"Forgoing Justice through the Gospel of Grace"

“Forgoing Justice through the Gospel of Grace”
Matthew 5:38-42, 8/06/06, Kevin P. Larson, Grace Church of Columbia

Last summer, tragedy struck on Mizzou’s Faurot Field. Young linebacker Aaron O’Neal collapsed on the field following a workout and died. The community was shocked and grieved along with the football team. The local medical examiner found that the young man had viral meningitis, and this caused his untimely death.

Shortly thereafter, his estranged father, Larry O’Neal, brought a lawsuit against several officials from the university. He was seeking damages for apparent neglect by employees of the athletic department. In the face of great tragedy, this man sought justice. I begin with this question this morning: is that the proper, Christian way to respond?

Let us read our text for this morning. Turn to Matthew 5:38-42.

Matthew 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

We are nearing the close of a major section in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-48. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus speaks of the Pharisees—those that would take God’s law lightly and teach others to do the same. He then says, in verse 20, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In verses 21-48, Christ then details what they were doing and what they were teaching, showing clearly what the righteousness that surpasses them looks like.

Last week, we looked at Christ’s teaching on oaths. The Pharisees were using oaths, not as they were intended—to encourage truth, but rather to evade truth. Jesus calls us to be people that are so full of truth, that we don’t even need to swear. Just a simple “yes” or “no” should suffice.

This week, we see the Pharisees again abusing God’s law. We again hear them quoting something God has said, and we see them misapplying it and using it to their own ends. Let us begin this morning by looking at, first, the teaching of the Pharisees. Second, we’ll look at the teaching of Jesus.

First, let’s consider the teaching of the Pharisees. To broadly summarize, Jesus’s opponents were teaching that God’s people should personally administer justice toward others.
Where did they get that idea? They got it from the Old Testament. Listen again to Matthew 5:38. It reads, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’” This statement, unlike those of the past two weeks, is directly from the Old Testament. Read with me three times where this phrase is used.

First, turn to Exodus 21:22-25.

Exodus 21:22 "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Next, turn over to Leviticus 24. Look at verses 19-20.

Leviticus 24:19 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.

Third, look with me at Deuteronomy 19:16-21.

Deuteronomy 19:16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

This phrase, as you can see—“eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”—is used three times in the Old Testament. But what was the meaning of these words?

I’ve taught most of you the benefits of doing Bible study in a “coma.” COMA is an acronym for context, observation, meaning, and application. You examine what surrounds the words, their context. You look at the words themselves—what they mean, how they fit into a sentence. That is observation. You then look at the meaning. What was the author’s original intent by those words, by that sentence? Finally, then, and only then, you get to application. How does this passage apply to us—right here, right now?

The Pharisees, I argue, did the observation and the application part. We’ll see what their specific error was in a bit. But to rightly understand the phrase, we need to understand the words’ context, as well as the words’ meaning.


Regarding their context, we see particularly in the Deuteronomy passage that those words were given as part of a legal code for a nation. There you have individuals involved in a dispute gathered before judges. The judges hear the case, make a decision, and then administer justice. The “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” idea was not meant to be applied by individuals toward one another. It was given to the nation of Israel.

Regarding their meaning, it’s important to understand what the statements sought to accomplish and what they sought to prevent. First, as John Stott notes, they “defined justice.” What punishment fit certain crimes? Second, they “restrained revenge.” What were the limits of justice? The statements gave us the principle of “exact retribution.” Yes, crimes deserved punishment. But they deserved only so much punishment. In other words, if a friend knocks out your tooth, he doesn’t deserve to have his neck slashed. He only deserves to lose his tooth.

As you know, sinful human beings are rarely satisfied with simply giving precise justice and no more. Across America, just last night, undoubtedly hundreds of people were shot and killed over drug money. Obviously getting the money back or the drugs wasn’t enough. Somebody had to die. Such is human nature. We typically aren’t satisfied with exact retribution.

So the statements were given to a nation. And the statements were given to define and limit punishment. What had the Pharisees done with these words?

Again, they had observed the words rightly. They could read. They could understand what they communicated. But they didn’t get their meaning. They missed their context. They went straight from observation to application and used these terms to justify individual action, against their context, and personal revenge, against their meaning.

Two weeks ago, we saw how the Pharisees took regulations on divorce and used them to justify divorce itself. Last week, we saw how the Pharisees took statements about oaths and used them to evade the truth. This week, we see that the Pharisees had taken a statement in the Old Testament that was designed to limit individual retaliation and had used it to support it.

So, in other words, they were teaching, “If he pokes my eye out, then I’m gonna poke his out.” “If he insults you, curse him right back.” “If he takes your cow, go grab his.” They were angry, vengeful people, and they even had a Bible verse to support such actions. This was the teaching of the Pharisees. Administer justice individually. Give that guy what he deserves. The Bible says you can. And we have every indication that they were actually practicing this.
This should give us pause for a second. First, consider how careful we must be with our Bibles. Truly, you can support anything you want with the Scriptures. Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason, a podcast I highly recommend, has a little pamphlet entitled, “Never Read a Bible Verse.” In it, he argues just how dangerous it is to read verses apart from their context. We should never read just one verse. Why? Because it’s impossible to get the meaning of a verse without understanding the context of that verse.

Second, our hearts, apart from grace, want to twist the Scriptures. You can look at the Pharisees here and think, “What a bunch of wicked idiots!” We may think we’re above them, and we would never do such a thing. But the Bible portrays humans, apart from Christ, as depraved. Not only are we prone to misunderstand the Scriptures, but our sinful nature wants to twist them. That’s why you can search on the internet and find people using the Bible to defend all sorts of wicked things. Apart from the Holy Spirit, this is where we all would be. The Pharisees look more like us, apart from Christ, than we would like.

God gave this “eye for an eye” principle of exact retribution in these passages to reduce violence among His people. He gave it to them as a nation to be exacted in their courts of law. The Pharisees, however, took this principle and used it to justify individual vengeance, ignoring, of course, that the law forbids that, as well. In Leviticus 19:18, not far from the “eye for an eye” passage we read earlier, we hear God say, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” This is exactly what the Pharisees were doing, and they were pitting God’s word against itself, justifying their actions by quoting another verse. They had used a verse limiting retaliation to justify retaliation. They had ignored the context surrounding their proof-text.

The book of Proverbs that the Pharisees would also have known spoke against this. Proverbs 20:22 teaches, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the LORD, and He will deliver you.” Additionally, Proverbs 24:29 says this: “Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.’” But this is exactly what the Pharisees were doing! They were taking the law in their own hands, paying people back for their wrong.

Now, it is doubtful that, at this point in their history, the Jews were actually poking out eyes and yanking out teeth. It seems clear that, should someone get his eye gouged out, he would receive a payment of damages from the offender. He likely wouldn’t get the man’s eye poked out. This brings the passage even closer to our day. If a man got injured by another, he would just sue. He would get money. The Pharisees were thinking, “He hurt me. I’m going to take everything he’s got.”
They had wicked hearts that were being evidenced by teaching and practicing personal vengeance. This was the way of the Pharisee.

Second, let us consider the teachings of Jesus. The way of the Christian, the one transformed by grace, surpasses that of the Pharisee. He says this, once again, in verses 39-42:

39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

While the Pharisees were teaching that one should administer justice, Jesus teaches that His own will rather administer mercy. Before we look at exactly what Jesus says, let me review what I mentioned many weeks ago when we looked at Matthew 5:7. How should we understand justice and mercy?

First, all people, as sinners standing before a holy God, deserve justice. All deserve retribution for their sins. God is a just God. He punishes sin. Of course, as we look in the Bible, we see some people don’t receive justice. Some get non-justice. Some people don’t get what they deserve.

Second, in the category of non-justice are found both injustice and mercy. Injustice involves not getting what you deserve in a bad way. Mercy involves not getting what you deserve in a good way. Biblically speaking, as we’re all sinners, and we serve a good and holy God, no one receives injustice. If we receive punishment, it’s just.

Some, however, do receive mercy. Those of us in Christ don’t receive the penalty for our sins that we deserve. God is merciful to us in Christ. We don’t receive justice. He is merciful to us.

This is important to understand, as it frames salvation in its proper light. We’re not all morally o.k. people who deserve to be saved. We’re all sinners who deserve judgment. For God to save any of us is amazing grace. It’s pure mercy.

Third, it’s God’s job to administer justice. It’s not ours. Our command now, as we’ll see next week, is to love our enemies. Only God ultimately judges people, now in part, but in the future in full. Turn once again to Romans 12.




Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Vengeance is His, not ours. We can be 100% confident, as we interact with those around us, that either Christ was punished on the cross for their sins—they are or will become a Christian, or, one day, they will be punished by the Father eternally for their sins—they are lost. So, as people wrong us, we know that that sin will be paid for one day in one way or another. Punishing that sin is not our job. Punishing them is inflicting double-jeopardy upon them.

God, of course, has put in place certain institutions that are used by Him to punish sin. First, in Romans 13, right where we just were, it says this:

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

Governing authorities are put in place by God to execute “judgment,” to “bear the sword,” and to administer God’s “wrath.”

Second, God has also put in place His church. It is not the responsibility of His church to punish the world, but rather her own. This is why we talk much here about something practiced very little in today’s evangelical world—church discipline. If one of us strays from our covenant vows in doctrine or morals, we will discipline him or her. We will execute judgment—excommunicating that person from the church, if absolutely necessary.

Third, God has also ordained the family. Just as there are persons in authority in the government, governors and presidents and the like, and the church, her elders, God has set up parents as authority figures in the home. Fathers and mothers execute God’s justice, punishing children who disobey for their good.

As Proverbs 13:24 states, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Whether in the home or in the church or in the state, faithful leaders use the “rod” for good. Withholding discipline results in chaos and great harm.

This administration of justice, however, is never meant for the individual level. This is the realm Jesus speaks of in this passage. Each of the realms I have mentioned, means by which God judges on earth, are corporate. On an individual level, we are not to administer justice, but rather mercy. This is the point of Jesus’s teaching here. Let us look at each of those ideas in turn.

First, verse 39 teaches that we are not to administer justice. Jesus says, “But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.”

What, first of all, does this not teach? First, it’s clear in the Bible that we are to resist evil and the evil one, Satan. 1 Peter 5:8-9 reads like this,

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

In addition, James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Ephesians 6:13 seems broader than just Satan. It states, “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Clearly we are to stand firm against evil.

Second, think again of those three instituted spheres that I just mentioned. In the family, evil must be resisted. Parents that don’t discipline their children will live to regret it. In the church, evil must be handled swiftly and decisively. Otherwise, as 1 Corinthians 5:6 states, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” The heresy or immorality will spread and wreck the church. In the state, evil must be resisted. As we said earlier, the state must wield the sword, punishing wicked citizens.

This, I am convinced, includes, at all three levels, not only punishing those on the inside, but protecting from those on the outside. The head of the household, the man, is called to protect his family. He can’t sit there and quote Matthew 5:38 while some slasher murders his children. In the church, the elders must protect the sheep from wolves that come in to destroy. In the state, the governing officials must protect civilians from invaders. This, I hold, is part of what it means for the authorities to “bear the sword.”

So, no, I don’t believe that this passage, as Tolstoy and others have argued, teaches pacifism. I don’t think it shows conclusively that believers should always oppose war. Although aggressive, offensive wars should be protested, God has given government to citizens to protect them from invasion. In fact, if we say armies are bad, then so are police forces. Both protect the nation, using force when necessary.

In addition, there is no indication that God has not called some believers to faithfully serve in the state, wielding the sword of judgment. John the Baptist, in Luke 3:14, when questioned by soldiers as to how they should follow God, doesn’t tell them to leave the military. He tells them to be godly in the military.

In addition, the immediate context of the passage indicates that not all resistance is barred. In last week’s passage, Jesus says, “Do not take an oath at all,” but it is clear from biblical precept and example that oaths are permitted, and Jesus is saying, “If you’re going to use oaths to evade the truth rather than ensure the truth, don’t swear.” Just as there are times for oaths, there are times to “resist people.” I already have mentioned some of those times. If we don’t take seriously the hyperbolic nature of what Jesus is saying in the Sermon on the Mount, we’ll all be sitting around with gouged-out eyes and cut off hands, and we won’t be able to serve in the military if we wanted to.

I will also argue in a minute that, if this means that we never resist evil people, then verse 42, which says to “give to the one who begs from you,” says that we must never refuse a beggar either. The context seems to indicate we shouldn’t take Jesus’s statement that absolutely.

Third, you might say, “Ok. I can see that we might at times resist evil in defense of others, but we certainly can’t resist evil when it comes to us personally.” Of course, as we’ve already read, when confronted spiritually by the Enemy, by his schemes, or by his agents, we must resist. But, there is also no indication from this passage that we can not defend ourselves physically. If we witnessed a young lady being attacked, if police were not present, we would act as good citizens and Christians by defending one powerless from evil. In the same way, if we were abducted and someone had a knife to our throat, this passage doesn’t prevent us from defending ourselves.

Why? Because this passage does teach that we must not engage in personal retaliation. The Pharisees were using the “eye for an eye” passage as a proof-text for getting even. Jesus is saying, “Don’t get even.” He isn’t saying, “Don’t fight off a burglar.”

This verse teaches, once again, that we are not to administer justice. We are not to get revenge as individuals. Why? As we read before, that is the Lord’s job. He is the one who will execute vengeance—now in part, but future in full.

This reminds me of my wife’s story that I believe many of you have not heard. When Amy was 12, her mother died as a result of a failed tonsillectomy. The doctor made a mistake, sent her home, and she essentially bled to death right before my wife and her brother in their home.
A huge lawsuit and settlement resulted. Amy began receiving large payments at age 18, which resulted mainly in a bunch of sin and rebellion in her life. She looks back and swears that suing the doctor was the wrong thing to do. We have honestly had arguments in the past, where I tried to convince her that it was right and just. But the more I ponder it and consider this text, I think she is right. It is not our job to “resist the one who is evil,” as this passage teaches. God is to be our defender. Vengeance is His. We are not to administer justice.

Second, verse 42 teaches that we are to administer mercy. Verse 42 once again reads, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” What this doesn’t teach is a new law—that we must empty out our pockets to whoever asks whenever he asks. The book of Proverbs speaks of the potential foolishness of giving to strangers. Chapter 11, verse 15 reads, “Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.” Just as verse 39 doesn’t mean that we must never resist evil, this doesn’t mean that we always must give. If somebody mugs us, we’re free to run. If we know someone is taking money right to the liquor store, we’re not wise to give.

I read this news story this week that spoke of Indian doctors trying to convince beggars there to amputate their limbs to grow their earnings. One doctor was quoted as saying something like, “If you have two beggars there, and one of them is lame, the lame one is going to get more money.” There are truly those out there to whom it is not wise to give.

What this passage is teaching is for us to be generous people, willing to share freely and loan freely. The Old Testament law required this. Listen to Deuteronomy 15:7-11.

Deuteronomy 15:7 "If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'

In addition, numerous Old Testament texts indicate that our lending should be done without interest. Deuteronomy 23:19 states, "You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.”

Jesus’s point here is that we are to be in the business of administering mercy—giving people what they likely do not deserve. And as Deuteronomy 15:10 says, it should be done “freely” and without hearts that are “grudging.”

Several weeks ago, we were approached as a church by a man seeking help. He had started a new job and needed some money to get to his next paycheck. He also needed money for a shuttle ride to Kansas City to do some training for his new job. He asked for some help. He viewed it as a loan; we viewed it as a gift. We assisted him. We have never heard from him since. In fact, he sent his $3400 emergency room bill to our P.O. Box, something we’re clearly not obligated to pay. Did we do the right thing? I’m convinced we did. We gave freely and not grudgingly, believing the best, trusting God to guide the situation. We won’t always do everything right in this regard, but I think this illustrates how I want us to handle dealing with the needy in the future.

It comes down to our “default mode.” When you open up Microsoft Word, it launches a new document, and it comes up in a Times New Roman font that is 12 point. That’s what it defaults to unless you tweak it. What do we default to? Do we default to avenging ourselves? Do we default to hoarding what God has given us? Or do we freely give and trust God as our defender? Our “default mode” indicates where are hearts truly are found. And, in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is calling us to have a deep, inner righteousness of the heart.

We are called, in this passage, not to administer justice, but to administer mercy. Both of these were modeled by Jesus. 1 Peter 2:23 says, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” He didn’t seek revenge. And we know that He gave freely. He fed the 5000. He healed people. He gave His life. And the rest of the passage says that He did this because “He continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” In other words, God the Father would avenge Him. He would meet His needs. Verse 21 teaches that we are to follow His example in this, walking in His steps.

Both of these are limited by biblical love. Our non-resistance must cease when love for our brothers is encroached. We can’t sit there while the sheep are slaughtered. We can’t watch while one of our children is kidnapped. Additionally, our giving must cease when love for brothers is compromised. Our giving of mercy must be limited by mercy itself. In other words, sometimes we must let people feel the consequences of their irresponsibility. That is merciful. We give unconditionally up-front, but we give conditions as we proceed, so that we enable the poor to be freed from their condition and not just supported in it. We should say, as Tim Keller writes, in his great book, Ministries of Mercy,

Friend, we are not withdrawing our mercy, just changing its form. We will continue to pray for you and visit you, and the minute you are willing to cooperate with us and make the changes that we believe are needed, we will resume our aid. Please realize that it is only out of love that we are doing this! (Keller, 98).

Both of these—not administering justice and administering mercy—however, must not be stacked with endless qualifications, so that we lose the “shock value” of what Jesus is teaching. We shouldn’t focus on the exceptions, but rather the rule. God wants us to be people who share with others freely, just as we’re also people that aren’t known for fighting back. These are radical statements Jesus is making, and they absolutely need to be heard.

If someone criticizes you, do you immediately defend yourself, returning the criticism?

If you meet a beggar on the street, do you instantly close up your heart toward him, not even considering that you could give?

What is your default mode?

Let us look at the three illustrations Jesus gives to teach these two principles. First, in verse 39, Christ says, “But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” What should be noted about this verse is that this deals with insult more than assault. It likely refers to a blow with the back of the hand, which was seen as grossly offensive in those days and still is today in that part of the world.

What also must be understood is that this is for us verbal as much as it is physical. Sure, there may be times where we take this quite literally and, if punched in the face, we give someone the opportunity to do it again. But more likely, we will be insulted by the words of others. We will then decide whether we will administer justice or mercy. Will we give them what they deserve or what they don’t deserve?

When someone at work looks at a project you’ve worked on and calls you a failure, what will you do? Or when someone tells you how to do something that you learned about months ago, what will you do? Will you hit back? Will you tolerate being insulted?

Second, in verse 40, our Lord says, “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” What is important to note is that, for the Jew, your coat couldn’t be taken away. The poor needed it to keep them warm at night and function as somewhat of a bed, so God made sure they would be protected. Exodus 22:26-27 says this:
Exodus 22:26 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

The point is that we shouldn’t even cling to that which we consider to be our “rights.” We should be ready to be taken advantage of.

What should be understood is this for us is financial as much as material. For us, it’s less likely we’ll have somebody take an important possession, as it is that we’ll be wrongly cheated out of some money.

What do we do when we’re at the auto shop, and we know the guy fixed something that didn’t need fixed? What will we do when we get rear-ended in our car and one of those lawyers on TV tempts us to sue? Will we tolerate having our rights violated? Will we dispense justice or mercy? Will we give them what they deserve or what they don’t deserve?

Third, in verse 41, Jesus says, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” This likely refers to the fact that, in the days of Roman occupation in Palestine, a Roman soldier could grab a Jewish person and command him to help him—often having him carry his pack for as much as a mile. We see something similar in Mark 15:21 when Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the cross of our Lord.

What should be noted is that this can be humbling more than it is tiring. Not only was this work, but it was insulting. You were forced to aid the enemy. You were his slave, if only for an hour.

What do we do when we’re forced at work to do more than our fair share? How will we react if our teacher asks us to start a paper completely over? Will we tolerate being “taken advantage of?” Will we dispense justice or mercy? Will we give our bosses or co-workers or instructors what they deserve or what they don’t deserve?

The question we must ask with each of these is, “Do we have a heart that desires to glorify self or God?” Do we seek to defend self by taking justice in our own hands or preserve self by withholding mercy from others? Our Lord resisted vengeance, letting the Father be His defender. Our Lord shared mercy, trusting the Father to be His provider. Will we be like our Lord, humble and seeking His Father’s glory? Or will we strike back, fight for our rights, protest extra work?




The great George Mueller once said:

There was a day when I died, utterly died, died to George Mueller and his opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame of even my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.

Could you say what Mueller said there? Are we living for ourselves and our pride or for God and His glory?

I have been slowly reading through this excellent book, How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp. In it, the authors argue that trials in our life, what they call “heat,” show us what is in our hearts. They show us what our idols are. The trials either produce “fruit” or “thorns”—good, godly responses to trials, or wicked, ungodly responses to them. In other words, what is our “default mode?” Do we, when under “heat,” come back with seeking justice or showing mercy? Do we produce fruit or thorns?

The great missionary of old, Hudson Taylor, was apparently waiting one day for a boat ride across a river. A rich Chinese man walked up, seeking also a ferry, and, seeing Taylor in his traditional Chinese dress, he thought he was a peasant and pushed him out of the way, into the mud. The boat reached the shore and the wealthy man prepared to hop in. The man in the boat, however, who had witnessed it all, said, “The foreigner here was first. He will get into the boat.” The rich man was quite embarrassed as Taylor got into the boat. But, much to his surprise, the missionary beckoned the man into the boat with him. And, riding across the river, Taylor shared the good news and explained why he loved as he did. Brothers and sisters, that is mercy defeating justice. Taylor responded with fruit.

Let me close by giving three points of application. I think it is helpful to look, as I’ve done numerous times before in our grace group, as well as here on Sunday mornings, at ideas in four broad categories—God, gospel, church, mission. We’ve already considered how this relates to the doctrine of God this morning. Let’s consider the final three.

First, related to gospel—this shows our need for the gospel, as well as the work of the gospel. The only way that we can produce fruit and not thorns in the heat we experience is by the cross. We need the transforming power of the gospel to live in this way. We don’t naturally turn the other cheek, hand people our coats, or go the extra mile. We need God to radically change our hearts.




I remember during seminary somehow messing up my laptop so that it always defaulted, in Microsoft Word, to a 13-point, Arial font. This was very aggravating, because not only did that make my note files much longer and bulkier, but it caused things to open in Word looking messed up. Maybe you feel as if your default mode is messed up this morning. You can’t respond with mercy. You need the gospel. Come to Christ in faith.

This also shows us the work of the gospel. When Christ grabs a person, He makes him one who is radically different. That person, this side of heaven, is not perfect, but he desires to glorify God by entrusting Him with justice and by freely extending His mercy. In the face of heat, he more and more produces fruit. We can’t tolerate a gospel that leaves people unchanged. For example, we can’t call a head of a household saved who is harsh and violent with his family. Either he must repent or he must be evangelized.

Second, related to church—this withholding of justice and dispensing of mercy must be freely practiced within. The church must be a place where people honor Christ by not seeking vengeance against one another. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is chiding the Corinthians for bringing lawsuits against one another. He says, in verse 7, “Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” How dare we be people who hammer each other with justice! It would be far better that we sucked it up and were hurt than avenge ourselves, bringing reproach to Christ. We must be a household of love.

In addition, we should be a place where people honor Christ by extending mercy to one another. In Acts, the early church is clearly seen as a group of people who shared with one another freely, even saying that they “had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). Acts 4:34 says that there was “not a needy person among them.” The church should be a picture of heaven on earth, where no one is needy and all are shown mercy. If we see needs in our community, Grace Church, we have to open up our wallets and deal with them.

Third, related to mission—this withholding of justice and dispensing of mercy must be boldly displayed without. The world must see us, once again, as a dynamic counter-culture. And, if we embody the radical teachings of Jesus in this passage, we will certainly look different. We live in a sinful world, and we live in America, where an entitlement mentality is coupled with rugged individualism. I have my rights, and I’m going to get what’s mine. The ideas presented here—forsaking personal retaliation and giving and loaning freely—are radically counter-cultural. Americans don’t turn the other cheek; they hit back. Americans don’t toss in their coat. They sue and take the shirt off your back. Americans don’t go the extra mile. They complain during the first mile. Our sinful nature resists these ideas, and our American upbringing reinforces that.
If we can embody these things as a church, the world will look in and see the difference the gospel makes. They’ll see that we don’t beat each other up. They’ll see that we rather show kindness to one other.

If we can embody these things as believers in the culture, outside of our church, the world will look and see a difference in us. They will mark the strange way we live. In our interaction with unbelievers, we won’t seek vengeance. We will rather give freely. The world will notice. They will be drawn to Christ. They will see people who look like Jesus, and they will want to be with us, as well as with Him.

When I first thought about this sermon, I had a different ending in mind. I thought I would bookend my opening illustration, of the Aaron O’Neal lawsuit, by contrasting the lawsuit of his father with the mercy of his mother. I remember his mother, Deborah O’Neal, initially making statements evidencing a faith in Christ, showing no desire to bring a lawsuit.

My research, however, leaves us with another ending. In July of this year, she joined the lawsuit. Brothers and sisters, I’m not in their shoes. I don’t directly feel their pain. But their conduct serves as an example for us, for good or bad. Will we, when faced with heat in life, respond in such a fashion? Knowing what I have heard of Aaron O’Neal, I doubt he would have wanted this. Will we seek justice or will we pursue mercy? I pray, as the church of God, that we will run hard after the latter.

As Jesus said in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”