38 You know the saying: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
39 But I say, Do not fight a malevolent man. Rather, if he slaps your right cheek, offer him the other cheek as well.
40 If anyone sues you and takes away your coat, give him your cloak also.
41 And if anyone requires you to carry his load for a mile, go two miles with him.
42 Give to him who asks you. If someone wants to borrow from you, do not turn him away.
The belief in a right of retribution is pretty much universal. See, for example, Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:19-20 and Deuteronomy 19:21. Yet Jesus urges his real followers to forgo that right. Let God take care of any payback, is the implication. In that regard, we also have Paul's advice to Christians,
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
To me belongeth vengeance and recompence...Proverbs 20:22
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
Why does Jesus void this ancient custom? After all, the Mosaic code makes allowances for intertribal revenge killings, not altogether prohibiting them. But Jesus is showing us once again that God's standard exceeds that of even God-sanctioned Jewish law. Even if you have not violated some Old Testament rule, you still have fallen short of what God wants from humans, which is words and deeds done from a pure-hearted, godly love. Yes, to forgive an unlovely person rather than to deny yourself "satisfaction" may prove to be a hard test. But everything that stems from the flesh -- or lower mind -- is likely to be a challenge. At bottom, that is what Christian warfare is all about. The battle is between the willing spirit and the weak flesh.
One further point. How often does it happen that the sense of satisfaction turns to ashes when it is discovered that the wrong person was paid back, or when the punishment turns out to be far more beastly than the perceived offense? But even when the punishment does fit the offense, what does that deed do to the punisher? Many a life has been shipwrecked by the sense of shame associated with an act of revenge. Follow Jesus, steer clear of the payback folly. In fact, do more. Be positive and don't be afraid to take the abuse.
Turn the other cheek is one of those truisims that is heard so often that it tends to ring hollow. We generally take it to mean that we should refrain from reacting angrily to a provocation. We should "blow it off," to use a current idiom. Yet, as we see above, this saying is teamed with others: if someone wants your coat, give him your shirt, too. Jesus was speaking in the days when a poor man had few clothes. Today, Jesus might say, "If you are sued, hand over you car, too!" If someone demands that you carry a load for him a mile (something that soldiers could require of citizens), take that load an extra mile!
In my view, Jesus was not in these verses using rhetorical exaggeration, though nominal Christians tend to view his teachings that way. We know very well (don't we?) that the advice he gives tells us exactly what he would have done. And that was the attitude and behavior he wanted from his real disciples. Not only does he urge you to be lowly, he also wants you to be a tough cookie. You can take it! And if you can't, God will send you help (as he sent a strongman to carry the cross-beam for the badly beaten Jesus as he staggered under the weight). You have nothing to worry about! You have such wonderful things in store that you can well afford to not only yield to an unjust person, but to do for him twice as much as expected.
Hammurabi's eye-for-eye code may yield a rough form of social justice – or rather, social order – in our fallen world, but that code does not meet God's true standard, which is all about divine love. His followers are to take abuse, without lashing back (easier said than not done!). Cooperate with the abuser. Don't worry, the promises of the beatitudes are real.
Jesus' graphic examples are meant to guide us into a new perspective. Forget the old human way: eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Rather than resentment followed by payback, take the humble path. This doesn't mean you should bow down spiritually to your antagonists. You are to worship only God. Recall that in John when a guard struck Jesus for answering the high priest as an equal, Jesus had a sharp word for that guard. He submitted his body to the cross, he submitted to his enemies (us), but he did not worship the authorities by groveling before them or throwing himself on their mercy.
Jesus really showed how far one can go in order to love one's enemies. So if that is so, why would – as at least one commentator says – his urging followers to go home in a loin cloth, if necessary, be exaggeration? He meant that, once you are under God's protection via the Son, there is no reason to fear going home in a loin cloth. On the cross, Jesus gave much more than his loin cloth.
If you are one of Jesus' people, you have no reason to worry. God will provide. If you don't follow Jesus, then sacrifice of your property or other rights could easily spell severe distress.
But even though true disciples need not worry about property and other rights, many of us Christians have a very hard time becoming that radical. Granted, much depends on God's leading. Perhaps he will lead you to shed much of your baggage in stages – the baggage being the cares of this life and bodily desires. Yet consider Paul. He dropped everything immediately to permit his whole being to be committed to Jesus. Though Spirit-filled, Paul was only human. He did not walk around with a shiny yellow ring around his head. In other words, he is living proof that it is possible to truly surrender all and go all-out, flat-out for Jesus Christ.
Obviously, Jesus was not promoting a fearful, craven attitude toward the violent. Once a person is born again, he obtains the peace that passes understanding. Recall Stephen's blessed assurance as death rained down from above (Acts 7:54-60). Jesus himself was able to face his destiny on the cross because God had given him a Spirit of courage, not of fear. Similarly, we should not fear those who would, and do, harm us. Yes, if we must face an enemy with only our human means, fear may very well prevail. Either we fight because we fear to be seen as cowardly, or we don't fight and are ashamed of our cowardice. But, with Jesus, our resolve is bolstered by God, and we become well able to accept personal humiliation.
I realize that all that sounds scary. I myself can see the wonder of that vision and yet I daily fall back into behaviors that result from the grip of bodily desires. Those bodily desires (= "the flesh") are sneaky, and easily manipulated by unclean forces. That is, these desires influence the mind, which tells you little stories ("little lies," "little foxes") that satanically smooth-talk you into doing what is bad for you.
As for the final words on giving, one commentator remarks that the teaching "does not commit Jesus' disciples to giving endless sums of money to everyone who seeks it." No, but then again we should be not only wise as serpents, but pure as doves (Matthew 10:16). Though that little gem was given in the context of persecutions, it surely applies to the Christian life in general. Be open-handed, not stingy.
As it says in
Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
We may reflect on how many times we have run across very generous poor people who have large families to support. Have not they learned something about being a friend of God?
In any case, when we consider the incredible gifts we receive – eternal life, salvation, the Comforter – how can we turn around and be cheap with an importunate neighbor? Even if he is hustling you, having pegged you as a "soft touch" or "easy mark," why worry? Yes, use wisdom. But no need to worry. You own the universe, don't you know?
This is a tricky subject in modern America, of course. But I wonder how many of us, for the sake of our spiritual development, could do well by "fasting" from monetary gain. As a radio preacher I once heard put it, "You are BETTER OFF without that new car. You are BETTER OFF when you lack choices on what luxuries to choose from." A closer walk with Jesus may well mean abstaining from luxuries, even some we take for granted.
I understand this is an unpopular point of view in the era of the material "prosperity gospel." But then, whoever said that many would be chosen. Isn't the appropriate saying, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first"? Try substituting the word "least" for "last" and you also get a fundamental Christian truth.
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Now being friendly to others does not suggest we may be reckless in the disposition of God's blessings to us. The Spirit will indicate whether we should share or not, though we must be ready to listen to God rather than to self.
Quite a few years ago, when I was the breadwinner of my little family, I gave someone $10 that I actually needed in order put gas in my car so that the next day I could get to work and back. Somehow I could sense that I did not have the Spirit in this. I was acting on my own, of my own will only. I don't know why, but I brushed past that intuition, thinking, "God will provide." Yes God will provide what I needed to do his will. But he had already provided that ten spot. My casting it aside was folly.A strong rebuke
The next day I was very embarrassed. I had to call in sick. I learned a lesson. That lesson does not imply that stinginess is a good idea. Only that we should avoid putting God to the test improperly, even in rather small matters.
Thank God, nothing too terrible came of this lapse. And my little stumble did work for my good, as I obtained a deepening of my walk with God.
I was walking along in Nashville, Tennessee. I had a bit of money, not a lot. And lately, panhandlers had proved an annoyance, so that when a friendly young man approached me for a bit of money for coffee or some such on this fine morning, I demurred. Though remaining friendly, he was clearly disappointed; his need was real.Just at that point a bearded fellow strolled across the parking lot and declared loudly: "He's done it again!" I think he repeated that assertion once or twice more.
In any case, I got his meaning immediately. God had provided us another day! It was a vast, incomprehensible gift to me and my needful brother and all the rest of us.
And yet, I am embarrassed to say, I did not give that young man any money. It took me quite a while to realize that God was pointing out that I receive so much from him and yet I was being outrageously cheap with my brother.
How to know when to give and when not to? I had the Spirit! That's who I should have relied on, rather than leaning to my own understanding.
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Mt. 5:43-48. Love your foes and be perfect
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