Anchor My Faith

Vengeance Is God’s Responsibility

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:30

We began a study of Matthew 5:38 – 42 in the previous lesson and concluded that Jesus was concerned about the response of the heart when faced with evil. We began with the statement of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” and was guided to where we must consider what Paul said about vengeance in Romans 12:19 (ESV): “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.”’

Looking at our text in Matthew 5:38 – 42 and Luke 6:30: ^{Mt 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, ^{Lk 6:30} and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.”, it is clear that Jesus desires a heart free from vengeance and the need of immediate justice.

Read the above text and think about it in the context of our western culture in which we embrace safety, security and comfort. Doing the things asked of us there would impact these three desired conditions just mentioned. As a result, we would tend to resist and when we had the opportunity, we may consider how to get even. It is at this point that Paul steps alongside Jesus and makes it clear that we are not to avenge ourselves, but we are to leave justice in the hands of God. Vengeance is his responsibility; he will repay in his way and in the proper time.

If vengeance belongs to God and we are to turn over the desired justice to him, then what is our responsibility and response to be? First, we need to determine what is on God’s heart concerning the evil against us. If we honestly seek his heart, we may find that he desires that our persecutors hear a clear presentation of the gospel and a clear demonstration of it from our lives more than he wants a more comfortable life for us.

Second, in our next lesson we will learn that we are to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us. By doing this, our enemies (those who are persecuting us) may come to understand the gospel. By turning justices and vengeance over to God, we are then free to love and forgive them. As Jesus was dying on the cross, he could have easily spoken a word and destroyed his enemy, but then he would not have purchased our salvation. Instead, he continued to love them and forgave them. Likewise, he expects us to see the bigger picture of building the kingdom of God and turn from the immediate need of justice and instead love our enemies as people God created and who need salvation, and forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. They don’t know that they are pawns in the hands of the devil and need to be rescued from his kingdom of darkness.

Prayer

Father, we have heard the words of Jesus in this lesson and have learned about God’s desire for us and our enemy. The question for us is, how are we going to implement this in our lives and how are we going to share this concept with others so that God’s kingdom will grow?