Daily Devotional For Tuesday, March 12, 2024

One of the toughest commandments from Jesus is loving our enemies. In Jesus’s day, for Jews, Rome and Romans were their enemies. They hated Romans, their occupation of their land, the rules and taxes they imposed and the clear lack of concern for anyone who was not Roman. Read these words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-48:

“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. (43) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (46) For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (48) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (ESV).

In Matthew 5:38, Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament Law in the following passages:

• Exodus 21:23-25, “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” (ESV).
• Leviticus 24:19-20, “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” (ESV).
• Deuteronomy 19:21, “Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (ESV).

When we read thee Old Testament Laws above, they seem severe in our enlightened and sophisticated day. So, why such severity? The answer is below:

“While the law sounds severe to us, in its time it set guidelines against what may have been escalating personal vendettas among people. The principle of retribution, lex talionis, gave judges a formula for dealing with crime. That is, “Make the punishment fit the crime.” The law limited vengeance and helped the court administer punishment that was neither too strict nor too lenient” (Source: Life Application Bible, “Matthew,” p. 102).

The “lex tallionis was one of the most ancient and oldest laws in Jesus day. It dates all the way back to the Code of Hammurabi in Babylon around 2285-2242 BC. In Babylon, this code made a distinction between the gentleman and the workman. Thus, God incorporated this code of justice into His Old Testament. This code on the surface seems savage and bloodthirsty, but its intent was to show mercy and the limitation of vengeance. If one man in one tribe injured another man in another tribe, all the men in that other tribe would seek vengeance — typically death. This law limited the punishment to fit the crime and it could not be carried out by an individual, but only through a tribal court. And sometimes a monetary fee was placed on top of the offense as well. And in the Old Testament, the “lex tallionis” is not the only law of justice. There are numerous passage where God commands mercy to one’s enemies” (Source: William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, “Matthew”, Vol. 1, pp. 189-190). 

Look at:

• Proverbs 25:21-22, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, (22) for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (ESV).  Sounds just like Jesus in Matthew 5:44 and the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:20.
• Proverbs 24:29, “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” (ESV). Sounds like Jesus in Matthew. 5:38-48, doesn’t it?
• Lamentations 3:30, “Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies” (NLT). The Apostle Paul is obviously quoting Jesus in Matthew 5:39. 

When someone hurts us, harms us, or insults us or our family, everything in us wants revenge. Jesus’ reference in Matthew 5:38-48 to slapping on the cheek refers to an Old Testament cultural tradition on giving the greatest insult to someone. To slap someone with the flat of the hand was not considered as insulting as slapping them with the back of the hand. This was considered twice as insulting. 

For us today, Jesus commands us never to return an insult with a worse insult just as Jesus always modeled Himself. So, what Jesus is saying is this: “Even if someone should direct at you the most deadly and calculated insult, you must on no account retaliate, and you must on no account resent it.” According to Jewish law, the one who slapped another faced punishment and a heavy fine. Thus, the law was on the side of the victim, and the victim would have every right to take this offense to court. 

Jesus said as His children, we should not pursue our legal rights when this happens, but to turn the other cheek to be slapped (insulted) as well. When we look at Jesus, our Mentor, Model, Maker, Master and Messiah, He did exactly with He commanded us to do. He received such horrible treatment in Matthew 26:67, “Then they spit in His face and struck him. And some slapped him, (68) saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (ESV).

In the book of Isaiah, there is an Old Testament prophecy about how Jesus would be treated. Look at Isaiah 50:6, “I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not My face from disgrace and spitting” (ESV). And the Apostle Peter, who witnessed all of what happened to Jesus, wrote this in 1 Peter 2:23, “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” (ESV).

Jesus wanted his followers to have an unselfish attitude that willingly follows the way of the Cross instead of the way of personal rights. They should entrust themselves to God who will one day set all things right.

In the Book of Proverbs, God used Solomon to remind us of this as well. Read Proverbs 24:17-20:

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, (18) lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away His anger from him. (19) Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, (20) for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out” (ESV). 

If you have ever been around anyone who wants revenge, they are bitter and consumed with resentment. Such people think they are hurting the other person who either hurt them or harmed them but in truth — they are only harming themselves. Being bitter against someone is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the other person. Look at Hebrews 12:15, “Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God’s best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives” (TLB).

Bitterness not only poisons the person who is bitter, it can poison the body of Christ, divide churches and members who feel they have to take a side. The only side we should take is the Lord’s. You think, “Well, PK, you don’t know what they said or did to me. They don’t deserve forgiveness from me” and you would be partially right if you are not saved. 

You do not deserve forgiveness from Jesus Christ either for your sin, but He gave it to you. From the cross, while in unimaginable agony and pain from being crucified and taking every sin from His past, present and future on Him, Jesus said to the Jews and Romans around Him as well as to us today, “Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, ESV).

Some of you might recognize the name of Craig Croeshel. He is founder and senior pastor of Life Church in Houston Texas with multi-sites in 12 other locations. He is also a conservative, evangelical author. He is the author of Think Ahead, Winning the War In Your Mind For Teens, The Power to Change, Lead Like It Matters, Dangerous Prayers, The Christian Atheist and other books. He tells the story about how for years he battle the desire for revenge and bitterness. Read his story below:

“My biggest struggle with bitterness started when my family discovered the awful truth about someone we had trusted in a position of authority over my little sister …. Most kids in our small town junior high school took at least one class from [a man named] Max on their journey through the sixth grade. To many kids, Max was a favorite teacher—always cutting up, telling jokes, and handing out easy As. To me, he became the object of the deepest bitterness that I've ever known.

Throughout the years, Max developed special relationships with his favorite students. Though none of us were aware of it at the time, we discovered years later that all his favorite students "happened" to be cute, young girls. My little sister, whom I treasured and loved, became one of Max's victims ….

Some studies show that as many as one out of three girls and one in four boys suffer some sort of sexual abuse. Whatever the numbers, this tragedy must crush God's heart. I know it crushed mine as a brother.

I remember trying to absorb the painful truth. How should I respond? Should we track him down? Have him arrested? Beat the life out of him? Make no mistake; I was furious the moment that I heard about his abuse. But the more I thought about it, my anger blossomed into rage. The seeds of bitterness planted in my heart grew to a full-blown briar patch of revenge. I prayed that Max would suffer eternally in hell, and I vowed to make him suffer on earth before facing God's judgment.

My plan for revenge wasn't necessary. To my bittersweet delight, we found that Max was suffering in a hospital, fighting for his life against a crippling disease, muscular dystrophy. I remember thanking God for his justice in giving Max what he deserved.

Most would agree that my bitterness toward Max was justifiable …. [But] no matter how justifiable my feelings were, in God's eyes my self-righteous hatred was just as sinful as Max's crime. Even writing that statement all these years later remains difficult—how could my desire for justice be considered as sinful as this monster's lustful actions? The vast majority of people would agree that my hate and judgmental rage were more than justified.

In the course of time, however, I learned that bitterness never draws us closer to God. Bitterness is a nonproductive, toxic emotion, usually resulting from resentment over unmet needs …. I wanted [Max] to suffer …. [but] I was punishing no one but myself and those around me who experienced the scalding spillovers of the acid churning inside me.” (Source: Craig Groeschel, Soul Detox (Zondervan, 2012), pp. 92-94).

Most of us can understand his anger and desire for revenge, hate, and bitterness against this teacher named Max. It has been said that “revenge is a dish that is best served cold.” Jesus said, “Forgiveness is a dish that is best served in warm love.” 

Questions To Consider

• Who has hurt or harmed you that you are still holding a grudge against? 
• What is the biggest obstacle keeping your from forgiving them?
• Have you ever been around a bitter person? If you have, what stands out about how their bitterness as affected them?
• When we forgive someone who has hurt or harmed us, it does not mean that the relationship is restored as if nothing happened nor does it mean that we instantaneously trust them. Why?
• Is there anyone you have hurt or harmed that you need to go and seek their forgiveness? If there is, why haven’t you done this? Would you consider quit making excuses and make an effort? If so, when and where?

Scripture to Meditate On: Luke 6:27-28, 37, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (28) bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. . . . (37) Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven” (NLT). 

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I must confess I have held a grudge against (name the person) for (name the act). Everything in me tells me I am justified in holding this grudge but all this is doing is causing a root of bitterness to grow in my life. I understand that if I don’t forgive those who sin against me, You will. Not forgive me of my sins. Lord, I don’t want to live like this. I don’t want every time their name comes up or I see them, my heart rages with resentment against them. Father, help me forgive them just as you have forgiven me. Help me to love them and even do good to them as You say in Luke 6:27-28 and 37. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside — Pastor Kelly