An Eye for an Eye vs Turn the Other Cheek

In Leviticus 24:19-20, Exodus 21:23-24, and Deuteronomy 19:21, there is a system where a person can return an injury for an equal injury from another person, often referenced as “an eye for an eye”. This is the opposite of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-48 about turning the other cheek and loving your enemy. Did Jesus contradict the law? 

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God’s Justice vs Mercy

According to Ezekiel 18:23-32, God doesn’t enjoy punishing the wicked but has to for the sake of justice for their victims; however, God will show mercy to those who repent. Similar ideas can be found in Isaiah 57:15-21, Jeremiah 18:1-10, Ezekiel 33:10-12, 33:17-20, Psalms 7:1-17, and Psalms 32:1-11. The Bible says we humans are born with sin nature that we inherited from Adam the first human (Rom 5:12-17), so if God destroys all evil, then that would include all people (Isa 57:16) because no one is “good” according to God’s definition of good. Jesus even says this in Matt 19:17, Mark 10:18, and Luke 18:19. One problem is that extremists keep redefining God through one extreme or another. One side looks at the Flood story, or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and says God is a destructive, bloodthirsty maniac. The other side looks at God’s love and mercy through Jesus in the New Testament and thinks sin does not matter, so we are all free to live as degenerate heathens because of his mercy. Even though sin was such a big deal, Christ had to die for us because sin requires death.

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