Love & Hate

  1. Yeshua's understanding of Justice has nothing to do with fairness or punishment.

    1. While we can argue that society requires fairness and the punishment of it's predators in it's current state, Jesus indicates that this is not the way that society will ever get better, nor how it is designed to function.

      "You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. - Matthew 5:38-42

      1. Using what we have to work with to build a better world.

        1. Cultural paradigms that impact what Jesus is saying:

          1. The backhand slap – something that someone does to their servants.

            1. Jesus could be saying, “tell them to hit you as an equal” (at least to the right-handed among them), but He's definitely saying that you don't hit them back, which means that this amounts to peaceful resistance and acceptance of the violence and oppression of the other.

          2. It's more shameful to be with someone naked than to be naked.

            1. Jesus could be saying, “let them feel the shame of their pettiness”, but He's definitely saying that even when someone is trying to take from you, you are the people who are generous.

          3. The extra mile – Roman soldiers can make any citizen walk a mile.

            1. Jesus could be saying, “show them how strong you are and that they aren't getting to you”, but He's definitely saying that you are the kind of people who are willing to go out of your way to serve an enemy.

          4. The giving and borrowing is exactly what it sounds like, except that Jews were not allowed to lend money at interest to their own people, and Jesus is saying “anybody who asks”.

        2. It's important to remember that Jesus is also reminding the people that they are not under obligation to follow the laws of the Torah.

          1. These “punishment laws” are only for when people cannot reach an adequate arrangement on their own.

            1. Something He also brought up in verse 25

          2. The people who really understand who they are will not resort to these “legal backstops” but will instead bring generosity, compassion, and peace to what are otherwise violent situations.

      2. I think it's important to notice that each of these scenarios involves a way to work within existing laws (both of the Jews and the Romans) that also involves going beyond them.

    2. The battle lines are drawn wrong

      1. Jesus simplifies a great deal of Torah interpretations and cultural developments about “Us vs. Them” into a single word: hate

        "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? - Matthew 5:43-47

        1. Notice that the “hate your enemy” is not, “HATE YOUR ENEMY”

          1. This means that it is not a quotation from the scriptures, but it is instead a commentary on what the religious leadership was doing with their interpretation of the scriptures.

          2. Often used as an example is Psalm 139

            O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
            For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
            Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD?
            And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
            I hate them with the utmost hatred;
            They have become my enemies.
            Search me, O God, and know my heart;
            Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
            And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
            And lead me in the everlasting way.
            - Psalm 139:19-24

            1. notice that this is not a testament of what God is like, but a confession from David, who was admittedly, overzealous when it came to violence.

              1. Let's take a moment to acknowledge that David's anger and frustration are holy and well-founded, Jesus is not coming against his heart, just the way he's orienting it.

              2. To be clear, “pay attention to the energy, don't be distracted by the object”.

          3. While God tolerates/accommodates Israel's feuds with other nations and the domestic disputes they encounter (and their celebrations after they win), He makes clear to Ezekiel:

            "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' - Ezekiel 33:11

      2. The war is against the denial of grace, and it always has been so.