Tag: eye for eye

I mentioned a couple of days ago that when we apply the Old Testament to ourselves, we should see how Jesus and the apostles did  so.

We see a perfect example here.

In the context of judicial law, where God tells the judges how to hand down sentences, he says,

Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19:21)

In other words, judges were not just to let people who willfully broke God’s law go unpunished. Rather they were to give a just punishment that matched the crime.

Even then, it was not usually a literal “eye for eye” or “tooth for tooth” punishment. (See Exodus 21:23-27).

But when Jesus taught on this passage, he told the people, “Don’t take this judicial law and use it as an excuse to take revenge.  Rather, love and forgive the person who hurts you.” (Matthew 5:38-39, 43-48).

Please notice that Jesus is not talking to judges about how to execute justice. He would have told judges to do justice.

But when Jesus taught on this passage, he was talking to ordinary people who had been hurt.

And he says to them, “forgive.”

Again, though, my main point is this: when it comes to applying the Old Testament to yourselves, always look to the words of Jesus and the apostles.