LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard it said, ’An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”  Jesus

 

The Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy contain the statement “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”.  This is the fifth illustration Jesus used to discuss the law of Moses and the interpretation of it by the Pharisees and scribes.  Moses made the statement to the Israelites to control their anger and desire for revenge.  The normal tendency is to react when something is done to someone.  Moses’ instruction was to control and reduce chaos and to create order.  One who knocks out another’s tooth must not be killed for doing so; instead that person must also lose a tooth.  In other words, the punishment must fit the crime committed; there is to be no excessive punishment.  This would apply to judges as well.  There should be no excessive punishment for a crime committed.

 

The Pharisees and scribes used the words of Moses a personal matter by making it a right and a duty to have “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”.  They insisted on it rather than trying to create order.  They used Moses words to mandate punishment instead of a limit on punishment.  There is no indication that the Pharisees took a literal interpretation of this.  The prevailing thought is that they placed a value on a tooth or an eye and took money instead of the eye or tooth. 

 

The Lord’s teaching on this topic deals with the Christian and what is done to him personally.  It deals with how a Christian reacts to things that happen to him.  The idea of being slapped in the face was thought to be a personal attack upon a person.  In Biblical days it was thought to be one of the most demeaning of insults.  To attack a person’s body was a physical attack but to slap a person’s face was to be treated with contempt.  Jesus’ response was not to react with violence or to desire revenge.  The proper way to respond to the one doing the wrong was to resist evil; this requires the offended person to die to himself.  An insult does not have to come in the form of a slap to the face.  It might come from someone speaking badly about you, or getting a promotion before you by undermining you in some way. 

 

This entire teaching is about how an individual perceives himself.  How is the Christian to react to those who do something to him or asks for some type of help?  The response will either be self-centered causing a selfish response or it will be one where Christ is honored with an unselfish response.  Jesus said that anyone who wanted to be His disciple must, “deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Him”.  When wronged, we are not to react in a spirit of hatred but in a way that shows we have values that are centered in Christ and His kingdom.  Our actions toward those who are unkind to us should be such that it might lead them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. 

 

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