Narinig ninyong sinabi, “Mata sa mata at ngipin sa ngipin.” Ngunit sinasabi ko sa inyo, huwag ninyong paghihigantihan ang masamang tao. Kung sinampal ka sa kanang pisngi, iharap mo rin sa kanya ang kaliwa.

Mateo 5:38–39

“Ang harsh naman!” Iyan siguro ang nasabi mo nang mabasa mo ang eye for an eye commandment na part ng Law of Moses. Sabi sa Leviticus 24:19–20 (NLT), “Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted — a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.”

When Jesus was here on Earth, He was also under the same Law of Moses. Kaya, although He was full of compassion while He was ministering here on Earth, some of His teachings also sounded harsh, like if your hand and foot causes you to sin, cut them off, and if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out (Mark 9:43,45, 47). Jesus was setting the bar so high with regards to holiness and was showing the people that it was impossible to not sin just by following a set of rules. The law wasn’t given to save us and make us holy; it was given to point us to our need of a Savior, and that is Christ (Galatians 3:24).

If we believe in Christ, He will set us free from the power of sin and the crushing burden of following all the laws. Hindi lang iyon — He will also give us an obedient heart that is willing to go above and beyond what is expected. Kaya nga sabi Niya, hindi na mata sa mata ang usapan, kundi huwag na tayong maghigantihan. Though Jesus was following the Law of Moses, He was setting the stage for a better way of doing things. With His death on the cross, Jesus inaugurated a new covenant, a new way of relating to God, that of living by faith and grace.