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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, a text today looking at the Gospel reading of Jesus. Please be seated.
During the conflict in Vietnam, some American soldiers who were stationed there hired a local boy to do their cooking and cleaning. These guys were jokesters, and they liked to play little pranks on the boy, like putting Vaseline on the knobs on the oven and putting buckets of water on the doors. Whenever he walked in, he got soaked. Well, they eventually got to feeling guilty about this and regretted it, so they decided that that would be something they would do no more. They told the boy about this and informed him they would do this no more. The boy was really excited, and he responded to them in some broken English, saying, “You mean no more sticky fingers? No more sticky fingers?” And they said, “That’s right, no more.” He then asked, “You mean, no more get wet from door?” And they said, “That’s right, no more.” To which he replied, “Good, I no more spit in soup.”
Isn’t revenge just great? It can feel so good. It can feel so good to get back at somebody, to get even, to make them pay for what they did to you. I’ll admit, I like revenge-type movies. I like revenge, where the victim gets even, and the bad guy gets it. They have to pay, even with their own life sometimes. But I also like movies with happier endings, so don’t be too concerned about me. Nor am I about you, because I know you guys probably like revenge movies too. It seems so natural to get back at somebody. It’s natural to feel good when the bad guy gets it, when the enemy gets what’s coming to him.
Well, the gospel reading today that Jesus says has some things to say about revenge or getting even. This reading is part of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus, where he was teaching his disciples on this mountain, and there was a lot of other people that were listening in. A big crowd was there. He responds to what’s normal for them back then about getting even. He quotes, “You’ve heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Well, that’s called the law of equal retaliation. Jesus is quoting from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy where this idea comes up in the Old Testament.
The law of equal retaliation is a good thing because it limits the amount of revenge a person is legally allowed to do. Whatever has been done to you, don’t do anything worse in retaliation. That was the norm for them back then. In other words, don’t get even. I mean, in other words, get even. Don’t get ahead in carrying out retaliation or punishment. This is what the people back then were used to hearing about that dealing, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus has more to say about it.
He goes on with a list of things that we should and shouldn’t do when our enemies do evil to us. Yeah, getting even and the law of equal retaliation seems fair. It might even feel good to do that. But Jesus wants his followers to go beyond fair. Instead of seeking revenge or getting even with people, Jesus wants us to respond to evil with mercy. Turning the other cheek, giving up your clothes, going the extra mile—those are all hyperbole or exaggerations that Jesus tells us to do to go against our natural reactions. Go beyond fair. Don’t repay evil with evil. Instead, be willing to absorb evil that’s done to you by your enemies.
Yeah, I said absorb evil—more on that in a little bit. But it’s easier to get back at our enemies than to show them mercy, isn’t it? I mean, I know it can even feel so good to get back at somebody. It seems natural. That is our nature, but that’s our sinful nature. That’s because not only do enemies do evil to us, but we’re enemies of God. Romans chapter 8, verse 7 says this: “The sinful mind is hostile to God.” Our natural human mind is sinful and hostile to God—it’s against God. We are enemies of God in our sins.
And yes, you, me—we are sinful. There are times when you’re the cheek slapper. Maybe not physically, but you do so whenever you seek revenge in words, by saying them verbally, by saying words in retaliation or revenge against somebody, or writing them in a text message or a social media post, or even thinking about revenge on somebody. This is sinful. There may be times when you take things from others in retaliation, or you get back at them by imposing unrealistic expectations on them. Or maybe there are times when you actually do some pretty bad things in retaliation to get even with somebody—maybe worse than spitting in their soup.
See, in a way, we deserve God’s revenge on us, His retaliation for our sin against Him—violating His laws, treating other people poorly, taking revenge on others. We deserve Him to get back at us. I mean, really, He should take both of our eyes and all of our teeth. Because by nature, we’re His enemy, and we do evil things.
Well, even in these words of Jesus today, yeah, there is good news. There is gospel. Because these verses aren’t false only about us not getting even or taking revenge. These verses are about the one who truly did not repay evil for evil. They’re about one who truly did not resist evil but absorbed it. These verses are about the one who was wrongly arrested and taken to court, and then falsely accused and condemned, whose cheeks were slapped—not just slapping both of his cheeks, but he offered up his back and his entire body to be whipped and beaten. These verses are about the one who allowed his clothes to be taken from him. They’re about the one who walked more than a mile, carrying a cross and then dying on that cross. These verses are about the one who shows us what it really means to show mercy to God and not get even—to not repay evil with evil. These verses are about Jesus.
See, we don’t need to get even with evil. Jesus has gotten even for us. He didn’t resist evil; He absorbed it. He has taken the necessary action against evil to get even with it forever. He not only gave an eye and a tooth—He gave His body and blood. Amen. Jesus gave His whole life for us. In His death and His resurrection, Jesus has taken revenge on the bad guy for us. The bad guy doesn’t get off the hook. Satan, the deliverer of evil, does not get off the hook. And Jesus gives us mercy instead.
The book of Romans also says this: “For if while we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son… Much more then, now that we are reconciled, are we saved by His life.” The death and resurrection of Jesus have made things even for us. They’ve defeated evil and the bad guy and taken it out on him that there’s no revenge taken out on us. No evil repaid for our evil. We’ve been reconciled, made even, and given mercy and life in Jesus.
See, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, when it comes to evil, God says, “No more. No more punishment for you, for your sins. No more revenge on you. No more getting even. No more revenge on you.” Instead, you’re given mercy. He doesn’t repay our evil with evil. He gives mercy. And you’re forgiven and free from God’s revenge on you.
And then we’re free from having to get even with our enemies. Jesus has given us mercy, and He wants us to show mercy then to our enemies. And Jesus even points out how we can do that. He tells us, “Don’t resist an evil person. Absorb evil. Take it in. When somebody does evil to you, don’t seek revenge. When evil is done to you, let it stop with you. Let it die in you as it did with Jesus on the cross, where He absorbed all evil of all people for eternity.”
Evil that was done to him. Evil that was terrible in doing it to him. And yet from the cross, even what does He say to those who are doing evil to Him? “Forgive them.” There should be a sign on the cross that says, like it says, “The buck stops here” on people’s desks—boss’s desks. The sign on the cross should say, “Evil stops here.” The evil that you do to others, it stops there, and you’re forgiven.
So whenever you do evil to someone, and you regret it; you’re sorry for it; you confess it, and you want God’s mercy—then look at the cross, and you hear God say, “No more. No more evil. No more punishment for you. No revenge. You’re forgiven.”
And if somebody does evil to you, look at the cross and say, “No more. No more revenge. No more getting even. No more spit in soup.” Jesus calls you to be above that. Beyond just fair, be merciful. Jesus calls us beyond our natural reaction of getting even, no matter how good it feels. He calls us to mercy instead.
You’ve been given mercy, so seek to give it. But I know, I know that’s hard. Getting even seems so much easier. It feels so much better. It can feel so good, but not as good as having and sharing God’s mercy together, including mercy to your enemies who do evil to you. Remembering the evil that you’ve done and what we deserve from God—eyes, teeth, everything. You’ve been given mercy. Be merciful as Jesus has been merciful to you. Amen.
Now may the grace of God, which goes beyond all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in His peace. Amen.
