Daily Lesson for Thursday 28th of August 2025

“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’ ” (Romans 12:19, ESV; see also Deuteronomy 32:35).

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Until the Lord brings the justice so lacking now, it was the duty of the judges in ancient Israel to implement the law and to determine a just punish­ment when harm or injury occurred. But they needed the facts first. The problem was that the teachers of the law in Christ’s time applied this law in a way that opened the door for personal vengeance. By doing so, the principle was taken out of its context, and the initial purpose was missed. Consequently, they were defending what the law actually forbade.

Jesus was not against the principle of reward and punishment. Justice is a matter of principle; it is a crucial part of life. However, no indi­vidual is to take the role of judge, jury, and “executioner” upon himself or herself. How easy it would be for us to pervert justice! It is not up to us to repay harm. If some evil is to be addressed, this must be performed by an objective court; it is the work of judges.

In this context Jesus tells us to be as perfect as our “Father in heaven is perfect.” How can we be as perfect as God Himself? Unselfish love is the overarching characteristic of God. He teaches His followers how to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them. True perfection is to love, to be forgiving, and to be merciful (Luke 6:36), even to those who do not deserve it. This principle, and the actions it leads to, is what it means to reflect God’s character.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-09-vengeance/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 27th of August 2025

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ cited texts from the Old Testament, texts that people were surely familiar with. However, He was speaking against the current rabbinical interpretations, which over the centuries had moved away from the original purpose of these laws. That is, human tradition not only hid the purpose of God’s Word but in some cases (think of the Sabbath regulations and what they had done to the Sabbath commandment) had perverted their intent and meanings. By His words, Jesus was restoring the original meanings of these laws.

Image © Pacific Press from GoodSalt.com

On the Mount of Beatitudes, by pointing His hearers back to the texts’ original intent and meaning, Jesus was seeking to correct some of these false interpretations.

The text from Exodus 21:24 that talks about an “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” was quoted in Matthew 5:38 (“you have heard . . . but I say to you”) and referred to the lex talionis, the so-called retaliation law. This verse is also used in other places in the Bible (Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21).

The original intention of this law was formulated against any personal revenge. It was to stop blood feuds, or retaliation without an investigation first. Injury had to be evaluated by judges, and then a proper monetary compensation would be established and paid. This practice was done in order to stop people from “taking the law into their own hands.” Justice was to be done, but it had to be done according to God’s law.

Jesus Christ, who gave these social laws to Moses, knew the purpose of this law; therefore, He could apply it in an objective way, according to its original intention. The motive behind it was to bring justice and reconciliation, and to restore peace.

One could argue that, in a sense, justice implies a kind of vengeance. The proper application of these laws was, it seemed, an attempt to find the right balance between the ideas of justice and vengeance.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-09-an-eye-for-an-eye/