Beyond Retaliation: The Kingdom Ethic of Non-Vengeance

• The Sabbath and Worship [00:00:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the Lord's Day as a gift from God for rest and reorientation toward His goodness.
• God's Providence [00:08:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation recites the Heidelberg Catechism defining God's providence as His almighty power upholding all things, leading to patience and confidence.
• Retaliation and Non-Retaliation [00:10:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the Scripture reading from Matthew 5, focusing on Jesus' teaching to turn the other cheek and not seek revenge.
• God as Shepherd [00:12:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > In the children's message, the pastor explains Psalm 23, clarifying that 'I shall not want' means God provides all needs, not that desires are forbidden.
• Pastoral Care and Prayer [00:21:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation prays for specific members facing health issues, new life, and anxiety, trusting in God's providential care.
• Retaliation and Vengeance [00:34:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the natural human urge to retaliate with the biblical prohibition of personal vengeance, explaining that 'eye for an eye' restricts rather than encourages revenge.
• Lex Talionis / Proportional Justice [00:38:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the 'law of retaliation' as a mechanism for judges to ensure the punishment fits the crime, preventing excessive retribution.
• Judicial vs. Personal Application [00:40:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that the instruction in Exodus is given to judges, not individuals, and is not a 'free ticket' for personal vengeance.
• Old Testament Law and 'Eye for an Eye' [00:42:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that 'eye for an eye' was originally a legal guideline for judges to ensure proportionate compensation, not a license for personal vengeance, citing Leviticus and Proverbs.
• Personal Vengeance vs. Judicial Justice [00:43:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that personal vengeance is forbidden in the Old Testament and that judicial justice, while necessary, cannot restore relationships or peace.
• Jesus' Teaching on Retaliation ([Matthew 5](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5&version=KJV)) [00:46:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes Jesus' correction of the Pharisees' misapplication of the law, explaining that Jesus calls followers to a revolutionary mindset of not resisting evil and giving more than is demanded.
• Kingdom Mindset and Selflessness [00:49:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor interprets the four examples (slap, lawsuit, mile, borrowing) as teaching believers to think less of themselves and their rights, and more of others, to display the character of Christ.
• Trust in God's Justice [00:58:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor concludes that believers forgo retaliation not because justice doesn't matter, but because they trust God's providence and final judgment, allowing them to be patient and thankful.
• Retaliation and Revenge [00:58:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Old Testament judicial principle of 'eye for an eye' with Jesus' call for believers to live lives not driven by revenge.
• Divine Providence and Justice [00:58:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the Heidelberg Catechism, the pastor argues that confidence in God's providence allows believers to leave petty transgressions to a just God.
• Christian Patience and Thanksgiving [00:59:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor links the assurance of God's love and future judgment to the ability to remain patient in adversity and thankful in prosperity.

• Sermon Illustration [00:12:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote from his childhood confusion regarding Psalm 23:1 ('I shall not want'), explaining how he initially thought it forbade wanting things, but later understood it to mean God provides all needs, illustrated by the imagery of sheep in green pastures and still waters.
• Sermon Illustration [00:32:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a childhood story about riding 'cozy coop' toy cars with his sister. He describes how he would ram into her, and when she finally hit him back, he claimed self-defense to their mother, using this to illustrate the natural human tendency to retaliate.
• Sermon Illustration [00:44:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions his personal experience of losing a tooth and undergoing an implant procedure to illustrate the difficulty of quantifying injury and compensation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:44:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about losing a front tooth during a pickup basketball game in 2005 when a friend's elbow hit him. He uses this to illustrate that even if he could have had his friend's tooth knocked out in return, it would not have restored their relationship or brought peace, only animosity.

• Pastoral Charge [00:59:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > Forgo personal retaliation and trust in God's ultimate justice.
• Pastoral Charge [01:00:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Cultivate patience and thankfulness by trusting God to handle evil.
• Pastoral Charge [01:01:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > To not seek personal vengeance, to have confidence in God's judgment, and to live out the truths of patience and peace.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:30] As I've mentioned before, the Lord's Day, Sunday, the Sabbath, the Christian Sabbath is a gift from God to us. Six days He has given us to do our work and to labor, but the seventh day
[00:00:41] He built into the ebb and flow of our lives so that we might rest. And we might rest in Him and His goodness and the finished work of our Savior Jesus Christ. And we rest even as we worship. It
[00:00:54] reorients our minds in the course of a week to remember that there is a God who made us and who loves us and who calls us to himself and who calls us to worship him. And we receive a call to worship
[00:01:07] this morning from Psalm 48. I would invite you to join me in standing as we hear this invitation to come into the presence of the Lord together. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in
[00:01:23] the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth.
[00:01:30] Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King.
[00:01:35] Indeed, our Lord is great, and we ascribe to Him His praise and His worship as we turn in our hymnal to number 44, singing together, How Great Thou Art.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:46] Let's pray together.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:06:34] Lord, our God, we have gathered together on this day, the Lord's day, the day of resurrection, the day that You have given us for worship and for rest.
[00:06:47] we have gathered at your command and we have gathered to give you worship and glory and honor that you are due and we thank you for this day or we thank you that you have given us a day
[00:06:59] unlike the others of the week a day when we can pause a day when we can reflect a day when we can think deeply about you and as we've just sung when we do that when we think deeply about
[00:07:12] what you have created and when we think deeply of the salvation that you have afforded us through jesus christ then we are led with the psalmist to declare great is the lord and greatly to be
[00:07:25] praised for all that you have made and for all that you have redeemed ourselves counted among that lord you are worthy of all praise and glory and honor and so we pray that this morning as
[00:07:36] we've gathered together in your name and as your spirit moves amongst us so that we might worship you in spirit and truth, that our focus would be singing your praises, glorifying you for who you
[00:07:47] are and for what you have done. We pray that you'll be glorified in us, asking this in Jesus' name.
[00:07:53] Amen. Our corporate voice of faith this morning is taken from the Heidelberg Catechism. It's printed for you on the inside portion of your bulletin, so you'll want to grab that. These are questions 27 and 28, which deal with the providence of God. And as I've often said, one
[00:08:13] of the things I appreciate about the Heidelberg Catechism is its very pastoral tone. This is not merely knowledge, but really knowledge applied to our hearts, truth applied to our hearts about God and what it means for us. So I will ask the question and we'll respond together with the
[00:08:32] answer. Christian, what do you understand by the providence of God? God's providence is His almighty and ever-present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren
[00:08:59] years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty. Indeed, all things come to us not by chance, but by His fatherly hand. What does it benefit us to know that God has created all
[00:09:17] things and still upholds them by His providence? We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future, we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love.
[00:09:40] Thank you.
[00:09:41] You may be seated.
[00:09:43] We turn now to God's Word and our New Testament Gospel reading this morning, which is taken from Matthew chapter 5.
[00:09:57] Turn there with me, please, in your Bibles.
[00:09:59] This is the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew records it for us.
[00:10:04] And in this particular section, often known as the Six Antitheses, Jesus is teaching and rather sort of reorienting the minds of the people that He is speaking to.
[00:10:15] They had been taught all kinds of things by the scribes and the teachers.
[00:10:20] Some of those things finding root in the Word of God as we have before us today.
[00:10:24] but he's also showing how they really apply, what they really speak to in our hearts and to our hearts. And that's true with what we have before us this morning, in which Jesus is talking about
[00:10:38] retaliation. So Matthew chapter 5, picking up at verse 38.
[00:10:57] But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
[00:11:02] And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
[00:11:07] And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
[00:11:13] Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
[00:11:20] Friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
[00:11:25] Amen.
[00:11:26] It's time now for the children's message.
[00:11:30] So kids, I will see you up front.
[00:11:59] Good morning.
[00:12:01] How are y'all doing today?
[00:12:03] Good.
[00:12:04] Have you had a good week?
[00:12:06] I know some of you did.
[00:12:07] About half of you at least.
[00:12:08] Where were you this week?
[00:12:11] You were at music conference up at Bon Clark and that's exactly right.
[00:12:14] And I don't know if as children you know this, but maybe you do.
[00:12:18] Do you remember what the theme of music conference was this week?
[00:12:21] What passage in the Bible was the theme?
[00:12:23] Yes, ma'am.
[00:12:24] the Lord is my shepherd. Does anybody know where that comes from? Yes, ma'am. Psalm. Anybody help her out? 23. That's exactly right. Y'all were good listeners this week. Psalm 23. And it says in that
[00:12:40] Psalm, as you just said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. How many of you have heard that verse before? When I was your age and even older than your age, I used to be so confused by the
[00:12:54] second part of that verse, because it says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And I used to think that was like a command, a prohibition, that I wasn't allowed to want anything, that I
[00:13:05] wasn't allowed to want toys for Christmas or want to get better when I was sick. I used to think that's what that meant. The Lord is my shepherd, you're not allowed to want. But that's not what
[00:13:14] it means. Another way of saying it is, the Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. I'm not going to lack for anything. And we know that because of what it goes on to say. It says,
[00:13:29] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Now, He's talking about the Lord as a shepherd, and who do shepherds take care of? Sheep. And you know what sheep
[00:13:43] really love? Green pastures and still waters. Green pastures where they can get all the food that they need and they can they can lie down and sleep securely and still waters where they can go
[00:13:55] and and get something to drink and wash off a little bit not not a mighty flowing river that might sweep them downstream but just still gentle waters in other words the psalmist is saying god
[00:14:06] you are such a good shepherd that you give me everything i need and it even goes on to say even when life is scary even when i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i don't have
[00:14:19] to fear why because who's with me god is with me and when we jump to the new testament we're introduced to another shepherd do you know who i'm talking about who says i am the good shepherd
[00:14:33] jesus and i say another shepherd he's one in the same because jesus is god but jesus is our good shepherd who provides for us everything we need and so for those of you who are at music conference
[00:14:44] this week you learned about that that g that god is our shepherd that jesus is our good shepherd But the big takeaway for us today is that because he is, we will not want for anything.
[00:14:56] We will not be in need because he provides for us.
[00:14:59] And that is something that we can praise him for.
[00:15:02] So will you pray with me right now?
[00:15:03] And let's give God thanks for that.
[00:15:05] Let's pray together.
[00:15:09] Dear God, we thank you that you are our good shepherd.
[00:15:15] and provide for us everything we need, especially salvation. Help us to trust you in all the days of our life. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you. You may return to your seats.

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:47] And as the children make their way to their seats, I'll invite you to stand with me and we'll sing the truth we just heard, Psalm 23a, the Lord's my shepherd. It's printed for us on the back of

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:15:56] our bulletins. Let's stand and sing. Let's pray together. God, we thank you that you are our good

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:19:00] shepherd, that you are at work in the largest and smallest details of our life, and that you bestow upon us all that we need in this life. We pray now that as we receive your tithes and our offerings,
[00:19:13] that you would receive them from us and that you would use them for your kingdom work and for the

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:19] gospel to go forth. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. Let's go to the Lord

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:21:57] now in a time of prayer. Almighty God, we have just been reminded and sung the truth of Psalm 23 that tells us that you are our shepherd. We find great comfort and strength in that. And
[00:22:29] as we have gathered here this morning to worship you, as you have called us the sheep of your pastor, it is good for us to thank you and worship you for the way that you lead and guide us.
[00:22:49] We praise you, eternal God, that you are at work in each of our lives in the largest and smallest details. We each have experienced a week where we have greatly needed you to come to our aid,
[00:23:06] and you have done so. And so we praise you for the way in which you are at work providentially in our lives, weaving together our days, being with us, leading us through times of joy and
[00:23:27] sorrow. We find great comfort in knowing that no matter what valley we may face in this life, you are with us. And so we praise you that you are the almighty eternal God who is with his people. We praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for that great truth.
[00:23:54] and we pray that you would help us be mindful of that as we face another week, another week of tasks and duties, another week of difficulties some of us may face. Lord God, we pray that you
[00:24:13] would guard our hearts, protect us, and help us to live in light of the truth that Jesus has come to win us, your wayward sheep. So I pray that you would be at work in our lives.
[00:24:34] we thank you for the way in which you are always at work in creation. Indeed, that the earth is yours in the fullness thereof, the world and all those who dwell therein. We're mindful of
[00:24:48] the folks in our fellowship who have acute needs this week, this time. And so it is that we pray for Mr. Mick Houck, who continues to feel the struggle of low blood pressure. We pray that you
[00:25:07] would be with him, that the medications would be effective, that you would give him good days of energy so that he can be around those that he loves more and more. We pray that you would comfort
[00:25:18] him during this ailment. We thank you that Nick White is back today, and we continue to pray for him in his battle with mononucleosis. We pray that you would continue to help him be on the
[00:25:30] road to recovery and give him strength and energy. We also rejoice that Bob White is back with us this week. Lord, we thank you for your grace unto us and to the White family. We also pray for those
[00:25:45] who are receiving treatment and care for cancer. Lord God, we pray for your wisdom and discernment upon them as they decide on their plans. And we also pray that for the effectiveness of their treatments. We think of Sadie Kuhn and Renee Capels and Roberta Simon. Lord God, you are their shepherd
[00:26:02] and we pray that you would shepherd them in a mighty way, knowing exactly what your individual sheep need in each and every moment.
[00:26:12] We also pray for those who are soon to be undergoing other procedures or surgeries, Lord, that you would comfort them and help them to remember that you are the great physician who is at work in the world.
[00:26:26] Lord God, we pray for those who are worried or anxious about tomorrow, that they would be reminded of the truth of your word.
[00:26:35] that you are providentially in control.
[00:26:39] We also rejoice with those who are rejoicing as we pray for those who are expecting.
[00:26:45] We think of the Schaffers this morning, Lord.
[00:26:48] We pray for Patrick and Tegan and little Margo as they prepare for that great gift that you are bestowing upon them.
[00:26:54] And we also pray, Lord, for the Welches as they are close to the birth mother's adoption, I mean due date, and we pray for that adoption process.
[00:27:04] and we pray for the Welch's as they get ready to travel and to welcome that new child into their home. We thank you for the gift of new life. We also praise you for music conference this past
[00:27:18] week, for our group, and for the entire conference. We thank you for the fellowship that they enjoyed.
[00:27:24] We thank you most of all for the opportunity they had to worship you this entire week at Von Clarken. We thank you for your goodness unto us, for your steadfast love that follows us all

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:27:35] the days of our lives. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I'll invite you to turn with

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:30:13] me in your Bibles for our sermon passage this morning, Exodus chapter 21, verses 23 through 25.
[00:30:21] If you're joining us for the first time this summer, we are in a series on misunderstood, misapplied, misquoted passages of Scripture. And this morning, we go to the second book of the Bible. And as a bit of context before our reading, in the book of Exodus, the Israelites, of course,
[00:30:41] have been delivered out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery by God. They have had some wanderings, but in chapter 20, they come to Mount Sinai and receive the Ten Commandments. And then in the
[00:30:56] following chapters 21 through 23, God explains practical principles kind of built upon the foundations of those Ten Commandments, practical principles for Israel. That's the context for our passage this morning. First, let me pray for the reading and preaching of his word, and then I'll
[00:31:15] read Exodus 21, 23 through 25. Gracious God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you reveal to us who you are and how we are to live in light of that truth. And so I pray this morning
[00:31:31] that you would lend your light to our hearts and minds, help us to see clearly the way to apply this principle to our lives, and help us to be challenged with Jesus' teaching on this idea of
[00:31:45] an eye for an eye. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Exodus chapter 21 verses 23 through 25.
[00:31:54] But if there is harm, then you shall pay. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. When I was a child growing up
[00:32:20] in Greenville, South Carolina, my sister and I both had these little red and yellow cars. You push them with your feet, you could drive them. I looked them up this week on Google. They were
[00:32:31] called cozy coops. I don't know if you're familiar with these. We wouldn't drive them outside because our neighborhood was full of big tall hills. So we rode them inside the house some around the living
[00:32:42] room and the dining room. And anyways, we would ride them around, chase each other, and there's a home video of us doing this exact thing. I don't know who decided it would be a good idea to set
[00:32:56] a tripod and film this, but it's recorded for us to see. And there's a video of me and my cozy coop and my sister and her cozy coop, and she is riding around the dining room table just enjoying
[00:33:08] life, right? She's having a good time, and her brother keeps coming up behind her and ramming into her over and over again, right? Knocking her into chairs, knocking her into the dining room table and pretty much just being a pest and a nuisance. Eventually, after repeatedly asking me
[00:33:29] to stop, she got out of her cozy coop, walked over, and she hit me. This is on video. I'm pretty sure the video stops at that point, although I guarantee you what I did was I told my mom I didn't do
[00:33:44] anything. She just came over and hit me, right? I use that funny, silly example to say that we all know what comes more natural than anything else in life, and that is to retaliate.
[00:34:02] To retaliate. The easiest thing, the most natural thing for us is when someone has hurt me, I am going to retaliate. And usually we retaliate in an overblown way. We want to get back more than
[00:34:18] we received. And most people think an eye for an eye gives you permission to do just that, to get even. But what we're going to see this morning in the Old Testament, in Exodus, and in
[00:34:32] the New Testament, Matthew chapter 5, and from the Lord Jesus, is that this has never been what that principle has meant. The idea of retaliation is at the center of our passage in Exodus 21,
[00:34:46] and we'll begin there for our first point and then consider Jesus' teaching for our second point in Matthew chapter 5. So let's consider an eye for an eye, Exodus 21. This principle is found in the
[00:35:01] Old Testament in three different places. We're considering the first of those occurrences.
[00:35:06] It's in Exodus 21, it's in Leviticus 24, and Deuteronomy 19. In order to understand this, we need to know it's in a section called the Covenant Code, and we can think of this as the
[00:35:18] application of the Ten Commandments and sort of moral principles for Israel. These laws are for public life within the nation of Israel. You have laws for worship, you have laws for capital punishment, and then you have our particular section on personal injuries and their appropriate
[00:35:42] penalties. As a broad picture, this section that we're teaching this specific application from teaches us a few things in general. God is very concerned with how his people live in public life.
[00:35:58] God is very concerned with how we live with other people, peaceably and righteously. Secondly, in the Old Testament, that equal justice under the law is a principle of God's legislation in Israel. What do I mean by that? I mean that equitable justice is found in Scripture,
[00:36:20] meaning the punishment must fit the crime. We're going to see that more in a second.
[00:36:25] But thirdly, these laws, these principles are not comprehensive for society. Okay, God's Word is illustrating to us principles of how to apply God's law in Israel. It's not meant to be the constitution for Israel in this section. I say that to mean that you couldn't build a stance of
[00:36:48] pacifism from this particular principle in Scripture. We're going to see why in just a moment.
[00:36:56] And so while we need law and order in a just society that restrains evil and injustices, that's not the focus of this particular principle as we're going to see laid out in Exodus and in
[00:37:07] Matthew chapter 5. So within that broader framework, let's consider God's principles for serious injury in Exodus chapter 21. We should note that we are not talking about taking a life, eye for an eye, I mean life for a life. That is dealt with in capital punishment. So we pick up
[00:37:26] then with verse 24, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. What we're talking about here is when there's been no
[00:37:42] forethought, no planning, and a fight or a skirmish breaks out and one person hits another person and there's a serious injury. Someone has lost an eye, someone's lost a tooth or other permanent damage. Then in Israel, what should happen is that a judge should levy a penalty
[00:38:05] that matches the crime. A judge should level that. The principle, an eye for an eye, as it is found in scripture, often is referred to as the lex talionis, the law of retaliation. That's also a
[00:38:22] law that is found throughout the ancient Near East. It's also found in the Code of Hammurabi or in the Roman law codes as well. And the idea behind it and the design that God's Word affirms
[00:38:36] is that it is there to prevent excessive punishment. It's there to prevent excessive revenge. If someone knocks out your tooth, what that doesn't mean is that you can take three of their teeth. If someone knocks out your eye, you're not allowed to take both of their eyes.
[00:39:01] You see how this works? It's there so that if someone harms you, you cannot extract whatever measure you see fit. It is for a judge to adjudicate. If someone gives you a wound, you can't inflict double the wound. This law is to keep peace within society by restraining the
[00:39:24] urge to exact more revenge than the crime deserves. Okay? To prevent more revenge than the crime deserves. The punishment must fit the crime. It's not a license for retribution, rather it's a guideline for judges. It's to prevent excessive revenge. And why do we need that? Well, if you've
[00:39:49] ever been wronged, if you've ever been harmed, what is our first response? I want to get back at them and I want to do it right now and I want to show them that they're never going to do that to me
[00:40:03] again. We're going to take it into our own hands and the idea there is that I'm going to hurt them worse than they've hurt me as what? As a deterrent, right? A show of strength and force and this is
[00:40:18] why we need laws like this, and this is why it was in Israel in the first place. But it is not something that we can go around applying willy-nilly to ourselves. Okay, that's the first
[00:40:31] misapplication of this text, is that it's something that someone hurts you, you can say, well, the Bible says eye for an eye, so I'm going to punch you right back. The instruction here in Exodus 21 is very clearly given to judges, not individuals. This is not a matter of personal
[00:40:49] vengeance. It's not a free ticket to dole out punishment as you see fit. It's guidelines for sentencing. And we can see that in the larger section. So you're in Exodus 21. Take a look at
[00:41:02] me with a few of the surrounding verses. Okay, so in verse 18, we see a picture here.
[00:41:10] When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who is
[00:41:23] struck shall be clear, only he shall pay for the loss of his time and shall have him thoroughly healed. In other words, Exodus 21 says that the punishment for that would be essentially that you
[00:41:35] provide workers compensation for the individual that you've hurt. You will pay for the loss of time and have him thoroughly healed. In verse 20, we see the example of a man striking a slave.
[00:41:50] And the course of the penalty for causing his death, here is the avenging would be a fine, would be paying a fine. Verse 22, we see sort of a more odd example when men strive together
[00:42:05] and hit a pregnant woman so that her children come out, but there's no harm.
[00:42:10] the one who hit her shall surely be fined as the woman's husband shall impose on him and he shall pay as the judges determined sort of a very odd example isn't it but the idea here is that there's
[00:42:25] a fight that's broken out between two men and a woman who is pregnant is struck and it's sort of inconclusive here what the injury there was but if there was any injury the man who struck her
[00:42:39] should pay for it. They should be compensated. In other words, an eye for an eye within this setting was a formula for proportionate punishment or compensation. We see that in the verses at the end of the chapter, that the law is not to be taken literally, but that this is a formula for
[00:43:01] judges to use in cases of personal injury when they impose punishment or compensation. And Furthermore, the Old Testament repeatedly forbids personal vengeance.
[00:43:18] Vengeance is mine, thus saith the Lord.
[00:43:20] Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18.
[00:43:23] Proverbs 20 and 24 both forbid personal vengeance.
[00:43:29] So within the context of the Old Testament, using an eye for an eye as a reason that you can get vengeance doesn't fly.
[00:43:37] It's not a pass for you to have justice as you see fit.
[00:43:41] it's a guideline for punishment within Israel. And it has within it fines and other ways to compensate. It's a guideline for justice, but it still isn't perfect. It's still not good.
[00:44:00] Why do I say that? Well, even if you were able to have a judge levy a punishment for a wrong done to you, what exactly would that look like? I can speak from personal experience here.
[00:44:11] Many of you know that I lost a tooth at some point in the past.
[00:44:15] Some of you witnessed that a couple years ago, me going through the process of having an implant put in.
[00:44:20] And the backstory there is that I was playing a game of pickup basketball in Greenville, South Carolina in the winter of 2005.
[00:44:29] And my buddy, he's an avid pivoter.
[00:44:32] Those of you who play basketball, you know that pivoting, I'm getting some weird stares, right?
[00:44:37] You got the ball in your hand, you're pivoting like this.
[00:44:38] and he also would throw his elbow a lot, okay?
[00:44:42] That's a spoiler for what's going to happen.
[00:44:43] We're playing pickup basketball and he pivots and throws his elbow right onto my face and knocks my left front tooth clean out of my mouth and it bounces on the court like a cartoon.
[00:44:56] I mean, it was the oddest thing I've ever experienced.
[00:45:00] And so I put the tooth back in.
[00:45:03] Well, I didn't do it.
[00:45:04] A dentist did and eventually it died and everything.
[00:45:06] But what I want to say is, if you have had an injury like that, and you could make your friend be punished for it, what would be the result of that? I lost my front left tooth. If I could have
[00:45:24] had a judge go and say, all right, take your friend and rip his tooth out, would that have solved anything? No, that would not have. It would have made our relationship worse, and all it would have been is that he has his front left tooth removed too. There's no peace
[00:45:41] there. There's no restored relationship there just because I took his tooth as a form of payment.
[00:45:49] Justice can make sure a debt is paid, but it can't restore peace. At best, it's neutral.
[00:45:56] It's certainly not the way it was before he knocked your tooth out. Something's missing.
[00:46:02] It's not whole.
[00:46:03] It's not peaceful.
[00:46:05] It hasn't been restored.
[00:46:06] It's lacking.
[00:46:08] That's why I say it's not good.
[00:46:11] It's good from the sense that it's a principle of God's law, but it doesn't restore anything.
[00:46:17] That is the law as it's found in Israel in Exodus 21.
[00:46:21] So let's now see for our second and final point how we can get back on track.
[00:46:27] In Matthew 5, verses 38 through 42, Jesus addresses an eye for an eye.
[00:46:34] in a section on retaliation. Now, Pharisees made a couple mistakes in interpreting this teaching.
[00:46:44] First of all, they took it away from the judges who were responsible for law and order and said, you should apply it to yourselves. And even more than that, if you don't seek an eye for an eye,
[00:46:57] you are falling down on your job. It's your duty to get compensation or revenge for every slight and every injury that comes your way. The Pharisees made this an individual application and I think that is sort of what we've inherited as trying to apply this to ourselves.
[00:47:19] And so that's where we pick up in verse 38 where Jesus says, you have heard that it was said, Matthew chapter 5, 38 and forward, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you,
[00:47:32] do not resist the one who is evil but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek turn to him the other also and if anyone would sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well and if
[00:47:45] anyone forces you to go one mile go with him two miles give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you jesus in the sermon on the mount is correcting
[00:48:00] misapplied scripture in six different areas of life. And in our particular section, he is zeroing in on retaliation. And Jesus, we have to remember, is talking to his followers, those whom he said are characterized by the Beatitudes. Jesus is speaking to them. He tells
[00:48:25] them, if you've been born again, this is the design for your life. If I am your Lord, this is how you will live. It's revolutionary. Jesus is saying to us, not that the eye for an eye
[00:48:39] teaching that principle isn't suitable for the courts or the judges to decide. It's still good at keeping excess punishment in check. But for you, for my followers, I'm calling you to a higher way of life. Jesus wants us to live with his kingdom principles and that's what he charges
[00:49:02] us with in verses 39 through 42. But I say to you, what is Jesus getting at here with these four different examples that seem really extreme? He's teaching us how we should think about ourselves. He's teaching a man how he should think about himself. And that's how all of these
[00:49:26] examples are connected. So let's briefly consider them. Verse 39, do not resist the evil one, the one who is evil, but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, give him the left. If someone's
[00:49:41] right-handed and they slap you on the right cheek, it's a backhander, right? You've seen that in TV shows and movies where the liege lord will do that to a subject, right? It's very dismissive.
[00:49:52] It's humiliating. In other words, it's painful emotionally and physically. And yet, what does Jesus instruct us to do? He says that you should be more and more transformed into his image, more and more changed by the word of God and the spirit at work in your life, that the spirit of
[00:50:17] retaliation, a desire to defend or avenge yourself, is slowly going away. Example number two, verse 40, if someone sues you and takes your tunic, have him take your cloak as well. How many of you have a
[00:50:37] cloak or a tunic, right? We don't have those things. But the idea here is that you cannot sue someone for their outer garment, their coat. That was the one thing they needed to be able to
[00:50:49] survive the elements. But you could sue someone for their inner garments. So if someone was going to sue you for your shirt, Jesus says, go ahead and give them your jacket as well. This is not
[00:51:05] the picture of someone who's overly concerned with their rights. Example 3, verse 41, if someone forces you to go one mile, go two. Again, not something we understand immediately. In the Roman Empire, a Roman soldier could walk by you and say, hey, you subject of the empire, I need you to carry
[00:51:25] this bag the next mile. And they would load you up like a pack mule and you'd go a mile. What Jesus is telling you is that if that happens to you, what? Should you refuse? No, you should go the
[00:51:38] extra mile. Verse 42, example number four, give to the one who begs and let others borrow from you. Why should I let other people borrow from me? Or why should I give away my stuff? I don't
[00:52:01] owe them a thing. Jesus gives us these four examples after he tells us, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Gives us these four examples after talking
[00:52:14] about retaliation. I think these should make us a little comfortable. They've made me comfortable this week as I've prepared to preach this sermon. Because the picture here is we're supposed to let people walk all over us. We're not supposed to resist the evil one. We're supposed to give away
[00:52:34] what we've got. We're supposed to go to the extra mile for our enemies. I think I'd rather keep an eye for an eye, right? That sounds a little more palatable. Is this elsewhere in Scripture?
[00:52:53] Well, in Romans chapter 12, we see the same revolutionary teaching in God's Word. Romans chapter 12, we are told in verse 2 that we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds.
[00:53:12] And then he goes on to spell out what that looks like for us. And in verses 17 through 21, we read this, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
[00:54:01] Jesus is giving us these four examples, which align with Romans 12's teaching as well, to show us that the person who has been transformed by the love of God in Christ Jesus, who has been born again by the Holy Spirit,
[00:54:20] that their own concern for themselves diminishes a little each and every day.
[00:54:29] Jesus tells us not to retaliate, do not harbor resentment, don't harbor hatred, don't plot vengeance. And while we are not to take this teaching literal as far as the turning of another cheek, in the same way that we're not
[00:54:43] to pluck out our eye if we have sinned by it and throw it away, it is teaching us a kingdom principle. Jesus says, if you are who you say you are, this is how you will live. You will not be
[00:54:59] overly concerned with yourself. It's a revolutionary teaching. It's challenging. As I mentioned earlier, if I could have had restitution for my tooth being knocked out, the only result would be that two of us don't have teeth, and in all likelihood, there'd be further animosity in that
[00:55:22] friendship. An eye for an eye leaves two people without eyes. It doesn't come any closer to peace or restore relationship. It leaves it incomplete. Jesus is giving us a kingdom principle that God can use to bring about peace and reconciliation in our lives. So what might
[00:55:49] that look like for us? What would that look like for you and I? Well, it looks like not insisting every single time on our own rights and privileges. And I'm not just talking about where you want to
[00:56:07] go to eat Friday night. It looks like not seeking vengeance for every little transgression that comes our way. It means being patient and loving with others, and it means not keeping score in our close relationships. And I know that sounds very hard, because with people we love
[00:56:32] or people we want to impress, we remember every slight, every forgotten thank you.
[00:56:38] we remember every harsh word, even if they didn't mean it as a harsh word. It means giving others the benefit of the doubt. And that's something that I struggle with mightily, because I can be
[00:56:54] a cynic by nature. I can see the worst in a situation, or an action, or what someone said to me. Jesus wants us to think less of ourselves and insisting on our own ways. We are to think more
[00:57:19] of others. That is the kingdom mindset. These are all little acts of peace that can make a difference in the hands of God. What this does not mean is that we never defend ourselves, that we never
[00:57:32] practice self-defense, that we don't apply wisdom to situations in regards to giving of our time, our talents, of our money. Jesus is calling us to a higher calling of the Christian who has been redeemed. 1 Corinthians 6 tells us that we have been bought with a price, so glorify God in your
[00:57:53] bodies. This teaching is counter-cultural. It's revolutionary, but it's a way that we can display whose we are to the world around us. Now, does any of this sound easy? No, right? Probably the hardest, one of the hardest teachings we can come across in all of Scripture. While we understand
[00:58:21] that an eye for an eye was for judges in order to restrain outsized retaliation. We've also seen Jesus call us as his believers, his followers, to live lives that are less concerned with ourselves and not driven by revenge or retaliation. How can we do that? Well, as we heard earlier in the
[00:58:49] Heidelberg Catechism, we considered how it's comforting to us to know that God is providentially upholding all things. I'd like to read that for us again, that answer. Question 28. We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future, we can have a firm
[00:59:10] confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love.
[00:59:17] If this is true, and it is, then we can leave personal petty transgressions in the hands of Almighty God. We can leave them in the hands of a God who is just and holy, who is righteous,
[00:59:33] and who will never ignore injustice. Christian, it's not that we don't seek retaliation because justice does not matter. We forgo retaliation because we know justice will be done. Justice is not abandoned because you don't get your vengeance. It will be dealt with with the only
[00:59:56] one who is worthy to judge all things. We don't seek retaliation because we are confident that God will deal with every evil so we can be patient and thankful with a view to a kingdom of peace
[01:00:14] that will never ever end. Let's pray together. Almighty God, we find your words sometimes very challenging, and yet we are thankful that Jesus Christ came and upheld every jot and tittle of your law and that we are righteous because of his perfect life and death on a cross
[01:00:51] and that we have assurance of salvation and eternal life with you because he has rose from the dead. And so I pray that you would apply this word this morning to not seek our own
[01:01:09] vengeance to our hearts and minds that we may have confidence in you who will judge all and that you would give us the patience and the peace and the spirit to live out these truths in our lives
[01:01:31] we pray that you would do that so that your love may be seen in the world around us through these revolutionary ways we pray these things in jesus name amen for our closing hymn we're going to sing

[01:01:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:01:48] the first four verses of Hymn 94, How Firm a Foundation. Let's stand and sing. As you go this

[01:03:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:03:57] day, go with God's blessing. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace,
[01:04:08] both this day and forevermore. Amen.