, not to help those who are in real need. 9 -Martyn Lloyd-Jones 3. But in contrast to that selfish tendency, Jesus says that His disciples are to be characterized by generosity. Not foolish generosity, but remarkable generosity. Those in the world should think of Christians as generous people. Application: What can free us up to give generously to others and not cling to our possessions? Faith that we have a better and lasting treasure in heaven, frees us up to be generous in this life. I think we can all agree that these four illustrations are both difficult and searching. They expose our selfishness and our longing to cling to our rights. But I think we are interpreting them rightly because our understanding of Jesus teaching here is confirmed by the example of Jesus life. Much more briefly III. Jesus practiced what He preached. A. As I meditated on this passage, I felt like it was important for us to consider that Jesus didn t just teach the Sermon on the Mount. He lived it out PERFECTLY. Jesus constantly died to Himself, His desires, and His rights throughout his whole ministry. a. The One who commands us to turn the other cheek, is the one who gave his face to those who pulled out His beard (Isaiah 50:6). b. The One who commands us to give both our tunic and our cloak was stripped naked on the cross as He died for our sins. c. The One who commands us to go the extra mile was not content to only become a man, but He went the extra mile by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). d. The One who commands us to give generously to those who beg from us, became poor so that in Him we might become rich! (2 Cor. 8:9). 9 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 254. 9

The Gospel Friends, you and I have failed to die to ourselves and our rights. We have lived for ourselves instead of for the God who created us to worship and serve Him. That is what the Bible calls sin. And the punishment for sin is eternal separation from God in a horrible place called Hell. But Jesus perfectly fulfilled the demands of the Law. He died to Himself and offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for sinners. And then He rose from the dead. Now, all who turn from their sin and trust in Him will be forgiven for their sins and empowered to live as Jesus lived. That is our hope this morning! If you are not a follower of Jesus, we pray you will come to know that hope as well. Conclusion Brothers and sisters, we really are called to live by an entirely different standard than this world follows. The men and women of this world stand up for and defend their rights. In contrast, Christians are called to die to SELF and to our personal rights and instead seek to serve and bless others. We need the power of God to transform our hearts and enable our obedience. May God humble us and may He help us to live for Him this week! Let s pray 10