One winter day a man went shopping at the local neighborhood mall. When he returned to his car he noticed a rather foul odor coming from under the hood and so he checked the engine. In the compartment he discovered a dead cat rather mutilated from being caught in the fan belt. The poor cat had sought shelter from the snow and cold and didn’t realize the dangers of resting on the engine.
Mr. Jones was lucky though, one of his shopping bags was made of plastic and so he emptied its contents and proceeded to scrape, pull and push the cat corpse into the bag. He slammed the hood and walked off to wash his hands, but looking back he noticed something unusual. He had left the bag on the hood of the car. He was about to return and pick it up but just then a lady walks by, looks suspiciously in both directions, she grabs the bag, and with her cart she then speeds off for the mall.
"Well this is too good to be true!" the man thought as he laughed at the lady. He decided to follow her and see what would happen next. She went to a restaurant and looked in the bag. She screamed and then over she fell. Of course, the management was equally alarmed that a customer had fainted in their establishment and so they called the paramedics.
The woman in no time at all was strapped to a cart and ready to be hauled off to the hospital. But the man couldn’t resist. "Hey lady!" he shouted, "don’t forget your package!" And with that he gently laid the cat corpse filled bag on the lady’s chest, just as the ambulance doors were closing!
This story is funny because it reflects the, “She got what she deserved” lesson. We all probably have some personal stories about a time in which we “got even” with someone who did something against us.
We have all heard it said, “I don’t get mad, I get even. OR I don’t get mad or even, I get ahead.” Oh, the stories we could tell about some of the mean things that have been done by all of us in the name of getting ahead. The desire to get “even” or to seek revenge against people is one of the toughest things for most of us.
When people wrong us, insult us or take our property, we want to see them pay for what they did to us. The question we all need to ask ourselves today is, “Are we willing to go the extra mile for Jesus?” Just how far will we allow our faith to penetrate our lives? Jesus said that if we want to see the kingdom of heaven that our righteousness needs to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Today we are going to see what Jesus says about the subject of retaliation. How should one who has their citizenship in heaven respond when things happen to them? Should we respond like the world would, or does Jesus expect something more from us? Let’s see what He teaches us. READ v. 38.
In the Old Testament, it was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Jesus is quoting from Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21. This was not revenge, but it was justice. The eye for an eye was designed to set guidelines for the judges when trying to decide what was an appropriate payment of justice for a wrong suffered. Intent was also taken under consideration.
It appears that AN EYE FOR AN EYE was not always practiced literally in
ancient Israel, and by the time of Jesus, physical penalties were largely replaced
by monetary fines, much as they are today. The eye for an eye was not a command; it was a guideline to make sure that judgments were fair. An eye for an eye was the worst punishment that could be given.
Have you ever thought of how it would curb violence and crime in our society today if we literally practiced AN EYE FOR AN EYE? If you kill someone, your sentence is to be killed in the same manner that you killed that person. If you stabbed them to death, you are stabbed to death. If you smothered them, you are smothered. Drown them, you are drowned. And so on. The only problem is that this type of punishment might border on getting revenge.
Revenge happens when we feel that justice wasn’t served, so God in His wisdom said that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth would ensure that people would not seek revenge. The problem started when people started using the eye for an eye standard to take out their own justice. The eye for an eye was not meant to be carried out except by the court. Here’s an example of revenge vs. justice.
The farmer had been pestered by a carload of people who would climb his orchard fence and eat his apples without asking permission. One day, as he walked up to them, one of them smiled sheepishly and said, "We hope you don’t mind that we took a few of your apples." "No, not at all," said the farmer, "and I hope you don’t mind that I took some of the air out of your tires." Revenge Vs. Justice.
So then, ancient ethics were based on the law of tit for tat. It’s true that the law was a law of mercy; it’s true that it was a law for a judge and not for a private individual; it’s true that it was never literally carried out; it’s true that there were accents of mercy speaking at the same time. But Jesus exposed the very principle of that law, because retaliation, however controlled and restricted, has no place in the Christian life. (repeat)
The eye for an eye caused people to be what God did not want them to be; vengeful.
Hebrews 10:30 says, “For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." And again, “The Lord will judge His people." Jesus is going to replace the eye for an eye with a higher standard of conduct. The question is how far are you willing to go with Jesus? Are you willing to trust that God will do what He says He will do? Jesus’ new standard is the “extra mile” standard.
Going the extra mile for Jesus may cause us to suffer insult. (READ VERSE 39)
Jesus reveals to us the fact that the Christian has a higher calling in life than seeking revenge. We can spend our time demanding our rights, or we can live by a higher law. We can be a testimony to God’s mercy. Jesus doesn’t imply that we should not protect ourselves or our families from harm. When Jesus says do not resist him who is evil, he is not implying that we do not resist evil. He is saying that we are not to take matters into our own hands, as if justice depends on our reaction.
• READ 1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-23. Jesus gives us the solution to a heart of retaliation. Turn the other cheek, give more than is required, go the extra mile, show mercy to the less fortunate. Another revenge vs. justice episode:
One summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. He was tired and hungry. The waitress had just served three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclists - of the Hell’s Angel’s type who decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his French fries and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it.
How did this trucker respond? How would you respond? Well, this trucker didn’t respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night. When she returned, one of the cyclists said to her, “Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?” She replied, “I don’t know about that, but he sure isn’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.” (Why do stories like this make us feel good?) Revenge.
Most people were right handed so for a person to get slapped on the right cheek, a right handed person would have to do it with the back of their hand. Jesus may be speaking more of taking the insult than someone coming up to beat you to a pulp.
Now according to Jewish Rabbinic law to hit a man with the back of the hand was twice as insulting as to hit him with the flat of the hand. So, then, what Jesus is saying is this: “Even if a man should direct at you the most deadly and calculated insult, you must on no account retaliate, and you must on no account resent it.”
This passage, as with all of the Sermon on the Mount, is not a code for slaves, but principles by which to live. Jesus tells us that we may suffer some personal insult or injury for His sake. In Jewish culture, getting slapped with the back of the hand was the ultimate insult. We are not told to passively allow ourselves to be beaten to death. Even when Jesus was struck by a Jewish officer in John 18:23, He asked as to why that was done.
We are not to take it upon ourselves to retaliate when insulted; we are to use that as an opportunity to witness to others. It takes a spiritually disciplined person to do that, doesn’t it? Are you willing to suffer insult for Christ, or do we have to get back at the person who insults us, an insult for an insult?
Going the extra mile for Jesus may cause us to suffer the loss of property. (READ v. 40) The Law did not allow the outer garment to be taken from a person since it protected them from the cold. The tunic, or shirt, was the long, sack-like inner garment made of cotton or of linen. The poorest man would have a change of tunics. The cloak, or coat, was blanket-like outer garment which a man wore as a robe by day, and used as a blanket at night. The Jew would have only one.
Now it was actually the Jewish law that a man’s tunic might be taken as a pledge, but not his cloak. “If ever you take your neighbor’s garment in pledge (his cloak), you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep?” (Exodus 22:26-27). The point is that by right a man’s cloak could not be taken permanently from him.
Here we have a person who is trying to take every advantage of the law and Jesus is saying that it would be better to suffer a small loss than to have an attitude of revenge. Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:7 tells us that we are better off being taken advantage of than bringing shame to Christ.
Does this mean that we allow someone to take everything we have? No, the principle is that we are not to allow material things get in the way of our witness for Christ. Sometimes that will cost us some material possessions. We are not to be selfish like the world; we are to be different. There will be times when our faith in Christ will cause us a loss of property. (Deacon/Yokefellow gasoline to go visit) If we are losing it for Christ’s sake, then we have to believe that God has something better in mind for us. How far are we willing to let our faith in Jesus take us? To the point of material loss? Or will material things be more important than spreading the gospel?
Going the extra mile may cause us to suffer the loss of our rights. (READ 41). In Jesus’ day, a Roman could make you carry his equipment for him. The Jews were repulsed by the Romans so it would have really upset a Jew to have to carry a Roman’s stuff. But Jesus was telling the people to joyfully do what was repulsive to them, helping out the Romans who dominated them.
Jesus is referring to this practice, but rather than cause resentment he charges his followers to volunteer for extended service. Once again Jesus assumes a new starting point for human relationships; based upon kingdom principles that even responds to humiliating situations by doing good.
This was one of the worst things that could befall a Jewish citizen in their mind. When Paul was imprisoned, he was the model prisoner, he witnessed to the whole Praetorian Guard while in chains. In Philippians 1, Paul said his being in prison furthered the gospel.
When a Christian does something, it should be done to the best of our ability. It can be a burden to sacrifice rights, but there are times that we must be willing to do that.
Paul really didn’t belong in prison, but he went. Is Jesus telling us that we are to always give up our rights? No, Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship at times when it served his purpose in spreading the gospel.
How far are we willing to go with Jesus? Will we be people who are always demanding our rights in every situation? Are we willing to sacrifice our rights if it will spread the gospel? Going the extra mile should cause us to be generous when called. (READ v. 42)
Jesus tells us that when we have the opportunity to help people, that we should take advantage of the opportunity. This verse doesn’t mean that we give the drunkard money for more booze or the gambler more money to gamble with. It means that after we recognize a true need, that we should do what we can to help with the need.
Jesus’ words call for a generous spirit that refuses to put one’s personal possessions or needs above the needs of others. Will we trust God enough to go the extra mile and help people when we have the opportunity or will you selfishly hoard what God has blessed you with? How far are you willing to go with Jesus?
In each of Jesus’ statements he proposes a course of action that goes against the grain. When we read this text, we shouldn’t read it legalistically, as if Jesus had in mind a new law legislating behavior along literalistic lines. In reality, these illustrations are intended to radically challenge how we think and respond to all instances of abuse, insult, and injustice. In an unsaved world the selflessness of genuine discipleship is a powerful witness to the presence of the kingdom and a new way of righteousness.
Jesus has called us to a different standard and a different life. Sometimes that will involve tough choices, but they are choices that we need to be willing to make for the sake of Jesus whom we love! If we love someone, we are willing to make sacrifices for them.
The Law provided justice, but Christians are not to always seek justice. Jesus gives us the solution to a heart of retaliation. Turn the other cheek, give more than is required, go the extra mile, and show mercy to the less fortunate. That will make us more like the perfect image of our heavenly Father. And isn’t that what we are trying to achieve?
If you are here today and need to get right with God before you leave, our altars are open. If you want to offer a prayer of praise to the Lord, our altars are open. But if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, let’s pray together and ask Christ to come into your heart and life.
