Turning My Other Cheek
Introduction
“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 someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" (Matthew 5:38-42 NIV).
The Law of Retaliation
Where did the quote from v. 38 come from and to what is it referring? What does it mean? And how was it being interpreted in Jesus’ day?
‘Eye for an eye’ refers to the law of retaliation.
“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” (Exodus 21:23-25 NIV).
“If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured" (Leviticus 24:19-20 NIV).
“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21 NIV).
This law was designed so that the judges would make sure the punishment fit the crime.
Prohibition Against Personal Vengeance
“It is of the utmost significance that each of the three Pentateuch accounts that prescribe the eye for an eye principle has to do with the civil justice system” (MacArthur’s Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew 1-7).
Why is that important? Because God never intended for men to personally avenge wrong done to them. It was for the courts and magistrates to administer; not for individuals to take the law into their own hands. But in the days of Jesus, the law of retaliation had become a justification for personal revenge. And obviously, that was the stance of the Pharisees. The people had heard this misinterpretation from their leaders. But we must have a righteousness that exceeds theirs.
What did Jesus mean when He said “Do not resist an evil person”?
The following are passages that speak of resisting evil:
Proverbs 28:4 NIV says, “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.”
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 NIV).
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1Peter 5:9 NIV).
Clearly evil is to be resisted. Even Jesus went into the temple courts and turned over the money changers tables and ‘cleaned house.’
So why does Jesus say not to resist an evil person?
What Jesus meant about not resisting an evil person has nothing to do with resisting evil in general. We should resist evil and should desire to see evil persons brought to justice. We should report crimes and not allow wicked folks to get away with wicked deeds. But, what Jesus means in our passage is that when we are personally wronged by someone we should not strike back at them in vengeance. In Romans 12 NLT, Paul writes things such as, “never pay back evil for evil to anyone”(v.17), “never avenge yourselves”(v.19), “conquer evil by doing good”(v.21).
Rather than doing evil back to someone else that has hurt us, we should do good to them and thereby show them the love of Christ. This does not mean we should let people get away with criminal behavior. The following illustrations do not deal with folks breaking the law. If someone breaks the law we do our society a disservice by letting it go unreported.
Illustration #1
What is significant about being struck on the right cheek?
What this does not mean:
1) This does not refer to governments being pacifistic. Romans 13:4 NIV, speaking of rulers, says, “but if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Nations are expected to defend their people. Neither Jesus nor the apostles told the soldiers they encountered that they needed to leave their profession. A country that does not defend itself, even to the point of war, is a country that does the greatest disservice to its citizens; for that is part of its purpose. Furthermore, the law of retaliation was given to judges to properly enforce justice on those who broke the law.
2) This does not refer to a person being weak in regards to the defense of one’s self and one’s family. Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament states, “Christ did not intend to teach that we are to see our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves; rather than to make resistance.”
Luke 22:36 depicts Jesus telling His disciples to obtain a sword. They would be thrust out in the world to share the gospel, and needed necessary means of living, one of which was the means to defend oneself from wicked people. Thus, owning a sword was for self-defense. This wasn’t meant to encourage violence. We should do all we can to thwart violence, but a robber on the road trying to steal your goods is not someone in the mood for diplomacy, nor is a mugger or rapist! To not attempt to defend one’s family from an intruder is to fail them.
So what does this whole cheek slapping thing mean?
Being slapped in the cheek refers to someone backhanding you on the right cheek. Rather than referring to being physically beat up, the Jews would have know this was referring to being insulted. This means that if someone insults you, don’t retaliate. Be prepared to take an insult again rather than to retaliate. In other words, turn the other cheek before blasting them back. And as Ron Rhodes puts it in his book "What did Jesus Mean?," “The question of rendering insult for insult, however, is a far cry from defending oneself against a mugger or a rapist or someone criminally attacking you or a loved one in some way” (p.148).
The natural thing would be to want to fight insult with insult, further irritating the situation, rather than extinguishing it with kindness. We conquer the evil actions of others toward us by doing good to them. They may say horrible things about us, but we should speak kindness to them. They may purposely embarrass us in front of others, but we should never avenge ourselves by doing evil back to them. We are Christians, we are different. For dealing with folks inside the church there are proper channels of discipline to go down if needs be, but never personal vengeance. All that giving insult for insult does is stir problems up.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Paul quotes Proverbs 25:21-22 when he writes: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Some believe that this is a reference to an Egyptian custom of carrying burning coals in a pan on one’s head as a sign of shame, guilt and repentance. If that is so, then our kindness towards those who insult us and hurt us, may shame them into repentance.
Illustration #2
What was a tunic and a cloak?
The tunic is the undergarment and the cloak is the outer garment. The Law forbade keeping a cloak as a pledge for a debt owed overnight. Why? Because folks used those as bed covers.
“If a legal judgment is fairly made against us for a certain amount, we should be willing to offer even more in order to show our regret for any wrong we did and to show that we are not bitter or resentful against the one who has sued us” (MacArthur’s Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew 1-7).
Paul scolded the Corinthians for lawsuits they were inflicting on each other. What a reproach it shows to the world of Christians when, rather than forgiving one another, we fight it out in court. Christ said the world would know us by our love for one another. Suing one another is a disgrace. Paul writes, “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” (1 Corinthians 6:7 NIV).
I am not against using the legal system. But I think before we decide to take someone to court we need to ask ourselves if doing so will bring a reproach on the kingdom. Would it be better to be wronged and cheated then to go through the messy ordeal of a court hearing that will create a further rift between you and them? And if we are being taken to court (as in our text), we need to do everything in our power to make things right before we get to court, even if that means parting from some things that we could fight to keep. And if we are successfully sued, our attitude towards that person will reflect our true belief about what it means to live the Christian life. Perhaps our willingness to hand over even more will shame our adversary into repenting for having taken it as far as he did.
Illustration #3
What did being forced to go one mile mean to the Jews of that day? What did Jesus mean by telling them to go two?
I’ve read that the Romans could force a civilian to carry Roman equipment up to a Roman mile. The Jews hated this because they hated their oppressors. But Jesus had a different take on this practice. He said that if we are asked to carry it one mile, carry it two. Why would Christ tell us to do this?
Christ was saying that His followers were of a different caliber. They may have been forced to carry the bags of a Roman one mile, but then they should show kindness to the Roman by carrying it a second mile. Going one mile showed no love towards their oppressors because they were forced to do it. But turning around and willingly doing it for a second mile showed a genuine act of kindness. Nobody did that! I’m sure it would be a shocker to a Roman soldier that a Jew would go ‘the extra mile.’ It would definitely have an affect on him. It may even shame him into realizing his harshness.
Sometimes our rights get trampled. The Jew couldn’t exactly retaliate against the Roman soldier, but he could be ugly about how he proceeded. Rather than retaliate with hateful grumbling and complaining, we should be willing to give up more in order to show Christ’s love.
Show Generosity
Are we supposed to give to everyone who asks? Are we supposed to loan money to anyone who asks?
This part of the passage to me almost seems like it belongs somewhere else. But Christ said it here. So we address it here. And it goes along with the whole concept of being willing to give up our rights rather than biting back at others.
Being a giving person is a sure sign of our association with Christ. If we are with Christ, then we should be givers. If we see a need in another person, then to turn them away is unrighteous behavior!
But do we give to everyone?
Sometimes to give something to someone only encourages their downward spiral. Surely Christ doesn’t mean to give funds to someone who would in turn use it to support their addiction. Paul was clear in 2Thessalonians 3, that if a man didn’t work he didn’t eat (referring to folks that could work and chose not to).
Legitimate needs (e.g. family in need of groceries, hurricane relief, etc.) should be met and are expected to be met by Christ’s followers. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that we should go bankrupt by supporting every charitable organization out there; but rather it does mean that to the best of our ability, we need to help others that come to us in need.
Conclusion
We must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees. That of course, only comes through Christ. It is His Spirit living within us that enables us to not lash out when insulted or when we are hurt legally or when our rights are trampled. He helps us to show generosity to others when our flesh would rather close the door.
Please do not think I am teaching that we should allow ourselves to get stripped of everything. A slap in the face is not being beaten to death, a cloak is not a house, a second mile is not 20 miles and giving to someone in need should not be at the expense of your own family’s needs. But we should be willing to give up personal rights for righteousness’ sake.
Do you have a problem with personal revenge? Do you retaliate or are you truly a peacemaker? Can people cause you to ‘pop a cork’ or ‘blow a fuse;’ or are you able to ‘turn the other cheek’? It takes patience. It takes being a meek person, that is, one who has surrendered his rights to Christ, if you are going to be able to surrender your ‘right’ to retaliate in the face of others. But we are a light in this world and we need to be forgiving.
