[2] Well this morning we’re going to talk about what it really means to turn the other cheek. Jesus taught us that we’re supposed to love our enemies. Jesus taught us that we’re not supposed to seek revenge on those who mistreat us. We’re not supposed to return evil for evil. We’re suppose to love our enemies even when they wrong us.
Now this isn’t the easiest thing to do. When someone hurts us, we want them to feel our pain. When someone wrongs us we want justice. When someone mistreats us we want them to stop. So we often take matters into our own hands and many times seek revenge. But Jesus tells us to love our enemies.
Now let’s understand this. Jesus doesn’t expect us to allow others to mistreat us. We aren’t supposed to be someone’s doormat. We aren’t supposed to let people push us around. And when someone hurts you, or steals from you or mistreats you there are ways to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
As a matter of fact, the Bible teaches us how to confront those who sin against us, how to discipline those who sin against others, how the government should watch over the poor and the oppressed, and how we should make laws that protect people from those who would seek us harm. So there are ways to deal with the injustices of life.
But the overriding principle that Jesus gives us is to love our enemies. And you know what, if [3] we are going to be the church in this world, we must not only understand this, but we must put this into practice every day. We must all learn how to turn the other cheek.
So let’s go Acts chapter sixteen and see how Paul and Silas dealt with the injustice of being unlawfully imprisoned there in Philippi. [4] Let’s learn about turning the other cheek when wronged. Remember, the Lord led them to this city to do ministry. They’d led several people to the Lord and had even delivered a slave-girl from demonic possession. Well, her masters were upset with them for that so they had Paul and Silas brutally and unjustly imprisoned as an act of revenge. While in prison Paul led his jailer to the Lord along with his entire family. But after that the jailer had to take Paul and Silas back to jail in the morning.
But when the jailer got there, he received some incredible news. The judges had a change of heart and Paul and Silas could go free!
[Read Acts 16:35-37.]
Now we don’t really know why the next morning the judges decided to release Paul and Silas. Maybe they just wanted to make an example out of them, maybe they realized they had been too harsh and hasty, who knows. But it seems they just wanted the whole incident to just go away.
But Paul said, “No way!” You see, Paul was a Roman citizen who had rights. And those civil and legal rights had been violated when he was beaten and imprisoned without a trial. He wanted the judges to free them themselves instead of sending them out secretly.
Now, what happened to turning the other cheek? What happened to loving your enemy? Well, Paul obviously knew how to love his enemies since he saved the jailer’s life the night before. But he did seem to want some justice for what had happened to him.
He probably wanted the judges to publicly free them so that their name and their ministry’s reputation would be restored. It might also make it easier on the new church there in Philippi if things were resolved well between the Christians and the government. So he simply asked that the judges who unlawfully put them there would free them publicly.
[Read Acts 16:38-40.]
The judges come to the jail, they free Paul and Silas themselves, and within a few days Paul and Silas continue their missionary travels without incident. They didn’t seek revenge on the officials. They turned the other cheek and went their own way.
Now what if this happened today? If someone is unlawfully imprisoned today they get themselves a team of the best lawyers and sue everybody they can for millions and millions of dollars. As a matter of fact, when anything wrong happens to someone, they sue.
[Lady burned by McDonalds coffee, ($800,000), story.]
Now if someone is wronged, the responsible party should pay restitution. Hospital bills, lost wages, property damages, etc. That’s actually a biblical approach to injustice as found in the Old Testament Levitical laws. But getting rich on someone else’s mistake is often a self-serving form of revenge that is simply ungodly. We’re supposed to turn the other cheek when wronged.
And do you know why? [5] Well first of all, because Jesus said to. Jesus teaches very explicitly to turn the other cheek; To love your enemies.
[Read Matthew 5:38-48.]
We are to love our enemies. We aren’t supposed to seek revenge on those who hurt us, or sue us, or even persecute us. We are to love and pray for our enemies. These are the explicit instructions of Jesus Christ. There’s no other way to interpret this. He said to love our enemies so we should do it.
[Trucker vs. bikers joke.]
That’s not loving your enemy – that’s getting even. We need to love our enemies. And of course, love is more than just words – love is action! We can’t just grit our teeth and say we love those who hurt us. We need to actively love our enemies like the Lord said to.
Now I know this is a tall order. And Jesus Himself knows this is a tough thing to ask. But if we are going to be the kind of disciples the Lord wants bus to be, we need to do this.
[Read Matthew 5:45-48.]
If we are going to truly be the church in this world, we need to strive to be like the Lord and love our enemies. But rest assured, the Lord Himself will help us to be able to do what He asks of us.
[Read John 14:16-17, 16:33.]
The Lord will help us love our enemies just like He’s told us to do.
Something else that will help us to turn the other cheek is to remember the examples of Christ Himself. [6] His life was all about turning the other cheek.
Throughout Jesus’ life He always turned the other cheek when it came to His enemies. He could have fought back when his brothers mocked His Messianic claims. He could have fought back when the crowds sought to stone Him. He could have fought back when the Pharisees accused Him over and over again of blasphemy. He could have fought back when the soldiers beat Him. And He could have fought back when they nailed Him to the cross. But Jesus loved His enemies, so He chose to turn the other cheek.
[Read Isaiah 53:4-7.]
Jesus could’ve destroyed all His enemies with a word - yet when He was nailed to that cross He said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:34) Jesus didn’t just tell us to love our enemies, He showed us how to love our enemies.
Now of course, Jesus did take up the cause of others who were mistreated.
- He protected the woman caught in adultery
- He cleansed His Father’s temple of all it’s crooks
- He fed the poor
- He healed the sick
- He cast demons out of the possessed
- And He watched over the children as they came to Him
Jesus was all about caring for the oppressed and the hurt of the world He lived in –
and He still is through us today! We the church should still be concerned for those who are hurt and poor and mistreated in our world today.
But when it came to His own rights, when it came to His own comfort, when it came to His own life, Jesus loved His enemies. We need to follow His example and love our enemies – not seeking revenge on those who hurt us.
So with this in mind, [7] let’s do our best to turn the other cheek while trusting God for the strength to do so. And you know as well as I that it takes way more strength to turn the other cheek than it does to fight back. So we trust God that He will bring His justice to those who wrong us. Vengeance is the Lord’s.
[Read Romans 12:17-21.]
The love we show towards our enemies can actually overcome their evil hearts. And who knows what the Lord can do with that. But remember this, our vengeance never brings anyone to the Lord – but our love does!
There was a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution named Peter Miller who lived in Ephrata Pennsylvania. This pastor was also a personal friend of George Washington.
But while pastor Miller had many friends like George Washington, he also had an enemy named Michael Wittman. Wittman was an evil man who not only hated the idea of the American Revolution, but he hated pastor Miller and did everything he could to destroy his ministry. Eventually, Wittman was arrested for treason and was sentenced to die. When pastor Miller heard about this he walked 70 miles to Philadelphia where Wittman was being held until his execution. When he got there he went to his old friend General George Washington and pleaded for the life of Wittman. But Washington said, “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.” “My Friend!” exclaimed the old preacher. “Wittman’s the greatest enemy I have!” “What?” cried Washington. “You walked 70 miles to save the life of your enemy? Well that puts the matter into a different light. I’ll grant Wittman a pardon.” And he did. Pastor Miller took Wittman back home to Ephrata – no longer an enemy, but a friend.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good!”
God wants us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. It’s simply the right thing to do. It’s not the easiest thing to do – but it’s the right thing to do. And I challenge you, I dare you, love your enemy this week. Overcome evil with good and watch God do a work you never thought possible.
[8] Have you been hurt? Have you been wronged? Have you been persecuted?
- Ask God for the strength to love your enemies.
- Ask God for the wisdom as to how to express that love for your enemies.
- Ask God to help you forgive your enemies like He did.
- Ask God for protection from your enemies.
- Ask God to comfort you from the pain caused by your enemies.
- Ask God to help you overcome evil with good.
- Ask God to help you turn the other cheek.
