An Eye For An Eye. Literally?

Upon a cursory reading of the Torah some of the laws contained within it seem not only a bit harsh, but even barbaric at times. This week’s Torah portion contains laws that seem to fall into that category and tend to make the modern reader uncomfortable. One of the passages is related to personal damages caused by physical violence:

You shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:25)

It would seem that from this passage that the Torah condones an extreme and retaliatory brand of justice. If two people get in a fight and one gouges out the other’s eye, then the offender is to have his eye also gouged out as repayment for the offense. This passage is often used to contrast the harsh justice of the Torah to Yeshua’s message of grace and mercy:

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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39)

From this passage, it appears that Yeshua is telling his disciples that the Torah prescribed a one method of dealing with offenses, but he is now prescribing a different one. Where the Torah endorsed strict, retaliatory justice, Yeshua endorses mercy and grace. But is this really what Yeshua is teaching his disciples? Was the Torah’s instruction of “an eye for an eye” taken literally in Yeshua’s day? 

What images come to mind when you think of the future? Many people think of science fiction images of space travel, advanced technology, and dystopian societies. When I think of the future, I think of something quite different. Let me explain…

You may have heard of the movie, The Greatest Showman. It’s a modern musical, a re-telling of the story of P. T. Barnum, the creator of the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus. According to the movie, Barnum had an amazing vision for the future. And no matter what cards were stacked against him or obstacles that were placed in his way, he rose above them to build that dream. All men were equal in his eyes and he saw how handicaps and hindrances in life could be turned to their advantage. The chorus to the opening song, A Million Dreams, is a loud message of what the script-writer saw as Barnum's hope for the future:

They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I've lost my mind
I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that we design

‘Cause every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make

What does this have to do with Emet HaTorah and Messianic Judaism? Like P. T. Barnam, I have a vision of the future. I see a time when Yeshua is sitting on his throne in Jerusalem and the Torah is going forth from Zion. I see Messianic Judaism being the religion that will supersede both Christianity and Judaism, bringing faith in Yeshua together with the faith of Yeshua. I see the Torah being the baseline of life for all who call on the name of the LORD.