The Right to Retaliate | Sunday, April 3, 2022

You shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:23–25)

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. (Matthew 5:38–39)

When you have every right to retaliate, is your retaliation righteous?

A Detour From Deuteronomy

It's hard to believe we are already in April, which means our celebration of the most important day of the year is just a couple of weeks away. Two weeks from today we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and next week is Palm Sunday. Because of that, we are going to adjust our schedule of study.

We've been in the book of Deuteronomy for a long time. Next week, Palm Sunday, we'll be in Deuteronomy 16, where Moses reminds Israel of the feasts they were to observe—the first of which is Passover, which follows right after Palm Sunday. So next week we'll talk about Passover and partake of communion together. If you watch online, you can partake with us; pick up some bread and grape juice and remember the Lord's Supper, just as Jesus commanded.

After that we'll celebrate the resurrection with a special message from the Gospels. Then we'll take four weeks for a series I'm calling Unmasking Jesus, considering some of Jesus' essential teachings from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. This summer we'll go through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. So we're not leaving Deuteronomy for good—just for the spring and summer.

Living in Crazy Times

We left off in Deuteronomy 15, but something in the news this week caught my attention and seemed to connect both to Deuteronomy and to the Sermon on the Mount where we'll be in a few weeks. We are living in strange times. We're coming out of two years of chaos with COVID. The economy is precarious—a hot housing market, supply chain issues, chip shortages, sky-high inflation, six-dollar-a-gallon gasoline. Add to that Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, China flirting with Taiwan, and tensions in the Middle East. I find myself waking up every morning wondering what the next crazy thing will be.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up Monday morning and found the biggest story in the news had nothing to do with Ukraine, China, or the economy. The story that dominated the headlines had to do with comedian Chris Rock and actor Will Smith. Rock made an ill-timed joke at the expense of Smith's wife at the Academy Awards. Smith walked on stage, smacked Chris Rock across the face, then cussed him out from his seat—broadcast around the world.

All week the conversation swirled around whether Smith was justified, whether Rock deserved it, and whether Smith should be prosecuted or punished. I'm sure you don't need my opinion. But wouldn't you know it—the Bible has something to say about events like this. The Torah has something to say. Ancient rabbis had opinions, and Jesus had something to say as well.

Lex Talionis: The Law of Retaliation

There's teaching spanning a very long period within Christianity around a concept called lex talionis—Latin for "the law of retaliation" or "the law of retribution." This goes back through 2,000 years of Christian history, into Jewish history before that, and even into Babylonian history. The question is: when is it okay to retaliate? You can find this principle in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and even Genesis.

Now, am I saying that if a man makes a bad joke about your wife the Bible says you can smack him? That's not exactly what I'm saying. But look at Exodus 21, beginning at verse 12:

He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death... If a man fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished... But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:12–25)

This is where the idea of lex talionis comes from. It comes up again in Deuteronomy 19:21: "life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." Probably the discussion this week was about whether Will Smith was justified, though people never used the term lex talionis. What they were talking about is the right of retaliation, the law of retribution—when is retribution justified?

That is an important question. We wonder about it watching Ukraine, watching terrorist attacks in Israel, in the aftermath of 9/11. When we are offended or taken advantage of—when someone strikes us on the cheek—when are we allowed to retaliate, and in what way?

Retribution as Old as Civilization

Issues of retaliation are as old as human civilization. In Genesis 4, after Cain killed Abel and God sent him out as a fugitive, Cain said, "anyone who finds me will kill me." God graciously made provision for his protection:

Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. (Genesis 4:15)

A few verses later we meet Cain's descendant Lamech:

I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold. (Genesis 4:23–24)

Notice that someone wounded Lamech and instead of striking back, he killed him. The punishment didn't fit the crime. This is what we call unequal justice, and we see it throughout ancient writings. We live in a fallen world, and in a fallen world there is unequal justice. There are many complaints in our culture about unequal justice—we want things to be fair and equal in punishment.

God's First Limiting Principle

Into this world of unequal justice, God gives the first limiting principle. After the flood, in Genesis 9, God speaks about justice for punishment:

Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. (Genesis 9:6)

Later this principle is expanded under the law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 24:17 says, "Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death."

This is an important truth: retaliation and retribution are about as old as human civilization, and in some instances retribution is righteous. In the case of some crimes—especially murder—capital punishment is the right response. I don't know your opinion on the death penalty; I once wrote a whole paper on it for an ethics class. But the Bible seems clear that there are certain cases where the death penalty is allowed and even put forward as the right response.

But what about other crimes? If someone offends your wife with a mean-spirited joke, are you allowed to walk up on stage and smack them? How should we read "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" in 2022, when we're not living in Moses' day but in a hyper-modern Western culture?

A Limitation, Not a Prescription

As I've said many times going through Deuteronomy, when considering the law we need to look at the principle and spirit of the law, not the bare letter. This isn't a command that if someone pokes your eye out you instantly poke theirs out. Rather, the rules on retaliation are a limitation, not a prescription.

In our fallen state, retributive justice often led to punishments that exceeded the crime—as we saw with Lamech. So when God says "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," He is teaching that within His kingdom the punishment should fit the crime. You can't exceed the crime with your punishment.

This is really important, because we sometimes feel justified in our retribution—and perhaps we are—but we need to be very careful. James 1 says, "the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." My anger doesn't bring about God's righteousness. Paul says in Ephesians 4, "Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath." There is a way to be angry without sinning, but it's a very fine line.

How the Religious Leaders Twisted It

The problem is that by the time of Christ—some 1,400 years after Moses—this teaching had moved from being a limiting principle on retribution to an obligation. The religious leaders of Jesus' day—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes—seem to have taken it as a justification for hurting others at least as badly as they had been hurt. One commentator says they had "converted the principle of justice into a rule for everyday life." Another explained that they took it to mean every man should retaliate in kind and insist in every case on his full rights.

The application had been stretched well beyond the heart of the law—the same law that also taught in Leviticus 19:18:

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

We have to put these two principles together. "Eye for eye" must fit with "you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus and the Other Cheek

Therefore Jesus addresses this very idea in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:38–39:

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Could we find a more applicable passage after this week's news cycle? In some instances retaliation might be right; you may be able to justify your actions by Deuteronomy 19, Exodus 21, or Leviticus 24. But Jesus says: do not retaliate. Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other also.

I'm not a huge fan or follower, but I have to say Chris Rock may have exercised more restraint in that situation than I would have. Here's the point: you may have the right to retaliate, but your retaliation may not be righteous. My aim ought not to be my own rights, but to be righteous. In fact, just before this teaching, Jesus says your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees—who insisted on standing up for their own rights.

Leaving Vengeance With God

What is the way of Christ? Peter describes it in 1 Peter 2: "when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." Paul taught in Romans 12:

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

These are incredibly hard lessons to learn and much harder to apply. I want my rights; I want to avenge myself, and I feel justified—the Bible says "an eye for an eye." Paul even writes, "Why do you not rather accept the wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" Those are such hard words.

Let me tell you, I've experienced this. People have wronged me, spoken behind my back, done things against me in ministry that were rather public, and I've felt the desire to retaliate—and felt justified. So many times in those moments I've sensed that still small voice: "Vengeance is Mine, Miles. I will repay." It is so hard to leave that with God and take the wrong, as Paul says.

Remember What God Did for You

Now back to the passage we're actually supposed to be in today, Deuteronomy 15:15:

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.

You should remember how the Lord has dealt with you and what He did for you. I was dead in my trespasses and sins, guilty of iniquity, deserving of all of God's wrath. God had every reason to throw the book at me and would have been completely righteous in pouring out His wrath. But Ephesians 2:4 says:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace.

I am guilty of all kinds of sin; so are you. We justly belong in the place of wrath, and yet God has given us mercy and grace.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

The greatest picture of this is in John 8, where a woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus. The law says adultery deserves death—though notice the guilty man was not brought. The scribes and Pharisees said, "Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" They were testing Him.

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger... He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." ... Those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one... Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Jesus didn't break the law—He came to fulfill it. He teaches an important truth about the blessing of mercy. The way of Christ is the way of mercy. He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might receive the righteousness of God. That is the good news of the gospel.

Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

So was Will Smith justified? Was Chris Rock deserving? Should Smith be prosecuted or lose his Oscar? Those are the questions our culture is wrestling with this week, and you may have an opinion. In all of this, I can't help thinking of Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Three things God requires: to do what's right, to love mercy, and to walk in humility. Those are helpful lessons to work on this week.

The way of Christ is the way of mercy. God demonstrated His love toward me in that, while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. God demonstrated His love by showing me mercy when I deserved retribution. Maybe I don't have the perfect answer for how Will Smith should have responded. But I do know this: you and I are guilty of far worse before a holy God, and God showed us mercy when we deserved retribution.

That's good news—news I hope you've experienced. If you've received the love and mercy of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ, then make sure you are a conduit of the same love and mercy to others. That's what God wants from us today.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You'd help us do that this week. Help us not to love justice in the wrong way—sometimes we see someone mess up and fall down and we think, "Now they're going to get it," and we root for justice. But Lord, You want us to be merciful. I thank You that You have been merciful with me, and I pray that You'd help me to walk out what is right and to be merciful to others this week. We ask this in Your name. Amen.