SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 19
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” [Matthew 5:38-39]
Jesus is quoting from today’s passage, where we see the principle of equitable retaliation.
“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” [Deuteronomy 19:21]
This idea was also found in other cultures at the time.
It was a way to promote good order and punish injustice.
It did not overcome evil, it restrained evil.
It showed people that sin has its consequences, there is a price to pay.
Interestingly, Jesus speaks beyond this law.
He does not deny it as a valid principle, but He does supersede it with greater principles, the principles of grace and mercy.
Justice alone will not overcome evil.
To overcome evil, grace and mercy must break the cycle of violence.
It must overcome the sinful heart.
If God treated us as our sins deserved, we would not survive.
God could not ignore justice, but neither could He ignore grace and mercy.
Love finds a way to meet the demands of justice and mercy.
Jesus’ death on our behalf is that way.
It is true, for society to work well, justice must be maintained.
The government cannot maintain order by ignoring justice, but neither can it prevent disorder and injustice with good laws and good education.
We need more than laws, more than justice.
We need mercy, we need help, we need God, we need grace.
As a Jesus-follower, I need to stand for justice for others, but for myself I need to go beyond demanding justice, I need to exercise grace and mercy.
Sin and injustice should be named for what they are (Jesus was clear on this), and the consequences of sin need to be acknowledged.
But as a Jesus follower, committed to the example of Jesus, I also need to trump justice with grace and mercy.
Loving my enemies, blessing those who curse me, serving those who abuse or neglect me, forgiving those who wrong me, making sacrifices for those who steal from me, etc.
Again, this is not how we maintain order, this is how we overcome evil, and establish God’s kingdom.
This kind of response does not come easy or naturally.
Our human and sinful nature demand justice.
We need the Spirit to produce these Christ qualities in us.
But we have to want them. We have to ask for them.
PRAYER:
Lord, I want to be gracious and merciful to others, just as You have been to me. Thank You for dealing with the justice issue; help me to deal with the mercy issue.
Once again I hear the central command – to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to Him. That is life and life everlasting.
God is our Refuge. The cities of refuge are described in the reading of today. The city of refuge was no refuge if the crime committed was on purpose. If accidental, then the refuge was there.
So too with our Lord. I am a sinner trying each day to live for Jesus. He is my Refuge because I serve Him. I am accepted by His grace to live in His Kingdom.
But there are also those who insist upon their own way, their own rules, their own kingdom in which Christ has no part. They do not have the right of passage to the City. Their way is their downfall. The way they live will be the way they die.
May Christian be the Light that others may see the Way for a safe haven – the city of Refuge – for all who live for Christ.
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
Our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our strength confide,
our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabbaoth, His Name,
from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.