In Matthew 5:38-41, Jesus clearly told us not to live by the rule of “an eye for an eye” (Leviticus 24:19-20), but instead to turn the other cheek.  So, what can we possibly learn from this Old Testament passage that so clearly seems to have been set aside?

In the first place, passages like this one can help us understand the difference between the moral law of God and the civil law of the nation-state of Israel.  This passage clearly falls into the second category, and it was actually a helpful check on the sort of vigilante justice that was all too common at the time.  Instead of encouraging families and tribes to mete out retribution and thus perpetuate feuds, this law brought the punishment of lawbreakers squarely into the realm of the civil courts.  And it also set a limit on the kinds of sentences that could be handed down – no greater penalty could be imposed than the crime deserved. 

But since we don’t live in the nation-state of Israel, governed by religious rulers who also serve as civil judges, what can we learn from this passage?  Jesus gives us a clue when he told his listeners not to allow their individual behavior to be governed by this law.  Since none of us are qualified or authorized to sit in judgment even on those who harm us or our loved ones, we have no business seeking personal vengeance.  We dare not impose the civil law of ancient Israel on anyone else.

But we can also learn to value the things that laws like these show us are important.  We can be reverent with God’s name and encourage other people to do the same (Leviticus 24:15-16).  We can care for the poor (Leviticus 25:35-38), and help them keep what is theirs (Leviticus 25:25).  We can treat all property and people with reverence, because everyone and everything belongs only to God (Leviticus 25:23, 55)

Moreover, as voting citizens we can advocate for the same judicial principles that we see expressed in these laws.  We can work to make sure that the punishments we impose on criminals are truly fitting, balancing the need for restitution with the possibility of redemption.  For there’s one thing that passages like these make crystal clear – the responsibility to pursue justice and fairness and decency lies with all God’s people.

Leviticus 24:16-22 (ESV)

¹⁶ Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death. ¹⁷ “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. ¹⁹ If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, ²⁰ fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. ²² You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.”