Sermon: Rooted in the Sermon on the Mount – Getting Even – Mt 5.38–47 (2/22/26)
Introduction
Scripture
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5.
What would you do...
What would you do if you read something in Scripture that went against something you firmly believed?
Seek to find alternate interpretations of Scripture?
Relegate Scripture to a different culture?
Deny Scripture?
Ignore Scripture?
Change your heart and mind to align with Scripture?
Let's promise the Lord that if we discover today that the Scripture teaches something different than the way we think...
That we will change the way we think!
There is something shocking in the Sermon on the Mount!
It is not hard to understand.
Plain language...
Easy to understand instructions...
Extremely practical application...
But it seems to go against our American way of thinking...
It seems to go against what it means to be a true Texan.
In fact, many of the commentaries and MOST of the sermons I read this week were embarrassing attempts to find exceptions to what Jesus clearly taught.
Many Bible teachers try to soften what Jesus says here to make it mean really nothing at all.
The shocking nature of this is important to note because...
This is one of truest tests of the genuineness, authenticity, and strength of our faith.
While it may involve a fight with our flesh, if we cannot trust the Lord enough to follow him with this area of living, are we really trusting him at all?
Let's start with a question...
Before we read the passage, let's begin with a question, a revealing question...
What do you do when someone insults, threatens, or hurts you?
Do you retaliate?
Do you vow to get even?
Do you lash out?
Do you demand your rights?
Do you throw your weight around?
Do the insults change you?
Do you get angry?
Do you get defensive?
Does your temper well up within you?
Do you get defensive?
Do you...
Sulk...
Pout...
Say, "Woe is me..."
Friends, once you hear and understand the Lord's instructions about this, that question becomes the truest test of the strength and maturity of your faith and trust.
Scripture
Context...
Sermon on the Mount...
Matthew 5.38 | “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. (CSB)
Lex Talionis
Jesus quotes a real Old Testament legal principle called lex talionis.
Lex talionis is Latin for the law of retaliation.
The purpose of lex talionis was not to encourage vengeance...
It was to limit it.
We see this repeated in the Old Testament.
Exodus 21.23 | If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, (CSB)
Exodus 21.24 | eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (CSB)
Exodus 21.25 | burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound. (CSB)
Leviticus 24.20 | fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever injury he inflicted on the person, the same is to be inflicted on him. (CSB)
Deuteronomy 19.21 | Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. (CSB)
Abortion
Interestingly, some of the earliest biblical support we find for protecting the life of the unborn is connected to this.
Exodus 21.22 | “When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment. (CSB)
Exodus 21.23 | If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, (CSB)
Exodus 21.24 | eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (CSB)
Personal Vengeance?
It is important to note that the "eye for an eye" (lex talionis principle) in the Old Testament did not give individuals the right to exact personal vengeance or retribution.
The purpose of the law was to limit excessive violence.
And it gave permission to civic authorities not individuals.
This about legal adjudication, not private retaliation.
But over time, the Jews had begun to see it as an instruction (or permission) for how to personally treat others.
That was not the intent of the Old Testament law.
Leviticus 19.18 | Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.(CSB)
And Jesus is about to issue a word of correction to the Jews.
Matthew 5.39 | But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. (CSB)
Misinterpretation
No part of the Sermon on the Mount has been so misinterpreted and misapplied as this part.
Let me address something head on...
Jesus is not instructing us to not protect ourselves from physical attack or abuse.
Protect yourself and protect your family from physical attack.
Jesus even told his disciples to carry a weapon when they were traveling the backroads to share the gospel...
Luke 22.35 | He also said to them, “When I sent you out without money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Not a thing,” they said.(CSB)
Luke 22.36 | Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one. (CSB)
Luke 22.37 | For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in me: And he was counted among the lawless. Yes, what is written about me is coming to its fulfillment.” (CSB)
Luke 22.38 | “Lord,” they said, “look, here are two swords.” “That is enough!” he told them. (CSB)
So what does this mean?
IT HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING!
When Jesus talks of a slap on the cheek...
He is speaking of a characteristic Jewish form of insult.
To strike someone on the right cheek with the right hand would be a backhanded slap...
A gesture of humiliation, not attempted murder.
Among Jews, a slap or other striking in the face was among the most demeaning and contemptuous of acts.
A slap in the face was an attack on one’s honor and was considered to be a terrible indignity.
So, Jesus is saying we should not respond personally to insults, lies, and offenses.
This does NOT mean...
We should stay in an unsafe situation.
We should not seek justice.
We should not call the police.
We should not defend the innocent.
We should not serve in law enforcement.
We should not serve in the military.
Turn the other to him also...
This means...
Do not respond in an attempt to defend yourself from insult.
The issue is not "defend yourself..."
The issue is "defend your pride..."
Do not respond with retaliatory violence.
Do not escalate personal insult into personal vengeance.
Matthew 5.40 | As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.(CSB)
Jesus is using hyperbole here like we saw him use last week in Matthew 5.29–30.
The point is this...
Do not cling to your rights...
Do not fight to protect every possession.
Be willing to give more than is demanded.
Even to an adversary.
Go beyond what others expect of you.
Go beyond what is required.
EVEN WITH AN ADVERSARY!
Matthew 5.41 | And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. (CSB)
This is called impressment.
Roman law gave a soldier the right to force a civilian to carry his pack for a milion, a Roman mile, which was slightly shorter than our modern mile.
The law, designed to relieve the soldier, not only caused great inconvenience to civilians but was made even more despicable by the fact that the oppressed were made to carry the equipment and weapons of their oppressors.
Jesus was saying...
When you reach the limits of what the Roman law requires, do not stop and drop the burden at the oppressor’s feet.
Keep going.
Carry the load another mile.
Do it voluntarily...
Not for a king in this world...
But for the King of heaven!
Matthew 5.42 | Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (CSB)
This is not a command to fund foolishness.
Scripture is clear that enabling laziness is not love.
2 Thessalonians 3.10 | In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” (CSB)
Sometimes giving a person what he wants can do harm.
But here is the heart issue:
If...
If we refuse to give because we are protecting ourselves…
If we close our hand because we are clinging to what is ours…
If we turn away to preserve comfort…
THAT IS WHAT JESUS FORBIDS.
The problem is not discernment.
The problem is selfishness.
Matthew 5.43 | You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. (CSB)
"Love your neighbor" comes from Leviticus 19.18.
Leviticus 19.18 | Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. (CSB)
"Hate your enemy" seems to have just been a cultural development within the Jewish community.
Rabbinic tradition no doubt also tried to justify hatred of enemies on the basis of the imprecatory psalms.
Matthew 5.44 | But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (CSB)
The contrast Jesus draws is between neighbors in verse 43 and enemies in this verse.
That makes this a radical command.
Jesus does not say...
TOLERATE your enemies...
IGNORE your enemies...
He says, love your enemies.
What does this love look like?
This is not just a sentimental love.
We have picked up on this in the counter-cultural instructions in 38–42.
This is a love that drives us to our knees to pray even for those who are actively persecuting us.
And what do we pray for?
Pray for their forgiveness.
Pray that God would restrain their evil.
Pray for their repentance, not their ruin.
Pray that they would find peace and joy in following the Lord.
Pray for opportunities to show them the love of Christ.
Jesus knows that it is very hard to hate someone you consistently bring before the throne of grace.
Prayer reshapes your heart.
The more you pray, the more you love.
The more you love, the more you pray.
Jesus himself prayed for his executioners:
“Father, forgive them.”
Luke 23.34 | Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided his clothes and cast lots. (CSB)
If he could pray that while nails were being driven through his hands, what offense could justify our silence?
Matthew 5.45 | so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (CSB)
More on this verse later, but note that here Jesus gives us the motivation for all of these instructions.
Sometimes you will hear people say about these verses that these are not necessarily the best principles for success in life.
Perhaps not...
But our worldly success is not Jesus's goal...
What is the motivation for loving our enemies and turning the other cheek?
That we might resemble the Lord!
That we would be so characterized by loving others that we would be a peculiar sign-post for the character of the Father.
Look at how Jesus said it...
Verse
So that you may be children of your Father in heaven...
It is not that we become children by doing this...
But that we show whose children we are.
Matthew 5.46 | For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? (CSB)
Let's look at verse along with the next verse.
Matthew 5.47 | And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? (CSB)
Jesus acknowledges that there is a sentiment that passes as love expressed between people who are not children of God.
Reciprocal love...
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours love...
Natural affection is not wrong, but it is not enough.
There should be something different about our love...
There should be something other-worldly about our love...
There should be something Christ-like about our love...
Jesus asks...
Verse
What are you doing out of the ordinary?
That raises love to a completely different level...
A level the world is not familiar with...
A level the world may not even be comfortable with...
It raises love from reciprocity to sacrifice...
From reaction to initiative...
If what you and I call love is just the common decency expected in polite society...
Then we have missed engaging in the radical love Jesus has called us to show to our world whether friend or foe.
Why would anyone live like this?
Now, any honest reading of Matthew 5.38–44 has to shake us up.
We feel it in the tug to push back and focus on the possibility of exceptions...
We start rewriting the verses in our minds.
We begin to think about how this does not apply to our situation...
We start thinking that Jesus would not have said this if...
He were in this marriage...
He worked for this company...
He knew the meanness in my family...
He had been criticized and lied about the way I have been.
And somewhere in the quiet of our hearts, the real question surfaces:
Why would anyone live like Jesus instructs us to live?
I want to answer that question by looking back at the verses we just read.
I. Because we have been loved like this.
Before Jesus commands us to love enemies, he loved his enemies...
And that includes us.
Romans 5.8 | But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (CSB)
By sinners, he means enemies...
Romans 5.10 | For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. (CSB)
When I am criticized or maligned or attacked or taken advantage of...
There is something in me that wants to fight.
There is something in me that wants to make sure my enemy gets what he deserves.
There is something in me that demands...
Justice...
Payback...
Vengeance...
And when someone repeatedly hurts me, I am doubly angry!
But then I remember that...
The Lord did not and does not embrace any of those responses to my sin and rebellion.
Instead the Lord responds by offering undeserved grace and mercy.
Instead of giving me what I deserved, he absorbed what I deserved.
Instead of crushing me, he showed me mercy.
Instead of retaliating, he bore my rebellion.
Instead of giving me justice, he gave me grace.
Why would we live like Jesus describes in these verses?
Because that is how we have been loved!
GOSPEL
II. Because we want to look like our Father.
The first point looked BACKWARD at what God has done for us.
This second point looks UPWARD at who God is.
For many people, their first reaction to these verses is to evaluate them on how well they might "work" or "not work" in the real world.
"Experts"
You can find many "experts" who will tell you how these relationship principles in Matthew 5.38–44 are the key to happy marriages, successful relationships, and effective leadership.
You can find many other "experts" who will tell you how to update Jesus's instructions to make this beneficial for your business leadership and career success.
Both groups of "experts" have missed the point.
Jesus did not give us these instructions to elevate our relationship IQ or success.
These verses are about how to reflect the love of the Father!
They are about resembling your Father.
Look again at verse 45...
Scripture
Matthew 5.45 | so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (CSB)
Typically, children resemble their earthly fathers...
Biologically...
DNA...
If we are children of God, we should look like our heavenly Father!
What is the one thing we should share with him?
His merciful love!
So, how can you LOOK LIKE THE FATHER in your relationships?
In every situation/encounter/relationship, ask yourself what a "good" person should do in a situation like yours.
Reject that.
Maybe not in the sense that you do not do the same...
Just do not stop there.
In this sense...
Matthew 5.46 | For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? (CSB)
Matthew 5.47 | And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? (CSB)
Note:
Out of the ordinary...
Draw your standards of conduct not from what everyone else is doing, but from your heavenly Father.
Now ask what you could do or how you could handle the situation in a way that would reflect the peculiar love of God.
Not in a way that protects you...
Not in a way that meets out justice...
Not in a way that satisfies your anger...
But in a way that unmistakably reflects your Father's mercy...
Do you need some help thinking of some things to wrestle with...
That annoying neighbor...
AT&T...
The cousin, in-law, uncle...
The business competitor...
The office gossip...
Why should we love like Jesus commands?
Because we want to resemble our Father.
III. Because the cross frees us from the need to protect ourselves.
In many ways, we have been taught to always fight for our rights.
Never has a society been more concerned about rights.
So we ask...
Is it right for someone to strike my cheek?
Of course not!
It is not right for people to lie about you...
It is not right for people to try to take advantage of your kindness...
It is not right for people to insult you...
But, as Christians our standard of living can never be about rights.
The Christian life is not driven by the defense of personal rights.
Our standard of conduct is not rights...
It is the cross.
A standard of "rights" is how the tax collectors and Gentiles live.
Matthew 5.46 | For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? (CSB)
Matthew 5.47 | And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? (CSB)
I should live by the principle of the cross.
Why do we and how can we live differently?
Because of the cross!
Romans 8.33 | Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. (CSB)
Romans 8.34 | Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. (CSB)
We can see this played out practically by looking at what Jesus said about going two miles in verse 41.
Scripture
Matthew 5.41 | And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. (CSB)
Explain background and the Roman requirement...
Here is what is happening...
Obligation dictated the first mile...
Compassion directs the second...
Listen to how Adrian Rogers explain this...
The second mile is the smile mile.
Remember that: the second mile is the smile mile.
The first mile is the slave mile.
You go the first mile and that is all, you are going to hate it every step of the way.
In the first mile, you are required to go that far, and you are the victim.
In the second mile, you are the victor.
In the first mile, you are being controlled.
In the second mile, you are controlling.
The first mile is the law mile.
The second mile is the love mile.
The first mile only makes you bitter.
The second mile gives you joy.
In the first mile, you are conquered.
In the second mile, you have conquered yourself, and the man who makes you carry his burden.
The first mile is drudgery.
The second mile is victory.
It changes your attitude because you say, “I am not doing this because I have to; I am doing this because I want to, because my Lord has taught me to.”
It will change your attitude.
Why would we live like this?
Because the cross of Christ frees us from the need to protect ourselves.
Freed from...
Proving ourselves...
Vindicating ourselves...
Guarding our reputation...
Controlling outcomes...
Forcing justice now...
That is a pressure the Gentiles have...
We are freed from that!
Romans 8.33 | Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. (CSB)
Romans 8.34 | Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. (CSB)
We can just live in the freedom of Christ and for the glory of the Lord.
Because all we have is secure in Christ.
Conclusion
What should we do with this?
Stop Rehearsing the Injury
Some of us replay the offense daily.
We narrate it.
We gather witnesses in our mind.
We justify our coldness.
Stop rehearsing.
Release it to the Lord.
Entrust Justice to God
You are not the final court of appeal.
Romans 12.19 | Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. (CSB)
Let God handle justice.
You handle love.
Act Like a Child of the Father
Ask this question this week:
“What would make me look like my Father right now?”
And do that.
Even if it costs you.