Explaining What Jesus Emphasized in Eye for Eye and Tooth for Tooth

Exodus 21:24-25 says, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-39, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Did Jesus negate the value of justice? Not at all. Here one has to realize the reality of the fact that Jesus as said did not come to destroy the Law but to FULFILL it (Matthew 5:17) in that very same chapter. Overall, Jesus DID NOT negate justice but rather He went against the wrong use of the Law which the Pharisees according to history, used it to justify their vengeful behavior and UNJUST scales. So it's highly possible that these Pharisees were already giving people punishment not according to God's weights but their own weights.

One has to realize that first and foremost, neither the Old Testament or the New Testament allows personal vindication or avenging one's self. Deuteronomy 32:35 has the LORD swearing that vengeance is His, not ours which clearly prohibits anybody from avenging themselves and that verse is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:19 and in Hebrews 10:30. So here, Jesus didn't get rid of justice but rather the misuse of justice which was common to say, "Hey I am just doing what he/she did to me." or that forgiveness negates justice. The Pharisees were already perverting the Law which was given to Moses when they did afflict petty vengeance. Now in dealing with Exodus 21:24-25 in context, one can see that it is set as a rule for PUNISHMENT and NOT PERSONAL REVENGE. That is, every person is to get punished ACCORDING to their offenses. A student gets suspended but not expelled for cheating during an exam while a student who causes grave physical injury is to be justly expelled. Nobody must be punished more than the sin they have committed. That's what it meant.

Does it negate self-defense? In Matthew 5:39-41 it seems to suggest as such. However turning the other cheek is in terms of insults and persecutions. However one must note that Jesus also approved of self-defense in Luke 22:36-38 when He instructed His disciples to buy a sword to DEFEND themselves NOT avenge themselves in life-threatening situations. It is much different for a man to draw his sword to fight off against robbers over a man who uses his sword to kill his hated enemy out of personal issues. Sometimes one has to use a sword to save the life of a person who is about to be violated by a thug. This of course in common sense is against LIFE-THREATENING issues, not simple insults and negative write-ups. After all, God ordained the army and the government to use the swords to DEFEND the nation. So much for the statement of moral people don't kill.