Prater - Rev 9

Message Nine:

Blind and Toothless

Matthew 5:38-42

You may have heard the story of the truck driver who was eating supper in a small diner when a dozen or so Hell’s Angels type motorcycle riders came walking in. As usual, they were all very loud and obnoxious. The truck driver was just sitting there eating his meal, minding his own business, when a couple of the bikers came to where he was sitting and started giving him a hard time. One of them spit in his coffee while the other one picked up his sandwich and took a bite of it. They did everything they could to get the truck driver riled up and wanting to fight, but he just sat there. He eventually made his way to the counter, paid for his meal, and then walked out the door. After few minutes after the he had left, one of the bikers said to the waitress, “That trucker wasn’t much of a man was he?” The waitress, looking out the window, said, “I don’t know about that, but I know he’s not a very good driver. He just ran over a whole bunch of motorcycles.”

There is something about human nature that makes us want to retaliate and get revenge when we feel we have been wronged. Someone once said this about revenge. They said “Revenge is sweet — and non fattening.”

Well, Jesus had something to say about revenge too. We find His words in our text.

Matthew 5:38-42

The exact phrase used by Jesus in verse 38 is found in three separate Old Testament scriptures.

Exodus 21:24, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,”

Leviticus 24:20, “Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.”

Deuteronomy 19:21, “And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

1. The Old Testament clearly allowed “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth,” but nothing more. It did not allow two legs and an arm for an eye or nine fingers and ten toes for a tooth.

2. The law demanded that the punishment of a crime was to precisely fit the crime. There was to be an equal compensation for loss.

a. First, it was a deterrent to further crime. The Bible describes in Deuteronomy 19:20 how the people would serve as witnesses to the punishment of a crime. The Bible says, “And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.”

(1) If people saw others being punished, it had a way of putting fear in their hearts, acting as a deterrent to crime.

(2) If you watched someone having their hand cut off or their eye gouged out, it would make you think twice about committing the same crime yourself.

(3) Politicians talk about being tough on crime. They could take a few pointers from the Bible.

b. Secondly, it prevented people from carrying out their own personal vendettas, which leads us to . . .

1. The directive to take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth or a life for a life was not given to the common citizen. It was given to those involved in civil government.

2. Knowing the selfish and hateful nature of the human heart, God took punishment out of the hand of the victim and placed it into the hands of the courts. The purpose was to prevent vigilante justice.

3. By the way, God’s order still stands. It is not up to us to carry out our own form of justice. God has clearly placed that responsibility in the hands of “the powers that be.”

5. It is not only the right, but it is the responsibility of human government to bear the sword. God has given them the power to inflict punishment and even to take life.

6. Like other Old Testament teachings, the scribes and Pharisees had twisted those pertaining to the punishment of crime and had turned them into an excuse for seeking personal revenge, so once again, Jesus has to set them straight.

In His teaching, Jesus discourages retaliation and encourages restraint.

1. Retaliation has been the way of human beings since the beginning of time, and if men were left to themselves to mete out judgment and justice as they saw fit, sooner or

2. I think about another fellow that was sitting at a restaurant counter eating when this big bully walked over, and for no reason at all, chopped him across the neck and said, “That’s Karate from Korea.”

The fellow didn’t say anything. He just continued eating. In a few minutes the bully walked back over and grabbed him and threw him across his shoulders and slammed him on the floor and said,“That’s Judo from Japan.”

Again, the fellow didn’t say anything. This time, he just got up and left the restaurant. After a few minutes he walked back in and “Wham!” he hit the big bully across the back of the head. As the bully lay unconscious on the floor, the fellow looked down at him, smiled, and said, “That’s a crowbar from Sears.”

3. Abe Lemmons, former men’s basketball coach at the University of Texas, was asked if he was bitter at Texas Athletic Director Deloss Dodds who fired him. Lemmons replied, “Not at all, but I plan to buy a glass-bottomed car so I can watch the look on his face when I run over him.”

4. Jesus prohibited any acts of personal retaliation when He said, “ . . . resist not evil.”

5. As Christians, we are called to a higher standard of conduct than that which is so commonly displayed by the world. This standard of conduct is clearly set forth in the Word of God. We are not to requite evil for evil in thought, word, or deed.

a. Proverbs 20:22, “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.”

b. Proverbs 24:29, “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.”

c. Romans 12:17-19, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

d. 1 Thessalonians 5:15, “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.”

e. 1 Peter 2:21-23, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:”

f. 1 Peter 3:8-9, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

6. A good rule to live by would be that we will not desire or do anything which we could not, in good faith, ask Christ to be a part of.

7. Let me make something clear before I move on. A moment ago I said Jesus prohibited any acts of personal retaliation when He said, “ . . . resist not evil.” However, those words do not prohibit us from exercising good sense in defending ourselves, or our families, or any others who may be in danger of harm.

The principle that regulates our actions toward others is a principle found elsewhere in the

teachings of Christ. It is the principle of dying to self. Rather than giving in to the evil desires of retaliation, we are called upon by the Lord to exercise restraint in our dealings with others. By taking matters into our own hands we merely feed the selfish, sinful desires of our own human hearts.

It is the Lord’s desire that we exhibit a spirit of selflessness by exercising self-control, self-denial, and self-sacrifice.

b. Note here that Jesus specifically mentions the “right cheek.” In order to hit someone who is facing you, on the right cheek, you would have to hit them with the back of your hand.

c. In the days of Christ, the two most humiliating things you could do to a person was spit in their face and slap them with the back of the hand.

d. The point Jesus is making is that when we are personally insulted and humiliated by someone else, the Christian thing to do is practice self-control.

e. Let me reemphasize that we are not talking about refusing to protect ourselves or someone else from personal, physical injury. Injury is not the issue. The issue is insult.

b. The coat was actually a tunic-type shirt worn by Jewish men underneath the outer garment called the cloak. The cloak was actually the most vital piece of clothing a man had because it not only protected him from the elements, but it served as pillow at night on many occasions.

c. At the time of Christ, Israel was under Roman rule. There was a Roman law that said, if a Roman soldier told an Israelite to carry his equipment, he was required to carry it at least one mile. For a Roman, it was a way of insulting a Jew. However, Jesus said that if asked by a soldier to carry his equipment a mile, carry it two.

d. What’s the point of all this? The point is learning to give more and do more than is required. Don’t be so worried about you and learn to care for others.

e. I believe that as God’s people we ought to be willing to give of our time and our resources without expecting anything in return.

b. John asked this question in 1 John 3:17, “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

c. When we know that someone has a legitimate need, and we have the wherewithal to meet that need, I think it behooves, us as God’s people, to give to meet that need.

d. But let me say this. Not all needs are legitimate and not all giving helps. Some needs are fraudulent and some giving hurts more than it helps.

e. For example, giving money to someone who has the ability to go out and get a job and work and provide for themselves is not helpful, it’s hurtful. We are simply enabling bad behavior.

f. Giving to someone who says they need it to buy groceries, but instead uses it to buy more booze or drugs, is giving that hurts instead of helps. All we do when we do that is enable sinful behavior.

g. But when the need is legit, God says we ought to be willing to sacrifice in order to meet that need.

CLOSING: Mark Twain once said this about the Bible, he said, “I have no problem with those parts of the Bible I don’t understand. It’s the parts of the Bible I do understand that gives me fits.” Many of the passages of Scripture we have studied the last few weeks fit into that category, but of them all, I think this passage is the most difficult to live out.

I was reading in preparation for this message when I came across a statement that I think is so true. The writer made this observation. One of the easiest things in the world to do is become a Christian. All you have to do is admit you’re a sinner, repent of your sin, believe that Jesus died on the cross to take care of your sin and was raised again the third day, and then call upon the name of the Lord to save you, and the moment you do, you are born again. There is probably not an easier thing to do than to become a Christian. What’s hard is to be a Christian.

Max Lucado writes about a big, muscle-bound man named Daniel who was swindled by his own brother. He vowed that if he ever saw him again, he would break his neck. A few months later, Daniel became a Christian. Even so, he couldn’t forgive his brother. One day, the inevitable encounter took place on a busy avenue. This is how Daniel described what happened:

I saw him, but he didn’t see me. I felt my fists clench and my face get hot. My initial impulse was to grab him around the throat and choke the life out of him. But as I looked into his face, my anger began to melt. For as I saw him, I saw the image of my father. I saw my father’s eyes. I saw my father’s look. I saw my father’s expression. And as I saw my father in his face, my enemy once again became my brother.

The brother found himself wrapped in those big arms—but in a hug. The two stood in the middle of the river of people and wept.

Daniel’s words bear repeating: “When I saw the image of my father in his face, my enemy became my brother.”