By: Marc Stiglingh
Jesus main purpose in coming to this world as a man was to restore the relationship between God and man. A relationship that had once been intimate, pure, and born of love was destroyed in the Garden of Eden in an instant. From having walked together in the cool of the evening, man was separated from God through sin.
God’s first steps in restoring this relationship had been through the Law given to Moses. The Law was meant to reveal God’s heart towards man but had become distorted and man only saw judgment and retribution. The grace and love of God were missed entirely.
One of Jesus’s first acts when He started His public ministry, was to deliver the Sermon on the Mount.
It was revolutionary and threatened to turn the religious world of the Jews upside down, or as God preferred, right side up.
However, let’s first clear up the “contradiction” that critics claim exists between Matthew 5:38 – 42 and Luke 22:36. Both are well-known, and I quote them here –
Matthew 5:38-42 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. NASB
Luke 22:36 – And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his cloak and buy one. NASB
In Matthew, Jesus seems to be advocating for us to be pacifists but in Luke He tells His disciples to make sure they have a sword. So, was Jesus telling us to be pacifists? Not at all. Let’s examine what was really happening in Matthew’s account.
The law given to Moses allowed for payback for real injuries or damage done to a person. The “‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. ” part of our text which was first given in Exodus 21:23-25 – But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. NASB
The reason God had given this law was to prevent the practice of vendettas and revenge and to limit payback to compensation of exactly what had been lost, for example an eye lost was to be paid back with just one eye.
The Jews had now practiced this since Moses and could see no better or greater way to live and it did prevent excesses as the principle “the punishment should fit the crime”, and God’s standard was to ensure proportionality in response, so relationships can heal, rather than spiraling into feuds.
Jesus was implying that to meet the righteousness standards of His Kingdom, we should be willing and able and choose to move away from a system of payback and retribution to a system of mercy and forgiveness. A giant step away from a Kingdom of Law to a Kingdom of Grace.
Jesus said that the righteousness of His Kingdom did not consist of paying back an eye for an eye, but it was obtained through mercy. This is at the heart of His Kingdom. This is the mercy principle Jesus shared in the Beatitudes and was an extension of the Kingdom principle laid out in Proverbs by Solomon.
Proverbs 3:27-28 – “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it to you’ When you have it with you” (NASB)
Jesus explains to his Disciples that the Kingdom is not one of legalistic practices where His followers assert and insist on legal rights, but rather look for the opportunities to serve, give, share and if necessary, forgive their fellow citizens of the Kingdom.
We are to seek righteousness rather than be self-seeking, thus displaying the love of God, which was at the heart of the Law all along!
So, Jesus did not contradict Himself in Matthew and Luke but showed us a more excellent way to deal with our brothers in the faith but did not exclude us protecting ourselves or our loved ones from those outside the faith by, if necessary, the use of the sword.