Over the years, there have been many interpretations of Biblical sayings such as “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” or “turn the other cheek.” We get confused with these types of maxims as to what they really mean. Sometimes, people get into heated arguments over them. An idiom is a literary feature understood by the people of that time, and is an exaggeration to make a point. In present day society, we often have a difficult time interpreting that kind of thinking. For example, how do you fit a camel through the eye of the needle? That would literally mean that no wealthy person could get into heaven, but that’s not what it really means. Don’t misinterpret scripture for lack of understanding the idiom.
Our understanding can begin in Exodus 21:1-24:18. Moses receives the remainder of the instructions on civil laws for the Israelite people from the LORD on the mountain. According to the Jewish sages, this portion contains 53 of the 613 commandments set forth by God to teach his set apart people how to live righteously. The laws arbitrate between man and his fellow man—cases of personal injury and fair restitution for loss of time from work, loss of possessions, pain, etc. The idiom, ‘life for life’ is rightly interpreted that the person causing the financial burden, was responsible, not that he forfeits his life. However, murder is one place where the literal life for life applies.
Another idiom, lex talionis [eye for an eye], is not about revenge as so often misinterpreted, but is about like for like compensation. Yet Jesus took it to a different level in Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard our fathers were told, ‘Eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth’. But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left too!” Jesus teaches the ethic of love that clarified the true law of Torah with an idiomatic exaggeration that would fully be understood by the people of that time. Jesus was addressing the need for transformation of the heart rather than rule keeping. It’s not enough to obey the letter of the law, we must also conform to the Spirit of the law.
Turning the other cheek then doesn’t imply pacifism, it was simply a command to forgo retaliation for a personal offense. Jesus was the perfect example of turning the other cheek when He was silent before His accusers, instead He prayed that His father would forgive them. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount contained several idioms. He was making the point that the spirit of the law was more important than the letter of the law. It is the spirit of the law that causes a life transformation. In other words, we can keep the letter of the law because we must or we can live our lives in the spirit of the law, which is keeping the law because it is the right thing to do and we want to do it. It is the difference between being compelled to do something and actually freely choosing to do it. Herein, the idioms are providing practicality of transforming life in Christ.
