NOTES for Mat 5:33-41
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: |
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: |
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. |
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. |
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. |
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: |
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. |
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. |
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. |
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The abolition of the principle of equal retribution, of which the Lord speaks in today's passage from the Sermon on the Mount, marks a fundamentally new stage in the spiritual evolution of humanity. In antiquity, in the era when the Law of Moses proclaimed 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' the world was still ruled by the principle of Lamech, who killed a young man for a wound and a man for a scratch. Against that background the rule of equal retribution became the height of civilization and mercy. But the time came when even it ceased to be the highest spiritual achievement: the Lord calls us to renounce vengeance altogether.
Usually interpretation of this call is based on the Old Testament words of God that only He has the right to vengeance and recompense. But the Lord Himself says nothing about this. He does not promise, 'God will avenge you,' but directly commands, 'Renounce revenge; do not resist the evil one.' And this means that in these words we again hear a call to the way of the Cross.
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