§ 6. The Sermon on the Mount (According to Matthew)

At the beginning of the Law, in Exodus 21, God gives the theocratic rule for personal injury. This rule defines justice in cases where an innocent person is harmed by an offender.

Exodus 21:22–25

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…. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

(The same rule is applied to fights in general at Leviticus 24:10, 19–20.)

Immediately following this rule, however, the Law prescribes a merciful outcome in the case where a slave suffers an injury. Jesus will focus on this idea in His teaching.

Exodus 21:26–27

When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth.

Jesus's focus on a merciful outcome is right, and the Law and Prophets support it. Although Deuteronomy 19:16–21 makes clear the severity of the Law, mercy still triumphs in the end (Ezekiel 20:13–17). For Deuteronomy prescribes "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" in the case of a false witness, saying, "You shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother." And the penalty is even firmer when it says, "Your eye shall not pity." But centuries later, God tells Ezekiel that Israel made it to the promised land only because His eye had indeed pitied them.

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.

Ezekiel 20:13, 17

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness…. Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them….
Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

The big picture is clear. Mercy triumphs over justice. God desires all to be saved.

Keep in mind the context of "an eye for an eye." Jesus wants us not to seek vengeance or even justice, but rather reconciliation and forgiveness.

We will see this concept is carried throughout the New Testament. In one example, Paul's instruction to Timothy is to ignore wrongdoing against himself ("patiently enduring evil") and offer only gentle correction in order to gain any opportunity for an opponent to reach repentance.

2 Timothy 2:24–26

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

We can see in Paul's instruction the concept Jesus puts forth here—that the loss of something relatively temporal is well worth the gain of eternal salvation. Instead, we ought to pity wrongdoers. While we can see clearly they are doing wrong, they do not understand the eternal consequence of their actions. And no personal loss or even injury to ourselves is worth the destruction of someone else's eternal soul.

Here (as He had at Matthew 5:25) Jesus counsels us to settle out of court.

Paul echoes this idea when instructing Corinth to deal directly with each other:

1 Corinthians 6:1, 7

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints…?
To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

The tunic is generally an undergarment worn next to the skin, while the cloak is an outer garment. Together they represent a complete outfit.

We first saw the right cheek and the left, then the inner garment and the outer, and here Jesus completes the illustration with a doubled distance.

Offering up double what someone is pursuing shows them you do not value it as much as they do. And this demonstration is the gentlest of rebukes, possibly piquing their interest to know what you do value and why.

1 Peter 3:14–16

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience….

The parallel account in Luke does not contain the reference to lending here. Instead, Luke presents it in a different episode along with a rationale that is useful for commenting on Matthew here.

Luke 6:32–36

If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

In Luke's account, the cloak is lost first and then the tunic, which is the opposite order of Matthew, where the inner garment (the tunic) is lost first and then the outer garment (the cloak). We focus on the fact the two garments together represent a complete outfit because the parallel accounts make clear the order is not significant.

This saying is consistent with the illustration of the cheeks, the cloak and tunic, the distances. We do not limit or stop the loss of some temporal thing because we hope in so doing to reach a soul with eternal consequence.