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how does this teaching relate to the old testament emphasis on justice and recompense?

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Matthew 5:38-39

“You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

This passage is from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, recorded by Matthew. Jesus is teaching his followers about the character and conduct expected of those who live under God's reign, often by reinterpreting or deepening understandings of the Law given through Moses.

What does it mean to pursue justice when personal retaliation is explicitly discouraged?

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Read alongside it

  • Leviticus 24:19-20

    This is one of the Old Testament passages where the 'eye for an eye' principle is stated, establishing a proportional justice.

  • Romans 12:17-21

    Paul echoes Jesus' teaching, urging believers not to repay evil with evil but to overcome evil with good.

  • 1 Peter 2:23

    Peter describes how Christ, when he suffered, did not retaliate but entrusted himself to God, who judges justly.

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