In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus clearly says that Christians are not to seek retribution. Instead, He says we are not to resist evil, going so far as to turn the other cheek when attacked, and to give those who sue us in court more than they demand. Such restraint is clearly a sign of love for others.

So how could our passage from Exodus express a similar kind of love? Well, think about the culture of the time, which was marked by tribal loyalties and thus by the kind of personal vengeance that easily escalates into bitter, longstanding feuds. By requiring penalties to fit with precision the crimes that were committed, the Law of Moses put a ceiling on such a spiral of violence. In short, if your kinsman was hurt by someone from another tribe, you weren’t allowed to kill his attacker – you could do no more to him than he did to your kinsman. Just as Jesus told us, restraint is a mark of true love even for our enemies.

And notice that this passage also seeks to restrain the sort of violence that all too often accompanies slavery. Verses 26 and 27 would certainly give a slaveholder pause, as any sort of permanent disfigurement of a slave instantly became grounds for that slave’s manumission. In other words, even the least powerful and influential members of society had inherent worth, and were thus to be protected from abuse.

And the need to protect the weak and vulnerable naturally extended to women and their unborn children. Notice that verse 22 envisions a case of accidental but serious injury to a pregnant woman, to the point where “her children come out.” No harm was clearly intended, but even so, the guilty party would be subject to a fine just for causing a premature delivery. But verse 23 makes clear that if either the woman or her unborn child suffered further injury, the guilty party would be subject to exactly the same kind of harm he inflicted. Make no mistake: causing the death of an unborn child was thus a capital offense, and an injury to a newborn was just as serious as one suffered by an adult. Clearly, God’s law of love for neighbors leaves no one out: slaves, women and children matter just as much as grown men.

And so we see that, far from overturning the Law of Moses, Jesus expands it. If Old Testament people were to exercise restraint in the way they sought justice from one another, New Testament people are to take a step further, expressing our love even for our enemies by refusing any retribution at all. God’s people have thus always been called to respect and protect all human life.

Exodus 21:22-27 (NASB)

22 “And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide.
23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “And if a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave, and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye.
27 “And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

Matthew 5:38-42 (NASB)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 “But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 “And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
41 “And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.