Sermon Archives
Getting to the Heart of Retaliation
Matthew 5:38-42The Way of the Kingdom Part 2
Rickey Primrose
August 18, 2013
Description:
How did your parents teach you to respond to offenses committed against you?
Did they use phrases like, “stand up for yourself,” “don’t just let people walk all
over you,” or “never hit anybody unless they hit you first”? I think this type of
instruction would be fairly common among contemporary parenting. In fact,
this was exactly what the religious leaders taught in Jesus’ day: “An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In other words, it is okay to retaliate when somebody offends you as long as your retaliation is in proper proportion to the
original offense. Seems fair enough, right?
Once again, Jesus calls his followers to be counter-cultural and to go against popular opinion when it comes to the ‘right to retaliate.’ The heart of retaliation is selfishness. Jesus demands a greater self-sacrifice. He demands us not to worry about vindicating ourselves but to trust His protection. You cannot constantly be looking out for yourself and follow Jesus at the same time.
Keywords:
Anger, Bitterness, Forgiveness