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Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts

Monday, October 16, 2023

Jesus' Challenging Teaching About Vengeance

Introduction
I have a difficult and challenging words to share from Jesus today.  We’ve been working our way through Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus preached how He came to completely fulfill God’s perfect Law.  Then Jesus used specific examples from the Old Testament Law to show how perfect God’s standards are and how completely unable we are to fulfill God’s Law as sinful human beings.  When we are proud because we have never murdered, Jesus said if you’ve ever been angry or insulted someone, you’ve broken God’s Law by murdering in your heart.  If we’re proud because we’ve never committed adultery, Jesus says you’ve committed adultery in your heart and broken God’s Law if you’ve even lusted after someone.  And Jesus points out that if you’ve ever lied, stretched the truth, or misled someone in even the slightest way, you’ve broken God’s Law.  That’s why Jesus came—to fulfill the Law when we could not. 

Jesus gave up His divine rights as God, came down to earth and humbled Himself as if He were a slave, was completely obedient to God, and died for us on a cross as if He were a criminal even though He was completely innocent.  Thus, Jesus paid our penalty, making it possible for us to be reconciled to God.  (See Philippians 2:1-11)

It’s important to keep all this context in mind (as well as the historical situation of the Jews when Jesus preached) as we listen to Jesus preach in this next section from His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-42.

Matthew 5:38
38 
“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

Here, Jesus reminds His listeners of the Old Testament Law that is spelled out in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21.  The laws says, “The punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.”  Today, many think this is an argument for harsher penalties for criminals.  But the original intent was to restrain people from overzealous vengeance.

In the brutal tribal ways of the ancient world, if you gouged out a person’s eye, they very likely would respond by gathering up a war party and murdering you and your whole family.  Unrestrained human vengeance can be a terrible and ugly thing.  When someone hurts and insults us, we don’t just want the wrong to be made right; we want to make the offender pay!

So God gave the ancient Israelites a Law to restrain their vengeance.  He said, the punishment must match the crime.  If they gouge out your eye, you can only gouge out there’s.  If they take a life, you can take their life (but not their whole family’s). 

But there’s another principle at work in the Old Testament Law.  An individual can’t be a vigilante.  They can’t exact retribution on their own.  They must take the offender to the authorities and prove their case.  Then the officials will judge if the offender is guilty and make a judgment about the appropriate punishment.  This is always important.  You need a judge, who is unbiased, to hear the case and determine a punishment that matches the crime.

The problem for the Jews living in Jesus’ day was they were living under the occupation of the Romans.  And the Romans were quite often guilty of abusing and committing atrocities against the Jews in Israel.  Many in Israel felt they were justified to murder Romans.  “After all,” their thinking went, “these Romans are nothing more than human animals.  And we should treat them as animals.”  Many Israelites thought they could feel justified murdering Romans in cold blood, because their religious law said, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life…”  However, this was a corruption of the spirit of God's Law.  Where does it all end?  Human vengeance only begets more vengeance and never leads to peace or justice or reconciliation.  So Jesus speaks Truth:

Matthew 5:39-42
39 
But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

Jesus names 3 offences: a slap on the cheek, losing your shirt in court, and carrying a soldier’s gear for a mile.  You should also notice that every one of these is something personal.  That’s important.  What follows is about our own personal rights and selfish pride.  It’s not about laws or policies for the government or society as a whole.  This is about personal behavior.  So often we point religion at others.  But Jesus points it toward our personal attitudes and behavior.  Let’s look at each one of the situations Jesus mentions.

Turn the Other Cheek
The first is Jesus’ famous teaching to “turn the other cheek,” which has raised a lot of eyebrows over the years.  Some even misunderstand and think Jesus rejects fighting back for any reason.  That’s not what Jesus said.  First of all, Jesus’ original listeners knew turning the other cheek was about trading insults, not self-defense.  One of the worst insults a Jew could give in the 1st century was a backhanded slap.  Notice, Jesus said, “If someone slaps you on the right cheek.”  In order for a right handed person to slap someone on the right cheek (and 90% of the population is right handed), you would have to give a backhanded slap.

A back handed slap was very insulting to 1st century Jews (it still is throughout the Middle East today).  A Jew in the 1st century could sue someone for slapping them.  The suit wasn't about the violence, but the insult (similar to a libel case today where one person sues another for defamation of character).  The financial penalty for a backhanded slap was twice as expensive for a regular slap.

So with this in mind, realize Jesus is talking about a threat to a person's life or limb here.  Jesus is addressing insults.  

What do you do when insulted?  Well, it may depend.  You may react differently if you are insulted by an immature kid or by an adult colleague.  If you have a big ego and the insult hurts your pride, you may feel like you need to defend yourself or take the other person down a notch.  If you’re insecure, you may feel the need to fight back; I mean you’re already feeling inadequate.  You can’t just stand by and let someone take you down even further.

But what if you have no ego?  What if you really don’t care what people say about you, because you don’t care about their lies?  What if you already know God loves you and you are secure in yourself and you only care about what God thinks, not what people think?

Jesus, the Son of God, had way more reason than anyone to have a big ego and demand people respect Him.  I mean, He is literally God’s gift to the world! However, Jesus left the glory of Heaven and His divine privileges, and humbled Himself to come down to our broken world.  He bore physical and verbal abuse, knowing these did not change who He really was.  He turned the other cheek and bore people’s insults and He calls His followers to take up their cross and follow His example. 

The Shirt Off My Back
The second offence Jesus mentions is losing your shirt in court.  Think of it.  You are so poor all you have for someone to take from you in court is the shirt off your back.  And the person suing is so mean they would even take your clothes.  And Jesus says, “Give it to them and give them your coat too!”  Have you ever felt like even the government, the legal system, and courts are so corrupt and they are abusing you?  The Jews in Jesus day certainly did. The Roman occupiers were corrupt and their own government leaders and court system were corrupt.  But Jesus says, “That’s still not an excuse to take matters into your own hands and seek personal vengeance.”

Go the Extra Mile
Lastly, Jesus points out a real-life situation Jews faced regularly.  There was a law in Jesus’ day that required any Jew over the age of 12 to carry a Roman soldier’s gear for up to a mile if asked.  Jesus is obviously pointing to this despised Roman law with His statement in verse 41, “
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.”  Here is where we get the common modern encouragement to “go the extra mile” meaning go above and beyond what’s required of you.  But would you really be excited about going above and beyond in fulfilling a mean-spirited law made to benefit your enemy while shaming you?

Jesus’ way of living is radical.  He tells His followers not to seek vengeance and even to set aside their personal rights for the sake of God’s Kingdom, trusting God to be the judge and take care of them.  And Jesus goes even further.  Jesus doesn’t want His followers to resent these sacrifices.  No, Jesus wants His people to go above and beyond in their willingness to set aside their ego and pride and their personal rights.  Put it all in God's hands as the ultimate judge.  Vengeance is the Lords, not yours.

Conclusion
If you feel overwhelmed or like this way of living is impossible, you’re not wrong.  That’s part of the point.  As with His previous arguments, Jesus is showing that we really aren’t capable of living up to God’s glorious standards.  When we think we are good enough, the Law shows we all fall short.  We need a Savior—not only to save us from our sin, but also to enable us to live the way Jesus challenges us to live. 

It is a difficult path to follow, but the Lord gives His Disciples the Holy Spirit to help us.  Let us obey Christ and seek to go the extra mile in this endeavor.

Monday, July 11, 2016

A Christian Community

Acts 2:40-47

Introduction
            If there's anything the violence of the last month has taught us, it's that our world is in desperate need of God.  I am starting to lose track of all the violent attacks reported on the news.  Less than a month ago, a gunman went on a shooting rampage and killed 49 people and injured even more at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.  Just this past week, videos were released of two separate incidents where black men were shot by police officers who are now under investigation.  (Regardless of who's right or wrong, it is a terrible trajedy and telling of the kind of world we live in.)  Then, on Thursday, five police officers were killed and seven wounded along with two more civilians when a sniper opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Texas.  Our world is in chaos.  We desperately need God to save us from ourselves.  We all need to repent and turn our hearts back to God before it's too late.
            I long for our nation to turn back to God.  It is something I have prayed about for decades.  It is why I am a preacher.  Here’s something I wrote in my prayer journal way back on June 29, 1999--even before I became a preacher:
“Lord, we need You more than ever.  Please work in the hearts of every man, woman, and child on this planet.  Revive us, Oh Lord.  Turn our hearts back to You.  Save us from these crooked ways.  Bring us back to You.”
This has continued to be my heart's desire for 17 years.  It has directed my life and my ministry.  I’m not alone.  I believe there is a longing in many hearts for our community, our state, our nation, and even our world to turn back to God.  I long for this.  Don’t you?
            As we long for a more godly community, we have different ideas about what that looks like.  Some wish the community to be more like it was in the “good ole days”.  Some long for a more progressive community, where we are more tolerant and open to people who are different than us. Who's right?  If we don’t know what type of community you are aiming for, how can you hope to achieve it?
            Rather than aim for our own worldly ideas of a Christian community, let's look to God's Word.  There was a time when the Church community lived wholeheartedly for God.  Let’s read the Scripture to see what pure Christianity, pure Godly living, pure revival looks like.

Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

What were the characteristics of this early Christian community?
            First of all, we see these Christians were devoted. We sometimes hear about parents who are devoted to their children; who would do anything for them.  Sometimes perents are so devoted they smother their children or do too much for them and spoil them.
            We hear about sports fans who are devoted to their team; they won’t miss a single game—whether in person or on TV.  They dress in their team’s apparel, decorate their homes and cars with their team logo.  The most extreme
fans are so devoted they might even paint their faces or bodies for the game.  I’ve seen cheese heads at Packers games shirtless in the dead of winter in Wisconsin!
            The early Christians in Acts 2 were devoted to God.  Oh, that people in our churches today were more devoted to God than they are to the things of this world!  Oh, that we were devoted like the Christians in Acts chapter 2!
            The early Christians were devoted to the Apostles' teaching.  The Apostles spent three years with Jesus.  They learned from what he said and what he did.  They were personal witnesses of his death and resurrection.  In turn, the Apostles passed Jesus’ teachings on to the Church in Acts.  
            These early Christians—who were so close to God, whom we should imitate—were devoted to the Apostles' teachings.  They didn’t try to change the Apostles' teaching to fit their lifestyles.  They didn’t try to make exceptions for themselves.  No.  They humbled themselves, repented of any behavior that was contrary to the teachings—whether sinful things they had done or good things they had left undone—and devoted themselves to living the way Jesus said they should live.
            The Christians of Acts 2 passed these apostolic instructions on to others as well.  They challenged their family, friends, and the people of their community to repent of their sin and turn to God by following the Apostles’ teachings about Jesus.  More and more people started coming to the Lord—and it started to change their community and eventually the whole world.
            These early Christians were also devoted to fellowship.   In other words, they were together as one mind and body.  They saw each other as family.  The bond between these believers was even stronger than the ties between brothers and sisters.  Elders treated their younger believers as their children and young Christians treated their Christian elders as parents.  Everyone in the Christian community was part of the “family of God” and it was more than just words; it was real.  Everyone had each other’s back—to the point they would even sell their possessions for the good of the whole Christian community.  No one went without because everyone was wholeheartedly committed to their Christian family.
            The Church in Acts experienced the risen Christ in their midst because they were devoted to the Breaking of the Bread (otherwise known to us as Holy Communion).  The early church was not distracted by keeping up with the Jones’, making more money, or driving a nicer car.  They were not caught up in sports or politics. They were not glued to their TVs or their Facebook feeds to see the latest gossip in the news.  No.  They were devoted to worshiping the Lord through Holy Communion Thus, they were overwhelmed by Christ's presence in their lives.  Oh that you would be more like these early Christians!  As the song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus and looked full in his wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”  The Acts 2 community's closeness to Jesus through worship, fellowship, and Holy Communion made them truly alive in Christ and dead to the world, but there is more.  
            These Christians in Acts 2 devoted themselves to prayer.  It was more than just saying they would pray for one another.  They prayed with one anotherThey met every day to pray together—in their homes, in the Temple, where they worked, in the streets.  They never did anything without praying about it first.  Daily, they prayed—not for safety from persecution or death (though these were ever present and real dangers), but instead they prayed—for boldness to share the Gospel of Jesus with the dark world around them.  If you want the dark world around you to change, if you want to see an end to the violence, you must get serious about prayer.  Revival starts with prayer.  It will change you and it will change the people around you.  Soon, it will change the whole world.

What were the results for the early church in Acts?
            These early Christians lived with a powerful sense of awe and wonder.  They saw God’s miracles all around them—in normal everyday things, and sometimes in dramatic actions—healings, people released from prison, impossibilities becoming realities.
            Have you lost your sense of awe and wonder when it comes to God?  Have you become a cynic, skeptical of everything you hear about God and the church?  Have you stopped seeing the Hand of God working in the world around you?  Have you ever had a sense of wonder about God?  I suggest you devote yourself wholeheartedly to the things I mentioned before as did these early Christians in Acts.  You see how they were filled with awe and wonder.  It will work for you too.  
            Another result was the early Christians saw people being saved everyday.  The rich, the poor, men, women, children, slaves, Jews, Gentiles, politicians, beggars, merchants, idolaters, prostitutes, people of all different races and languages, were convert to Christianity—drawn by the powerful authenticity of these people who devoted themselves to the Lord with their whole hearts, who lived what they believed, who were committed to the Kingdom of God above all else.  Daily, new people became believers and the Church grew and grew until it became the largest religion in the world.

Do you want the world to be a better place, a safer place, a more loving place?  It starts with you.  It starts now.  The choice is up to you.
            The Apostle Peter told us what to do—how to find the salvation we and our world so desperately needs.  Acts 2:38, Peter said, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
            He said repent, which means turn around; go a different direction.  Stop living the wrong way and start living the right way.  Stop being unconcerned, lazy, apathetic, indifferent, silent, uncommitted, and start living wholeheartedly for God!
            Peter said, be baptized.  Baptism is a symbol.  It means we die to our old way of living and are reborn to a new way of thinking and acting.  So you must be baptized with water as a symbol, but more importantly, you must die to your old ways and start living a new life.
            Some might say, “I have nothing of which to repent.” You better check yourself again.  We all need to repent of something.  We all need improvement.  We all need to grow.  And just because you are living like or have the attitudes people held in the “good ole days” does not mean you are living right.  Some of those “old” attitudes were wrong (racism, sinful pride, complacency).  It may be that Jesus has some new attitudes and practices He wants you to learn.
            Some might say, “I don’t want things to change.  I like my life the way it is.”  Well, what can I say.  You have fallen in love with the world.  I pray the Lord will break your heart until you realize the world has nothing worthwhile to offer.  Then maybe you will turn away from the world and turn to God.
            Some might say, "We need to protest!  We've got to stand up for our rights!  We need to fight!"  Violence will change nothing; at least not in any positive, lasting ways.  Look instead at Jesus' example.  If anyone did, Jesus had the right and the power to call down 10,000 angels to come and violently change the world.  However he didn't.  Instead, he offered forgiveness and grace.  He said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."  In the end, he died on the cross for the very people who hated him.  As he hung on that cross, he prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  Only love can heal our broken world.  God is love.

Perhaps it's time to repent and turn to God.