GOODBYE TO AN EYE FOR AN EYE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

“If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the closing verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 19, we find the Lord continuing to speak through Moses on the theme of justice as it applies to witnesses who might come forward and report crimes. The scriptures tell us that “one witness (was) not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed”. Instead, the “matter (was to) be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”.

In other words, one person could not come forward and make a false claim against another with the malicious intent of them being harmed.

So what happened if there was a conspiracy against someone? Couldn’t a person get others to say they witnessed the same thing he or she did in order to still get their way?

Well, that could have happened but we see where the Lord puts in a provision that would hopefully deter anyone from bearing false witness.

“The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother.”

The hope here was that the “rest of the people (would) hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you”.

In the end, Israel was to “purge the evil from among (them)” and “show no pity…life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”. The penalty was to match the crime. Nothing more, nothing less.

This mindset would last in the scriptures until Jesus came on the scene. During His first formal teachings during the Sermon on the Mount, He said this:

"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 him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him 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 sons 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 brothers, 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

Why were these teachings important?

Imagine if the “eye for an eye” principle had remained in place after Jesus was crucified. Anyone who falsely accused Him would have been subject to the same fate He went through. In other words, there would have been a lot of crucifying going on.

But Jesus didn’t come to destroy or avenge. Rather, He came to forgive and He did so out of love, even love for His enemies. In His life, Jesus didn’t just preach these words from the Sermon on the Mount and then not back them up. He modeled them perfectly just as He did everything else in life, and in doing so, taught His disciples, past and present, how to deal with the same matters ourselves.

Given all this, a few questions:

1. Have you been ever been wronged by someone in life to the point where you felt (or maybe still feel) the need to get even?

2. Do you find yourself looking for ways to make someone feel the same level of pain, hurt, and suffering that they brought on you?

3. Has someone made you angry to the point where you feel consumed and blinded by it?

If your answer to one or more of these questions is “yes”, I encourage you to go to the scriptures and see how Jesus handled what was the greatest injustice in the history of mankind. For after being wrongly accused, convicted, and sentenced; beaten and then nailed to a cross before being lifted up to die, Jesus didn’t strike out at those who were mocking Him. He didn’t ask His Father to send legions of angels from Heaven to kill everyone who had something to do with His crucifixion.

No, Jesus simply said these words:

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34

Friends, if Jesus, the One through which we owe our identity as Christians, could do forgive in those circumstances, then we can follow His lead and do likewise. We need to forgive as He did just as much as we do everything in life as He did.

Today and every day, let us honor our Savior by giving thanks for the example He set and then commit ourselves to replicate His every thought, Word, and deed…and that includes forgiving our greatest enemies.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.