Teaching about Retaliation
Mt 5:38-42
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But
I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone
strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. 40If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. 41Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. 42Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
OFFER NO RESISTANCE. Lex talionis states that one cannot exact more vengeance than the offense committed against oneself (Latin talis means “such
for such thing”). The Bible puts it as “an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth.” If one kills a member of another tribe, justice requires
only one life for it. Or if one maims a part of another’s body, only the
equivalent part of his body will be requited of him in payment. This
sounds barbaric, but it actually prevents payment from turning into a
cycle of violence or mass killing by way of retaliation.
Jesus,
however, forbids even this proportionate retaliation and teaches
non-violence to meet violence. We overcome evil, not by doing another
evil, but by doing good. Paul echoes this teaching when he writes, “ ‘If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to
drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.’ Do
not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:20-21).
Jesus
does not contradict the law of self-preservation, and we take care of
our selves, our families, and our loved ones. But we do not get rid of
our enemies by eliminating them; we do so by making them our friends, by
winning them over to our side.
“He that cannot forgive others
breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself;
for every man has need to be forgiven” (E. Herbert).
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