JESUS' TEACHING ON RETALIATION

Matthew 5:38-39 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Retaliation carries the meaning of personal retribution in like kind; to return injury for injury, harm for harm, and wrong for wrong. God gave the law, under which the Jewish nation was to be governed, through His servant Moses. The specific reference in the lesson text is found in Exodus 21, and reads as follows: ...thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (Exodus 21:23b-25, also see Lev. 24:18-20). Looking back at the beginning of this chapter, we find specific instructions God gave to Moses on how to teach His law to the Jewish nation. Verse one reads: Now these are the judgment which thou shalt set before them.

Jesus is not denying or voiding this commandment - He is explaining and upholding it. This law of God was to be carried out by the magistrates of the Jewish nation. It was given to guide Jewish judges as to what punishments were to be inflicted on offenders of God's will. The misapplication of this law is what Jesus is addressing as being sinful in the sight of God. The phrase "Ye have heard that it hath been said," applies to the spiritual leaders that, by the traditions handed down, misapplied this law, and allowed personal retaliation without being authorized by Jewish magistrates. Without reprimand, they allowed, and even promoted, revenge by the hand of a person harmed by another. Each individual Jew was misled into thinking that, by their own volition, they had the right to inflict the same injury, which they had received, on the person that had injured them. To correct this misinterpretation of the law of God, Jesus gives this true principal to guide these children of God, which also serves as the general rule of Christians today.

With little doubt, actions of self-defense or actions put forth to defend the lives of one's family, friends, and neighbors, must be excluded from this instruction from Christ. A person having the power to defend against a violent attack of a family member, but refrains from doing so; a person that idly stands by and witnesses the harming or murder of a their spouse, children, or others without attempting to prevent it, is as guilty as the perpetrator of the violent act. The teaching of Christ, in the lesson text, relates to the more trivial matters of recourse, as evidenced by the examples He uses to illustrate His teaching. In verses 40-42 that follow the lesson text, Jesus says, And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. If murder, or any other violent crime, were intended here, Jesus would, most assuredly, have mentioned it in this admonition.

However, the first example Jesus uses to illustrate this teaching is found in the lesson text: ...whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. This certainly illustrates the spirit that Jesus is teaching the multitudes gathered around Him as He delivers this "Sermon on the Mount." It is the same Christian principal He expects of His followers today. Members of the church of Christ are to control and guide their actions as they interact with others. There are times when a slap on the cheek may be deserved, but rash retaliation should never be taken. Cooler heads are to be maintained, reasoning is to be demonstrated, and reconciliation, rather than retaliation, is to be pursued. Retaliation is never the solution to contention even when some aggressive action was taken in the first place. Spiritually, and figuratively, "turning the other cheek" is an act that will prevent a misunderstanding, a difference of opinion, or any other trite disagreement, becoming a personal broil. Such trivial, insignificant matters, if allowed to, can "snowball," become family or neighborly feuds, and last through many generations.

We have examples of both Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul, when smitten, responded with verbal reasoning rather that retaliation (John 18:22, Acts 23:3). This is our example to follow when provoked by physical or verbal abuse by others. Certainly we should resist all evil that jeopardizes our lives as well as the life of members of our family or others that are in harm's way. However, we are not to render evil for evil in all matters of life. God's law, which requires us to love our neighbor, is not to be made void by personal retaliation. Justice is to be meted out by governmental agencies, which God has ordained, and final judgment is to remain in His hands.