“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 anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:38-48 NIV)
Months after the September 11th attacks in New York City, a firefighter discovered something in the rubble of the Twin Towers. He found a twisted piece of metal on which was fused a page from the Bible. The heat of the destruction had melted the steel, and a torn page of a Bible was stuck to the metal. Do you know which page from the Bible it was? Matthew 5, including these words from Jesus: “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 them the other also… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Right there at Ground Zero.
Those are hard words. In fact, I don’t like those words at all. Do you know why? I don’t like my enemies. Of course, I haven’t faced evil like those terrorist attacks, but I’ve had enemies in my life too. And I don’t love them. Actually, to love them seems downright wrong, doesn’t it? The truth is, I want bad things to happen to my enemies. Sometimes, in my day dreams, I imagine those people getting what they deserve. Do you? We better listen to what Jesus says today.
He quotes a verse from the Old Testament: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’” That’s called the “law of retaliation.” “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” Those words sound harsh to us today. But that command from God was very practical. God wanted the punishment to fit the crime. He didn’t want criminals to be punished too much or too little. If you knock out someone’s tooth, you shouldn’t get away with it. But you also shouldn’t be executed. If you knock out someone’s tooth, what should you lose? Your tooth! Every life is valuable. Rich or poor, black or white, every life is worth the same: “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.”
But Jesus knew that people used those words to justify revenge. So he added this: “I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” How does that sound? Pretty radical, doesn’t it? Of course, Jesus isn’t telling us to give up or give in or compromise what we believe. Christians are supposed to stand up for the truth. Christians are the salt and light of the earth!
But Christians don’t seek revenge. Christians don’t answer fire with fire. Christians are willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel. A Christian would rather be wronged than wrong someone else. A Christian would rather be cheated than cheat someone else. If you’re going to go all in, then go all in on the side of not retaliating. On the side of yielding. On the side of giving generously.
Does that describe you? It sounds flat-out anti-American, doesn’t it? Maybe you have a flag that says, “Don’t tread on me!” That’s more like it, isn’t it? “Don’t tread on me, or you’ll get it! If you come at me, I’ll destroy you!” Do you keep score? Tit for tat? I do. At least, my sinful nature does. My sinful nature is all about me and my rights, and if you cross me, you better watch out!
But that’s not what Jesus was like. I don’t think Jesus would fit in very well today. They put that crown of thorns on his head, and he let them. They mocked him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”, and he didn’t say anything. They crucified him, and he didn’t complain. Instead, “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:8). “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). When you follow Jesus, instead of looking for revenge, you’re willing to turn the other cheek.
That’s hard enough. But Jesus takes it one step further. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This is interesting, because the Old Testament never says, “Hate your enemy.” It most certainly says, “Love your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:18), but the Bible never says, “Hate your enemy.” Jesus was correcting a false teaching that was popular in his day. People said, “To be a good believer in God, you need to hate your enemies!” And Jesus said, “No. Love them! In fact, love them so much that you actually pray for them. Pray that God will bless your enemies!”
Really? Yes! Why? “That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Have you ever thought about this? When it’s a sunny day, whom does the sun shine on? Everybody. There aren’t little rain clouds that just follow the “bad” people. What does that teach us about God? His blessings don’t depend on our goodness. God’s grace is completely undeserved. From letting the sun shine to letting rain fall to ultimately sending Jesus to die on the cross. Whom did Jesus die for? Everyone the sun shines on. Who’s that? Everyone! God shows his grace to every person.
Are we like that? Well, we love our friends and families. Know what Jesus says to that? “So?” “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” So you love your friends? Great! That means you’re just as good as a drug dealer. Or a terrorist. Or a politician. They love their friends too! Is that the limit of our love? Only to those who deserve it? Only to those who are good to us? Often, sadly, yes! Don’t we wish God would strike down all the bad people? Why doesn’t God punish just them right now? “God, get ‘em!”
What if God were to do that? What if God were to actually punish sinners the moment they do anything wrong? That’s what we want for our enemies, right? “God, get ‘em!” Who would be left? If God hated his enemies, if God punished all sinners, who would be left? Or look at it this way: How many people right now want God to get you for your sins against them? Whenever we wish that God would “get ‘em,” we condemn ourselves. God should punish us too!
But God deals with sin in a totally different way. He didn’t “get ‘em” or punish us. He came. Jesus came into our world and took all of our sins upon himself. Jesus died the death that we deserve. That’s how God dealt with sin. And as he was hanging on the cross, Jesus prayed for his enemies, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel. As the apostle Paul reflected on God’s grace in his life, he wrote, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). When you see Jesus die on the cross, you can understand this: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
This doesn’t mean that evil is okay. This doesn’t mean that sin is okay. That’s not what Jesus is teaching. Jesus came to earth because evil isn’t okay. He came to earth because sin isn’t okay. But the answer to evil isn’t your anger or my revenge. If someone doesn’t repent of their sins and trust in Jesus, God has a different plan for dealing with evil. Know what it is? Hell. Evil will be punished forever in hell. For every person on earth, there are only two options: Either they will repent of their sins and be saved by the grace of God in Jesus, or they will suffer forever in hell.
This means that God has it all taken care of! God frees you and me from the burden of needing to right wrongs here on earth. Jesus already righted every wrong when he died on the cross. And if someone rejects that, they will pay for their wrongs in hell. So do you know what you and I can do? Overcome evil with good. Not with hate. Not with revenge. Not with insults. Overcome evil with good. That’s what Paul encouraged: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil… Do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord…. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21).
Have you noticed how God has a way of overcoming evil with good? A few weeks ago, my parents visited my brother’s church in Wisconsin. During the church service, their car got robbed in the church parking lot! They didn’t have a lot in it: My dad’s snow boots and my mom’s sewing bag with her tablet in it. There wasn’t much they could do. There’s evil in our world. Even at church! But the next day, as they were driving home to Minnesota, my mom got a call from her hairdresser. Her hairdresser in Minnesota had gotten a call from a lady in Wisconsin who found a bag on the side of the road with the hairdresser’s card in it. Long story short, my mom’s bag was found, and the lady brought it to the church. God overcomes evil with good!
But her tablet was missing. Until a few days later, my mom got an email from a different random person who lives 45 miles away from that church. This man found a tablet at the end of his driveway, and the tablet had my mom’s email on it. So he emailed her. Now he’s sending the tablet back to my mom in the mail this week. Isn’t this the way God so often works? Evil doesn’t win. Maybe it’s not always quite as obvious as that. My dad is still waiting for someone to call with his snow boats. But isn’t this the truth? God has the power to overcome evil with good.
And he gives you that power through Jesus. Here’s a very serious example: Does the name Gary Ridgway mean anything to you? Gary Ridgway was also known as the Green River murderer—one of the worst serial killers in United States history. He killed forty-eight women, and as he stood on trial, stone-faced, he admitted to killing every single one. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” After the charges were read, the families of the victims one by one yelled and screamed and cursed this man for what he had done, but Gary Ridgway didn’t even flinch. He didn’t care. Pure evil. Until finally an old man—the father of one of the victims—stood up and said, “Mr. Ridgway. There are people here who hate you. I am not one of them. You have made it difficult to live up to what I believe and that is what God says to do, and that’s to forgive. You are forgiven, sir.” The stone-faced Green River murderer broke down and wept uncontrollably right there in the courtroom.
If you go to the 9/11 museum in New York City, you’ll see a melted piece of steel with Jesus’ words stuck to it: “Love your enemies.” Is that possible? Yes! Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me. There is power in Jesus’ forgiveness! It gives you the power to say, “I forgive you.” Can you practice saying that with me? “I forgive you!” Maybe God was telling us something with that Bible page fused to a melted piece of steel: “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also.” Love your enemies. Jesus overcomes evil with good.
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