John Calvin Commentary Matthew 5:38

"Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:" — Matthew 5:38 (ASV)

An eye for an eye. Here another error is corrected. God had commanded, by His law (Leviticus 24:20), that judges and magistrates should punish those who had inflicted injuries, by making them endure as much as they had inflicted.

The consequence was that everyone seized on this as a pretext for private revenge. They thought that they did no wrong, provided they were not the first to make the attack, but only, when injured, returned like for like. Christ informs them, on the contrary, that although judges were entrusted with the defense of the community and were invested with authority to restrain the wicked and repress their violence, it is the duty of everyone to bear patiently the injuries they receive.