Well wait, what am I supposed to do then? I’ve got Christ on one side and God on the other. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:38-39). What most people don’t realize though is that Jesus actually directly countered this verse in his teaching, “ You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that in the non-Christian world, this is probably the most quoted Bible verse. Even today people will quote it as justification for vengeance- such folk may not even know that it’s from the Bible they’re just quoting it as an old adage. Ah yes, there it is, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” This is an extremely popular phrase amongst people and appears a couple of times in the Law. “Doesn’t God sanction revenge in the Old Testament?” It’d certainly seem that way considering that the Lord had Moses teach, “ But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” (Exodus 21:23-25). While discussing the topic with someone, the Holy Spirit explained me a law that I had always found confusing. If someone hits you, what is your first impulse? Most people, if they’re honest, will admit that when struck, the first thought is to strike back. Even amongst children, who shouldn’t even have such a concept in their minds, we can see the spirit of revenge at work. One of the most base, hardest to fight urges that we face is the desire for revenge.
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