With the “eye for an eye” command, the Old Testament presents a vision of reciprocal justice. Which, in its time, was a vast improvement over unrestrained and ever-escalating retaliatory violence. But Jesus is not a mere echo of Moses. Jesus is taking the revelation of God’s nature and God’s will far beyond where the Torah ever could. Jesus is not giving the word of God through a Bronze Age cultural filter. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh! This is among the most radical and central claims that Christians make concerning Jesus Christ.
