The exact saying, “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind,” is nowhere in the Bible. Rather, this saying is often attributed to Gandhi, though there isn’t concrete evidence he said it either.
However, the principles behind this saying are rooted in Scripture and force us to recognize the full context of this famous saying.
Where Does the Phrase “An Eye for an Eye” Come From?
The phrase “an eye for an eye” references the Old Testament, specifically Exodus 21:22-25 (NIV), which says, “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”
What Does “An Eye for an Eye” Mean in the Bible?
When we see “an eye for an eye” in Scripture, it is meant as a civil law for the children of Israel. Moses was the leader of hundreds of thousands of newly freed people who needed a detailed understanding of God’s laws, especially as they wandered in the desert and habitually fell into sin. In Exodus 21, God is giving Moses specific instructions regarding personal injuries, whether intentional or not, and how to carry out consequences and seek justice.
For the longest time, I had a hard time reconciling this passage in Exodus with the New Testament, when Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well” (Matthew 5:38-40, NIV).
These two Scriptures seem opposite of one another, but if our God is love (1 John 4:8), He doesn’t lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18), and He gave His only begotten Son to not abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20), how are we to understand such seemingly dichotomous teachings?
Christianity hinges on Christ’s enduring, perfect love that led Him to die on the cross, bearing the wrath of God for our sins, and rising again, defeating sin, Satan, death, and hell once and for all. But before Christ came to earth, God’s people were under the law, which meant their calling as believers in God wasn’t centered on the freedom of Christ’s grace but on the bondage of habitual animal sacrifices to find forgiveness for failing God’s law.
This might make the Old Testament believer seem to have it harder, especially with hundreds of rules to follow and endless animal sacrifices, but the New Testament believer has a higher calling, as they aren’t called to live under the law but to live outside themselves in the name of grace. The Old Testament believer was expected to stay inside the boundaries of the law, but the New Testament believer is to know no boundaries in how much they will sacrifice and how deeply they will love in response to Christ’s unmatchable sacrifice.
“An eye for an eye” was God’s civil law set in place to instill a sense of morality in people who had never experienced the salvation of a New Testament believer. The Israelites of Exodus didn’t have the Holy Spirit indwelling them, guiding them towards selflessness, so to keep order, to keep justice preserved, God set rules that were “scary enough” to keep even the most ethically immoral people in check. In other words, it wasn’t that God thought people should kill one another, but that people would, indeed, kill each other if there weren’t fatal consequences.
Once again, we see that the God of the Old Testament, if we look deep enough, is a loving protector of wayward children.
“An Eye for an Eye Will Make the Whole World Blind”: Biblical or Just Moral?
Since “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” isn’t verbatim in the Bible, it’s hard to consider it a biblical principle. However, it’s certainly a moral idea that we should wrestle with.
As New Testament believers, we are given so much grace—and the very presence of God Himself in the Holy Spirit—that we are to take to heart when Scripture says, “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (Luke 12:48, NIV). This means we are held to a higher standard in the name of humility and love.
This standard calls us to recognize that if we return one sin for another, we are, as Paul says, abusing God’s grace (Romans 6:1-2). We are trampling the very Gift that has saved us from an eternal hell we rightly deserved.
And while this saying isn’t directly in Scripture, the moral standard it demands reveals the depths of biblical living we are to adhere to.
What Did Jesus Say about Retaliation—What Does This Mean for Us Today?
As mentioned earlier, Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we aren’t to seek revenge, but to offer our other cheek. We aren’t to tolerate abuse, but we are to expose ourselves to every opportunity to love when it costs.
God also makes it clear that vengeance is His (Romans 12:17-19) and that we are to trust His character enough to walk away from a situation where we truly think we deserve to get even.
Global icons like Taylor Swift have glamorized revenge, selling a smoke-and-mirrors idea about its aftermath. After all, to get even with another is to act in a way that imitates them. And if they are the very person who hurt you most, the one you nearly despise, why become that very person yourself?
Jesus doesn’t want us to fall for Satan’s lie that revenge is sweet. He doesn’t want us caught in the mess that is undoubtedly created when two imperfect people let their anger steer their thoughts, words, and deeds. Jesus doesn’t want us to sell ourselves out to the very people we’ve said we never want to be like. He wants far, far more for us.
Just as God wanted more for us than animal sacrifices and a surface-level understanding of justice, He wants us to understand that our salvation is an injustice, something we could never earn or preserve, so why should we live under the law of justice, stuck in our stubborn ways, when we could extend that same beautiful injustice of undeserved grace to others?
Of course, this doesn’t mean God wants us to expose ourselves to people who have proven their selfish, destructive, and sometimes abusive ways. You weren’t called to be a doormat, but you were called to let God open the doors of your heart to patience and forgiveness when “an eye for an eye” sounds more appealing.
In a fallen world that lives as though it needs harsh laws to force people into obedience, should we not consider that our gifts of mercy and grace as New Testament believers have freed us to radically love and forgive? And in that forgiveness and love, will we not use the peace, hope, and self-understanding everyone else in this world so desperately chases?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Peter Forster
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