October 24, 2010
Matthew 6:5-15
This is how you should pray . . .
We began with a review of Jesus' conflict with the religious leaders. He called them hypocrites. They were all about show, appearing to be good, without the substance. Their motivation was wrong. They wanted praise from others, not honor for God.
Today, we often think of hypocrites as doing what they say others should not do. Perhaps the definition has changed. The Greek term is often explained as stressing "play acting" rather than "not walking the talk." Not walking the talk is part of the definition even in Greek, however.
Jesus was saying, "My disciples do not pray for show."
When Jesus mentioned a "reward in full" for those whose prayers were meant to attract attention, what did He mean? Perhaps they sought affirmation from others. But that isn't praise worth having. Spiritually discerning people aren't fooled by such prayers.
What is the reward offered from the Father? The class mentioned such possibilities as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and having one's prayers answered. But the major reward seems to be a stronger relationship to God Himself. We can receive the "Praise of heaven" rather than "praise of other people."
Jesus' warned about babbling like pagans, sometimes explained as "vain repetition." If God already knows about the situation, our prayer isn't intended to get His attention. We shouldn't measure spirituality by the number of words in someone's prayer. Perhaps "embellishment" is a good term for what some prayers add. Such additions reminded us of the prayers of Baal's prophets in their struggle with Elijah (1 Kings 18).
If God already knows what we want and need, why do we ask Him? Prayer enables the relationship. We are acknowledging our dependence upon God. In Luke 18, Jesus gives the illustration of the persistent widow. Of course, we don't need to badger God. But we recalled Dr. Middendorf's abduction and the prayer offered by someone half a world away. (The podcast for his 10/17/10 messaage is available here.) Prayer is a faith-strengthener for one called to pray. Our involvement is desired by God, and it is expressed through prayer.
The Lord's prayer (verses 9-13) doesn't have a place to "insert requests here." Rather, "your will be done" is included. By mentioning specific needs and wants to God, we are acknowledging His power, whether the result is what I originally wanted or not.
David quoted Myron Augsberger about prayer: "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, it is being willing to accept His will in our lives. Prayer moves the hand of God by giving Him the moral freedom to do in our lives what He has been wanting to do. God, in His sovereign practice, does not impose His will upon us."
But God's will isn't always done here. Meanwhile, a reward of prayer is our being faithful.
John Wesley was cited as saying "God only acts in response to our prayers." Several of us thought that was a bit extreme; after all, He created without anyone praying. [The more full quotation is "God does nothing except by prayer, and everything with it."]
We had questions about a picture of the universe with God saying, "I wish someone would pray so that I could rescue Jess Middendorf." But Daniel 10:12-14 suggests that our prayers actually make a difference in God's ability to act.
While requests aren't specifically mentioned in the Lord's prayer, they are demonstrated in other parts of Jesus' teaching. When we do ask for something, do we weaken the request by adding "but your will be done"? Isn't that sort of giving God an escape clause? That way, if the request is denied, we can convince ourselves that God was responding to the second part of the prayer rather than the first. Time was running short, so David wanted to move that discussion to the next session on October 31.
Oct 28, 2010
Oct 21, 2010
Prayer
October 17, 2010
Matthew 6:5-15
When you pray . . .
The first three topics in chapter 6 (giving to the poor, praying, fasting) all mention "they have their reward in full." Apparently our real goals determine where our success will lie. If our underlying reason for an act is to have publicity, then that's what we can expect to receive. In the business world, we are told that companies achieve what they really think is important (barring outside intervention). Perhaps our "religious exercises" also achieve their real goals. Some are aiming for public honor, and they can get it. Others are looking for closeness to God, and fortunately that is also attainable. But you don't get that closeness if your real goal is the publicity.
In addition to this passage, the Bible has other descriptions of prayer, some of which expand our understanding of appropriate prayer. Acts 1:14 and 4:23-31 were specifically mentioned as encouraging corporate prayer, which today's main passage doesn't mention at all.
This week's topic, prayer, had three main discussion points, as suggested in Jesus' comments.
Praying for show: Publicity
The purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. Sometimes this can and should be done in a public setting. But the public part ought to be incidental to the prayer, not the reason for the prayer. We have a desire to speak with God, and it just happens that we are surrounded by other people.
Public prayers may be thinly disguised efforts to evangelize ("We're going to have prayer at our table in this restaurant, and we invite all the rest of you here to join us") or to make announcements in church ("And Lord, we pray for Brother Jones there in Room 324 of the hospital"). We need to remember that we're talking to God in prayer, not preaching or teaching.
On the subject of prayer in restaurants, one restaurant worker pointed out that pray-ers are noted for being lousy tippers. If prayer before a meal is a legitimate form of witness (and this passage doesn't quite address the topic), then the rest of our witness needs to include proper respect for the servers, which includes appropriate payment for their service. (And 10% isn't adequate in today's restaurant market.)
Praying publicly is often a part of family training, and may be appropriate to help enforce the idea that God is present everywhere and deserves to be recognized. This led to a discussion on why so many Christians feel compelled to pray before each meal. We seemed agreed that this can be a reminder that God is the source of all blessings, including food. But there was also awareness that saying religious words before a meal (or before going to bed) may not be actual praying.
Praying for length: Repetition
Jesus' instruction about "not babbling" is best judged by us about ourselves. Trying to determine when someone else is babbling is dangerous. We do not know their mindset, or their ability to put their thoughts into words. Repeating phrases ("Father God do this, and Father God do that") could be laziness of thought; but it could also be deliberate emphasis on an aspect of God's character that the person praying needs to be reminded of. And those of us with better vocabularies and who are more comfortable may be able to babble without ever using the same words ("Lord, we thank you for the beauty of this day, and Father, your glory is obvious in today's sunrise").
Most of us feel that our prayers communicate better if we speak naturally. We try to avoid special prayer vocabulary (thee, thou) or a special prayer voice (suddenly deeper, or a different accent). But for others, these may be signs of special respect for God and recognition that He is not just anybody.
[We tried to impress upon our own children that you could speak to God as to a friend, but were pretty stunned when one child began a mealtime prayer with, "How's it going, God?"]
The caution about babbling, thinking we'll be heard because of how many words we say or how we say them, is more a caution for us as individuals, not a way to judge other people's communication with God.
Praying for informing God: He already knows
This has been a question many of us have struggled with: Why do we tell God anything? He already knows what's happened and what we need.
We recognize that prayer is communication, and communication is two-way. By bringing our concerns to God, we can become attuned to His perspectives. Many of us have had the experience of having our thoughts re-directed as we are praying. The Holy Spirit uses our openness to guide us.
By mentioning those things that concern us in prayer, whether they are praises, requests, or challenges, we are acknowledging that we want God involved in each situation. We also recognize that He is in charge.
And the Bible gives examples of God changing His mind because of prayers. Theologically, we have questions about how an all-knowing God can be persuaded to alter anything He has planned. But the Bible used that language to describe Moses' encounter with God. Other examples may not be as clear (Abraham and the destruction of Sodom, David and the census), but it still appears that our willingness to "argue the case" is one factor in God's actions.
Finally, we came back to the idea that God wants us in relationship with Him. A relationship requires communication, and prayer is our communication with God. We have been invited to participate in talks with God, not to manipulate Him but to get to know Him and to reveal ourselves (consciously) to Him.
Things that help us to pray better
We shared some things that have helped us in our own prayer lives.
Matthew 6:5-15
When you pray . . .
The first three topics in chapter 6 (giving to the poor, praying, fasting) all mention "they have their reward in full." Apparently our real goals determine where our success will lie. If our underlying reason for an act is to have publicity, then that's what we can expect to receive. In the business world, we are told that companies achieve what they really think is important (barring outside intervention). Perhaps our "religious exercises" also achieve their real goals. Some are aiming for public honor, and they can get it. Others are looking for closeness to God, and fortunately that is also attainable. But you don't get that closeness if your real goal is the publicity.
In addition to this passage, the Bible has other descriptions of prayer, some of which expand our understanding of appropriate prayer. Acts 1:14 and 4:23-31 were specifically mentioned as encouraging corporate prayer, which today's main passage doesn't mention at all.
This week's topic, prayer, had three main discussion points, as suggested in Jesus' comments.
Praying for show: Publicity
The purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. Sometimes this can and should be done in a public setting. But the public part ought to be incidental to the prayer, not the reason for the prayer. We have a desire to speak with God, and it just happens that we are surrounded by other people.
Public prayers may be thinly disguised efforts to evangelize ("We're going to have prayer at our table in this restaurant, and we invite all the rest of you here to join us") or to make announcements in church ("And Lord, we pray for Brother Jones there in Room 324 of the hospital"). We need to remember that we're talking to God in prayer, not preaching or teaching.
On the subject of prayer in restaurants, one restaurant worker pointed out that pray-ers are noted for being lousy tippers. If prayer before a meal is a legitimate form of witness (and this passage doesn't quite address the topic), then the rest of our witness needs to include proper respect for the servers, which includes appropriate payment for their service. (And 10% isn't adequate in today's restaurant market.)
Praying publicly is often a part of family training, and may be appropriate to help enforce the idea that God is present everywhere and deserves to be recognized. This led to a discussion on why so many Christians feel compelled to pray before each meal. We seemed agreed that this can be a reminder that God is the source of all blessings, including food. But there was also awareness that saying religious words before a meal (or before going to bed) may not be actual praying.
Praying for length: Repetition
Jesus' instruction about "not babbling" is best judged by us about ourselves. Trying to determine when someone else is babbling is dangerous. We do not know their mindset, or their ability to put their thoughts into words. Repeating phrases ("Father God do this, and Father God do that") could be laziness of thought; but it could also be deliberate emphasis on an aspect of God's character that the person praying needs to be reminded of. And those of us with better vocabularies and who are more comfortable may be able to babble without ever using the same words ("Lord, we thank you for the beauty of this day, and Father, your glory is obvious in today's sunrise").
Most of us feel that our prayers communicate better if we speak naturally. We try to avoid special prayer vocabulary (thee, thou) or a special prayer voice (suddenly deeper, or a different accent). But for others, these may be signs of special respect for God and recognition that He is not just anybody.
[We tried to impress upon our own children that you could speak to God as to a friend, but were pretty stunned when one child began a mealtime prayer with, "How's it going, God?"]
The caution about babbling, thinking we'll be heard because of how many words we say or how we say them, is more a caution for us as individuals, not a way to judge other people's communication with God.
Praying for informing God: He already knows
This has been a question many of us have struggled with: Why do we tell God anything? He already knows what's happened and what we need.
We recognize that prayer is communication, and communication is two-way. By bringing our concerns to God, we can become attuned to His perspectives. Many of us have had the experience of having our thoughts re-directed as we are praying. The Holy Spirit uses our openness to guide us.
By mentioning those things that concern us in prayer, whether they are praises, requests, or challenges, we are acknowledging that we want God involved in each situation. We also recognize that He is in charge.
And the Bible gives examples of God changing His mind because of prayers. Theologically, we have questions about how an all-knowing God can be persuaded to alter anything He has planned. But the Bible used that language to describe Moses' encounter with God. Other examples may not be as clear (Abraham and the destruction of Sodom, David and the census), but it still appears that our willingness to "argue the case" is one factor in God's actions.
Finally, we came back to the idea that God wants us in relationship with Him. A relationship requires communication, and prayer is our communication with God. We have been invited to participate in talks with God, not to manipulate Him but to get to know Him and to reveal ourselves (consciously) to Him.
Things that help us to pray better
We shared some things that have helped us in our own prayer lives.
- Keep the prayers genuine. Don't put on a special "religious mask" before God. It hinders relationship.
- Obedience. If God has given us instructions (directly from the Spirit, or through the Bible or a sermon), we need to follow those instructions. Failure to do so blocks the communication we're trying to have.
- Nature is inspirational. Getting away from all the man-made surroundings can remind us of God's goodness.
- Lectio divina. This is a method of prayer that involves scripture reading and application. The linked article is from Wikipedia for a broad definition, but there are other sites with a more devotional theme. Our own Nazarene Publishing House has some publications to help apply this method to specific Bible books.
- ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This outline has helped several people broaden their prayer life.
- Visualize. Move the prayer time from just mental processes. Journaling, speaking aloud, or looking around can engage more of our mind and help to keep us focused on God.
- Use real language.
- Group prayer was an easy introduction for some into private prayer later.
- Conversational. We need to learn that we can come to God at any time. Emphazising conversational prayer (perhaps assuming that God is in the chair next to you and addressing Him there) can help us realize this.
- Take it to the cross. Creating a visual image helps some of us pray better.
Oct 15, 2010
Doing Good Privately
October 10, 2010
Matthew 6:1-4
When you give to the needy . . .
In the time of Jesus, righteous acts were seen as obligating God to give you a reward. This is similar to how many people view "being good" today. "With enough good actions, I'll be let into heaven." This isn't our understanding of God's promises, but it is a real mindset.
Responding to that mindset, Jesus said that many people were doing good things to enhance their reputations, not to glorify God. If the real reward we are seeking is praise from other people, then that's the only reward we'll get.
Immediately, the question came up about rewards in general. Does anybody ever do something without expecting some sort of reward? Is God, in fact, offering us heaven if we'll do good things?
There are rewards that are appropriate to a given action and those that aren't. If the goal of teaching is to pass information on to others, then it is legitimate to feel good when that informatin is transferred. That good feeling is an appropriate reward for teaching. If our real goal is a paycheck, and teaching is just a way to get someone to give us money, we will still get the money, but we won't have the same satisfaction in a job well done as we see the students learning.
The reward we want also affects how we do the job at hand. If the goal of a general is to win a battle in order to achieve security or to thwart attackers, that will involve a different strategy than if the goal is to set oneself up for later political office.
And God does offer us rewards, and they turn out to be very appropriate to what He wants from us.
Many of us can point to some amazing answers to prayer. Some observers believe that God does these things to help us learn to trust Him. But His goal is to get us to trust Him even without the amazing answers. That is why miracles seem more common when God is reaching new people, whether an individual or a nation. (Many reports of Christians raising the dead recently seem to come from Indonesia, for instance.)
An example was given of promising a child a bike if the child would just learn to read. The child couldn't see the value in acquiring a reading skill, but was very interested in a bicycle. The parent would have preferred seeing the child learn to read just because it was a good thing to do; but that wasn't happening. So, the reward was offered, the child got the bike, and now the grown child has a world of books for learning and enjoyment.
In that case, is God being tricky? Is this a classic case of "bait and switch"?
No, because the child in the example, or the new Christ-follower, learns to value the real rewards of the action, whether it is reading or doing good deeds. Until we've actually learned the correct behavior, we may not understand just how valuable it is in itself. Like a very good parent, God understands what we need and helps us to attain it.
A thought that came as I typed this up: I suppose the over-promises some TV preachers seem to make ("Follow God and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams", "Real Christians never have to suffer") may be bait and switch.
The "trumpets" that Jesus mentioned may have been literal trumpets. However, the alms boxes also had a trumpet-like opening so that it was easy to put money in but difficult to get it out. If these "box trumpets" were what Jesus referred to, then it might have been equivalent to saying, "Don't jingle the offering plate so people can see how much you give."
If the trumpets were literal, the rationale was likely, "Let's make a noise so that the poor will know that they can get something from me." But Jesus looked beyond the rationale to true motives. Selflessness will involve a struggle between sharing and bragging. The example was given of folks who adopt a family at Christmas and then are disappointed because there is no "thank you" afterwards. (Of course, that doesn't justify an ungrateful attitude on the part of the recipient; but the giver's motive should not be gratitude.)
How do we reconcile these instructions with the earlier words of Jesus, "Let your light shine"? One possibility is, "Let your deeds speak, not your devotional acts." That is, your changed life should involve honesty, compassion, putting others first, and many other counter-cultural actions. These should be obvious. But "acting religious" isn't necessarily as persuasive, and our motives may be suspect. If the goal is to be admired by others, we have the wrong motivation. God knows our heart's intent, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us know as well.
John 3 says "I must decrease so that Jesus can increase." This implies that we have done something that raises us up a bit in the sight of others, as in letting our light shine. But the focus must then be put back on Jesus, not ourselves. But unless we are actually doing something, how can Jesus be given credit?
We even asked, "Why are rewards mentioned at all? Why not just surprise us at the end of life? That would make it easier to do things for the right reasons."
The Old Testament barely mentions an after-life at all. Knowing what we do about the Resurrection and the promises of Jesus, we often recognize hints about heaven in the Psalms or prophetic writings. But one major branch of Judaism didn't even think there was an afterlife at all, and most of the hints we see (only in the Old Testament; the New is very clear) can be interpreted as "good life here for my family, if not for me."
It was suggested that when Jesus walked on earth, being fully human, He recognized that humans need motivation, so that the rewards were made specific. The fact that Jesus is fully human would include that He understands our needs. But some promises were already there. "Taste and see that the Lord is good," "Eternal pleasures at His right hand," "I have never seen the righteous forsaken" are all from the Old Testament.
Another note: And the theologians would point out that the pre-Bethlehem Jesus already was fully human, if not yet visible. But that doesn't change the fact that the fully human Jesus, as part of the Trinity, would have known what we needed.
Finally, one person suggested that part of our reward in heaven is getting to see the influence we had on earth.
Matthew 6:1-4
When you give to the needy . . .
In the time of Jesus, righteous acts were seen as obligating God to give you a reward. This is similar to how many people view "being good" today. "With enough good actions, I'll be let into heaven." This isn't our understanding of God's promises, but it is a real mindset.
Responding to that mindset, Jesus said that many people were doing good things to enhance their reputations, not to glorify God. If the real reward we are seeking is praise from other people, then that's the only reward we'll get.
Immediately, the question came up about rewards in general. Does anybody ever do something without expecting some sort of reward? Is God, in fact, offering us heaven if we'll do good things?
There are rewards that are appropriate to a given action and those that aren't. If the goal of teaching is to pass information on to others, then it is legitimate to feel good when that informatin is transferred. That good feeling is an appropriate reward for teaching. If our real goal is a paycheck, and teaching is just a way to get someone to give us money, we will still get the money, but we won't have the same satisfaction in a job well done as we see the students learning.
The reward we want also affects how we do the job at hand. If the goal of a general is to win a battle in order to achieve security or to thwart attackers, that will involve a different strategy than if the goal is to set oneself up for later political office.
And God does offer us rewards, and they turn out to be very appropriate to what He wants from us.
Many of us can point to some amazing answers to prayer. Some observers believe that God does these things to help us learn to trust Him. But His goal is to get us to trust Him even without the amazing answers. That is why miracles seem more common when God is reaching new people, whether an individual or a nation. (Many reports of Christians raising the dead recently seem to come from Indonesia, for instance.)
An example was given of promising a child a bike if the child would just learn to read. The child couldn't see the value in acquiring a reading skill, but was very interested in a bicycle. The parent would have preferred seeing the child learn to read just because it was a good thing to do; but that wasn't happening. So, the reward was offered, the child got the bike, and now the grown child has a world of books for learning and enjoyment.
In that case, is God being tricky? Is this a classic case of "bait and switch"?
No, because the child in the example, or the new Christ-follower, learns to value the real rewards of the action, whether it is reading or doing good deeds. Until we've actually learned the correct behavior, we may not understand just how valuable it is in itself. Like a very good parent, God understands what we need and helps us to attain it.
A thought that came as I typed this up: I suppose the over-promises some TV preachers seem to make ("Follow God and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams", "Real Christians never have to suffer") may be bait and switch.
The "trumpets" that Jesus mentioned may have been literal trumpets. However, the alms boxes also had a trumpet-like opening so that it was easy to put money in but difficult to get it out. If these "box trumpets" were what Jesus referred to, then it might have been equivalent to saying, "Don't jingle the offering plate so people can see how much you give."
If the trumpets were literal, the rationale was likely, "Let's make a noise so that the poor will know that they can get something from me." But Jesus looked beyond the rationale to true motives. Selflessness will involve a struggle between sharing and bragging. The example was given of folks who adopt a family at Christmas and then are disappointed because there is no "thank you" afterwards. (Of course, that doesn't justify an ungrateful attitude on the part of the recipient; but the giver's motive should not be gratitude.)
How do we reconcile these instructions with the earlier words of Jesus, "Let your light shine"? One possibility is, "Let your deeds speak, not your devotional acts." That is, your changed life should involve honesty, compassion, putting others first, and many other counter-cultural actions. These should be obvious. But "acting religious" isn't necessarily as persuasive, and our motives may be suspect. If the goal is to be admired by others, we have the wrong motivation. God knows our heart's intent, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us know as well.
John 3 says "I must decrease so that Jesus can increase." This implies that we have done something that raises us up a bit in the sight of others, as in letting our light shine. But the focus must then be put back on Jesus, not ourselves. But unless we are actually doing something, how can Jesus be given credit?
We even asked, "Why are rewards mentioned at all? Why not just surprise us at the end of life? That would make it easier to do things for the right reasons."
The Old Testament barely mentions an after-life at all. Knowing what we do about the Resurrection and the promises of Jesus, we often recognize hints about heaven in the Psalms or prophetic writings. But one major branch of Judaism didn't even think there was an afterlife at all, and most of the hints we see (only in the Old Testament; the New is very clear) can be interpreted as "good life here for my family, if not for me."
It was suggested that when Jesus walked on earth, being fully human, He recognized that humans need motivation, so that the rewards were made specific. The fact that Jesus is fully human would include that He understands our needs. But some promises were already there. "Taste and see that the Lord is good," "Eternal pleasures at His right hand," "I have never seen the righteous forsaken" are all from the Old Testament.
Another note: And the theologians would point out that the pre-Bethlehem Jesus already was fully human, if not yet visible. But that doesn't change the fact that the fully human Jesus, as part of the Trinity, would have known what we needed.
Finally, one person suggested that part of our reward in heaven is getting to see the influence we had on earth.
Oct 8, 2010
Be Perfect - Love Your Enemies
October 3, 2010
Matthew 5:43-48
Love your enemies . . . Be perfect
With no notes from last week's session, I can't be certain what major points were made in the class itself. At the beginning of the October 10 session, I'll ask for the take-aways from this passage. I'll add a comment to this post that mentions the points that the class recalls.
Matthew 5:43-48
Love your enemies . . . Be perfect
David and I were in a training session last weekend, and we discussed the passage ourselves. One insight we shared was about being perfect. The context does not necessarily demand perfect actions. Instead, it is focused on perfect love.
Oct 1, 2010
Getting Even - Not an Option
September 26, 2010
Matthew 5:38-42
Since I left class early last week, I wasn't there for a lot of the discussion. However, David provided his notes for the class, and I post them here. [My own additions are in brackets.]
Matthew 5:38-42
Since I left class early last week, I wasn't there for a lot of the discussion. However, David provided his notes for the class, and I post them here. [My own additions are in brackets.]
These verse represent the most difficult of the six "you have heard it said" statements.
- What Jesus asks of His disciples goes against natural inclinations. When we are hit, we want to hit back. When we are verbally attacked, the tendency is to strike back. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt them.
- It's one of the consequences of the Fall. We are curved inward and are ready to fight if threatened. But, according to Jesus, His followers respond differently.
How reasonable is this teaching? Why do you think Jesus would ask this of His disciples?
Let's look at the Old Testament Law for the specific instruction from which this teaching comes.
- Several references: Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; but specifically Deuteronomy 1916-21 gives the most complete insight into the instruction of the Law. ["Purge the evil from the land."]
What was the purpose of the Law?
The Law of Moses established a code of conduct for the Israelites that would not only please God, it would also give order to their society, in distinctively different ways.
What would happen when an offense occurred and there was no legal recourse for the offended party?
People take the law into their own hands and often respond excessively, the original offender responds, and chaos ensues.
- The main intent of the Law of Moses: To lay a foundation for justice. To control the excesses; in particular anger, violence, and desire for revenge.
- The Law provided the principle of "exact retribution" - compensation for an offense was limited to the exact equivalent and no more.
- And so, the law was designed to define justice, restrain revenge.
What is distinctive about how the Law is stated in Deuteronomy 19?
These were guidelines for judges, not for individuals. This is where the problem started. [The judges were to make a thorough examination first, being certain that they understood the entire situation before any action was taken.]
Scribes and Pharisees interpreted personally what was meant for judges to use in providing justice. Furthermore, they insisted on being able to respond to an offense - "It's my right!"
What happens when people take it upon themselves to "even a score"?
Do you think Jesus was speaking literally or hyperbolically when He said, "Turn the other cheek" or "Give them your cloak" or "Go the second mile"?
How do we interpret this lesson?
Jesus was not prohibiting justice. He was addressing the problem of a vengeful spirit; of getting even with someone who has offended or hurt us; dealing with taking the law into our own hands; of eliminating retaliation.
He also addressed the "spirit of animosity."
A crucial point to remember: Romans 12:19. God is the only one who can see the whole picture and how retribution can be fairly administered.
Jesus wanted His disciples to respond with a spirit of mercy, not a spirit of justice.
As followers of Christ, we not only do not seek to even the score, we seek the best for the offender. We do not rejoice if misfortune befalls them.
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