You have heard it
said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, do not
resist the one who is evil.
Revenge and justice are often the same thing. For that reason,
in Deuteronomy, if one person takes the eye of another person, it is not merely
allowed, but it is demanded the culprit also have his eye taken. “You shall not
pity,” God commands. “For so you shall purge the evil from your midst.” Deut 19:
21 & 20.
But as any victim of a crime can testify, revenge still
doesn’t make things right. The one who has lost an eye is still missing his eye,
regardless of the other’s eye having been taken.
“Vengeance is mine,”
said the Lord. He can say that because in the Person of His Son, He bore the
full justice, the rightful punishment that a crime demands.
Thus, revenge can be separated from justice and, when we are
wronged, we can forgive; just as He has
forgiven us.
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