“Your kingdom come – your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

      People throughout the history of the church and all over the world have prayed these words from Jesus’ Lord’s Prayer – and, I imagine, have hardly understood the radical nature of their prayers.  “God, I long for your rule to come into this world just as it is in heaven.”  But, I’ll tell you, when God’s rule comes into my life – and I’ve been used to running my own life – things will be different!  When God’s rule breaks into a place where the world’s values and systems have been ruling, things will be different.  I want to show you that today.  God’s rule will always ultimately be better but when we long for God’s will to be done, his ways will sometimes seem radical to the world as a whole.  Early on in this series I pointed out a basic principle:

Principle of Changing Regimes:  When a new rule comes in, the old rulers resist.

       So, when God’s rule – God’s kingdom -- breaks into our lives and we pray, “Your will be done on earth, O Lord”, God’s rule will clash with current rulers like the world, our flesh, and the devil.  In fact, God’s demands may look crazy to those of us who only think about the way the world as a whole looks at things. “Like what?” you ask.  Like Mt.5:39-40 -- If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”  I can almost hear us thinking, "Yes ... but ..."  Or, “Jesus can’t mean…”

     These have to be among the best known teachings from Jesus.  Even people who never go to church have heard “turn the other cheek.”  But, most people don’t take words like these seriously.  They are called impractical – impossible to live by.  Jesus’ words seem like they would lead to us being walked over by everyone.  Mostly, I think we ignore what Jesus said.

       But I say unto you – Jesus’ words are the only hope for humanity.  Heaven will not be heaven unless we understand his words.  And let me add this:  As you and I learn to apply these words, we will find our homes, marriages friendships and church being transformed into powerful places of God's presence.  What we find Jesus doing in these words is telling us practically what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.   He’s teaching us what a life that prays seriously, “Your will be done on earth” looks like.

       With that in mind, let’s look again at Jesus’ teaching.

Question #1:  Has something been lost in translation?

       Jesus was speaking in Aramaic and his words were translated into Greek.  And, of course, we’re reading them in our own language two millennia later.  So, I think just a bit of explanation might clear some things up for us today: I want to clear up the quote, the command, and the slap.

       The quote – An eye for an eye and a toot for a tooth comes from Exodus 21:24 and is a part of a series of instructions for judges in Israel.  In other words, when  person is convicted of a crime, the degree of punishment the judge gives out should be consistent with the seriousness of the offence.  I hope you see how wise this is.  Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is based up a society in which the courts were unjust in their judgment.  Do you know the story?  Jean Valjean was imprisoned for 19 years because he stole a loaf of bread.  Just judges would never allow that kind of sentence. But, by the Jesus’ day, some people had ripped this verse out of its judicial context and used it as an excuse to get personal revenge.  “You gouged out my eye?  Well, I’ll gouge out yours too and get your second one just because you’re an irritating person.”  Well, that was never God’s intent.  Their misreading was leading to injustice rather than justice.

        The command -- Do not resist an evil person (v. 39a).  The way that’s translated sounds like:  Just let any evil person walk all over you and over everyone else the evil person is oppressing.  That’s not what Jesus was saying.  The word translated “resist” was almost always used for a military retaliation.  Jesus is saying that when someone does evil to you, do not do evil back to them.  Later in this same sermon, Jesus puts this in the positive, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Mt. 7:12).  So the world says, “Do others as they do you.”  Jesus is saying, “No, the rule of God is to do to others as you would have them do to you.”  Do not repay evil for evil.

       The slap -- If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also (v. 39b).  This might sound like Jesus is saying, “If someone slugs you on the left then tell him to slug you on the right too – only harder.”  But, a slap in the face was the ultimate way to insult a person in Jesus’ world.  Jesus isn’t addressing a physical assault but an attack on the ego.  In the Middle Eastern world today, I’m told that the ultimate insult is to throw your shoe at someone – like a reporter did to President Bush a few years ago.  In a world in which the ruler is often our own flesh – the “me society” – then nothing is worse than an insult.  We want to insult the other person back – but more completely.  Jesus, is saying there’s a better way.

 

Question #2:  So, what is Jesus teaching?

       Bottom line, Jesus is saying that once when God rules our lives, we will not seek revenge or retaliation when we feel we’ve been wronged personally.  He is declaring a principle that permeates the whole of Scripture, i.e., Personal revenge is not God's means to justice.

       This means that many people have misapplied Jesus’ words here.  In this passage, Jesus is not calling all Christians to be pacifists.  He's not saying that He's anti‑military and anti‑police in every situation.  I have many friends who argue for pacifism on biblical grounds but this text cannot be used for that.  That would be ripping Jesus’ words out of context.  What He's speaking about is personal reaction to personal offense.  In that regard, there is a great difference between what God wants the state or the courts to do when injustice happens and what He wants us to do when we feel we've been personally insulted.   Often in the Bible, nations were called upon by God to take up arms ‑‑ for defense or to stop corruption.  In my reading of his words, Jesus is not overturning that OT teaching.

       And Jesus is not speaking about my reaction when I see someone else being unjustly treated.  The Bible constantly calls us to defend others who are being wronged. Jesus is speaking about how I react when I feel I have been wronged.  Do you see that?  That's very important. 

       And, Jesus is not saying we should never use the courts.  It's the clear teaching of the Bible that the government has been instituted by God to punish criminals and deal with injustice. In fact, this teaching that the rabbis used, "Eye for an eye" was God’s instruction for judges.  Israel’s judges were to punish criminals in proportion to their crimes.  Jesus is certainly not overturning the responsibilities of judges and juries to judge fairly and punish proportionately.

       What He's dealing with is those who ripped these passages out of context and said, “God gives me the right to take personal revenge.”  Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that we are not to take matters into our own hands.  We’ll mess things up if we do.  We’ll overreact.  Our emotions and lack of judgment will get in the way.  On the personal level, we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…  Do not repay anyone evil for evil… Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.  On the contrary:   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (from Romans 12:14-21).

       The point is clear:  Personal revenge is not God's means to justice.   If we get that straight, these verses come alive and become powerful. Jesus is teaching us practically what it means to pray, “Your kingdom come…”  He’s teaching us how to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

 

Question #3:  Can we understand why Jesus insists on this way of life?

       Jesus surely has more reasons for teaching this way of life than I could ever grasp.  But let me suggest two reasons the Bible teaches us so clearly not to take vengeance into our own hands.

1.  Because God has established a better means to justice.  God has made civil authority a part of this world to punish evil and crime in this world.  What individuals are not allowed to do, God has established other authorities to do.  That's the responsibility of government to its people.  That's the responsibility of school authorities to its students.  That's the responsibility of parents to their children.  That's the responsibility of elders to their people.  In Romans 13, Paul goes even so far as to say that government is "God's servant" to punish the guilty.

       God's reasoning isn't difficult to discern here.  You see, personal vengeance is always passionate.  It usually punishes beyond what is deserved.  God’s Word is setting two things forth that our nation has long advocated, i.e.,

* 1) that everyone should have a fair and objective trial, and

* 2) that punishment should be appropriate to the crime. 

       So, if we are offended, we must take the matter to the right forum.  We are not to deal with it in our one‑sided, passionate anger.

       Now, what if the authority doesn't do its job to our liking?  What if we still insist that we've gotten no justice?  Remember that the government of Jesus' day was a pretty rotten immoral government.  Can we hit back then?

       The answer:  No.  There is never a place for personal revenge in the life of a Christian.  Never.  Paul says, "Leave room for the wrath of God."  God has promised that all evil will be dealt with.  Throughout eternity we will know that what He has done has been just.  Vengeance is his job ‑‑ not ours.

       In this, I see that we must live by faith.  We must trust God to do what he ways he will do.  So, if the authorities in government or school or church haven't done their job well, will we trust God to punish the evil in His way and in his time?  Or will we insist that we must help Him do the job that He has promised to do and refused to let us do personally?

2.  Because hatred begets ever‑escalating hatred. 

       Martin Luther King said, "Hate multiplies hate in a descending spiral of violence and injury.  And the one who hates is as much destroyed as the victim."

       Evil and hatred grow in this world by a kind of reciprocal action.

#1 insults #2. ‑‑‑‑‑  #2 insults back but louder and viler.

#1 hits #2. ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑  #2 hits back but harder.

#1 pulls a knife. ‑‑‑ #2 pulls a gun.

       A murderer is born.  A lasting feud is begun.  That's how evil has grown in this world since the days of Adam ‑‑ on the principle of personal revenge.  An evil action produces a response of even greater evil.

       And it never stops.  There is only one way to stop the evil from growing.  "Do not be overcome by evil.  Overcome evil with good.”  That's what Jesus is saying here in each of the four cameos in Mt 5:38-42.  Overcome a personal evil by acting practically for the good of the other person.

       Listen: this message is at the heart of our faith.  We can't make sense of the life of Jesus unless we grab hold of this.  When Jesus came, evil abounded in this world and was only escalating – with no hope of anything changing.  All of us are involved in the evil.  All have sinned.  But at the cross, the evil of the world was thrown at Jesus and what did He do?  Instead of Him letting it bounce back at the evildoers in this world to destroy them, He absorbed the evil and offers back love.  Jesus does not ignore our evil and let us continue in it.  He offers forgiveness to all who will embrace it and a way out of the evildoing.  He offers hope to the very ones who have offended him..

        While being nailed to the cross, He said, "Father, Forgive them."  When we follow Jesus and become like him, we means take up the attitude and mind he had repaying:

*spitefulness with kindness

*greed with generosity

*bullying with service.

       That's not how the courts are to act.  Not how the military should act.  Not how the police should act.  It's how followers of Jesus is to act when we are personally offended.  This is the call of following Jesus – according to Jesus. So I must ask you:  "Are you sure you want to follow Jesus?

Question #4:  Which way is better --   the world’s or Jesus’?

       Let’s think about rejecting Jesus’ teaching and continuing to live the way our world values.  Are you familiar with NBC’s new program called Revenge?  In it, Emily Thorne, whose real name is Amanda Clarke, moves to the town of her family’s past to take revenge on the people who caused the death of her father and destroyed her family. When she was a little girl, Amanda's father was arrested on trumped-up terrorism charges.  He was tried, convicted for treason and died in prison. Emily feels her life was destroyed.  But, on her 18th birthday, she inherited the wealth of a company in which her father invested. So, she changed her name to Emily Thorne and decided to take revenge on all the people responsible for her father's downfall.  This program wrestles with the two sides of “how good it seems to feel” in the short run to get revenge on the one hand and the way revenge seems to eat at the inner life of the one getting revenge on the other.  Amanda has to constantly live a life of deceit – pretending to be who she is not.  This keeps deep relationships from happening.  But, she keeps on being driven by the need to get personal revenge.  Jesus would tell her that she cannot get justice on her own..  Jesus would say that her insistence on getting revenge will eventually destroy her and everyone around her.

       So, just think of a world in which we do the opposite of what Jesus teaches:  Retaliating when we feel we are wronged.  Trying to insult people who insult us – slapping right back but more effectively than I was slapped.  Making sure we sue more fully than the one who is threatening to sue us.  What kind of world would that be?  Does it sound like a lot of what we see in our world?  (Have you followed the Dodgers’ fiasco these past few years?  Is anyone more joy-filled because of the non-stop demand for personal rights?)

       Carol Kenyon, theologian and movie expert, reminded me of a Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan “chick-flick” in which Kathleen was a nice person who could never think of insults to throw back at people until the opportunity was gone.  Finally, she was able to deliver a real zinger at Joe Fox, the successful businessman who had put her and many others out of business.  But, it didn’t satisfy her or bring her joy.  She wrote back to the anonymous online friend she had developed (whom she didn’t know was actually Joe Fox), “Some amazing happened last night.  For the first time in my life I was able to say the exact insulting thing I wanted to say the exact moment I wanted to say it.  And, I felt terrible.  I was cruel.”

       Jesus is showing us a better way.  He has been teaching us in the Sermon on the Mount, that when we experience the forgiveness and grace of God, we will not call people raca – meaning “nobodies.”  When we come to Jesus, we see ourselves as we are – people in need of mercy.  We experience conviction of our own sin.  And far from that making us less loving – it’s the very basis of love. So you see it?  Now, that I have acknowledged my own sin and my personal need of a savior, I don’t need to defend myself when I’m insulted.  I say, “Wow, if you want to insult me, let me tell you some real things about me that could be insulted!”  We don’t try to pretend we’re more than we are.  When we own up to the fact that we are forgiven much, we can begin to forgive.  It’s pride that eats up our ability to love and forgive and show God’s grace and mercy to others.  Jesus is calling us to a better way.

       This truly is a faith issue.  Can we trust Jesus?  Is his way or the world’s better?  Which will you choose?  I’m convinced that if you will seek to obey this teaching, you will have an affect on those around you:

*Marriage ‑‑ Spouses are always hurting one another.  I still think Dobson's early books are by far his best ‑‑ when he dealt with human relationships.  In his book on What Every Wife Wished Her Husband Knew about Women he has a section talking about how quickly we learn to hurt one another:  We store up the wrongs against us instead of “keeping no record of wrongs.”  What a difference the words of Jesus will make.

*Families ‑‑ Many families have grievances that have existed over years.  The revenge keeps reproducing itself.  Often, when the counselor or pastor steps in, he/she steps into years of patterns of personal anger and revenge.  What will happen when one person steps in and absorb the evil and offer love to all involved – and not just once but 70 X 7 times?  One who will not hold a grudge.  One who will not offer an eye for an eye.  Are you willing to take the step and see what God will do?

*Churches ‑‑ Most churches that decline do so because the church is dissolved by broken relationships in the body.  Anger because of cliques.  Anger that one got elected and another didn't.  Anger because this person said or did that.  What happens when we seek both to forgive and to receive forgiveness – without the pride of thinking, “It’s all her fault, you know.”

       Jesus knew how hard his teaching was.  But he also knew how beautiful it was.  It’s the way of God’s kingdom. And if only a few of us would live like this, the salt would make a difference – the light would shine..  If only a few of us would quit saying, "Yes, but..." and start saying, "Lord Jesus, with Your help, I'll obey.”