New Tough Questions 3

Matt. 5: 38-42 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. 40 When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. 41 When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you.”

This is called the Law of Retaliation.

Now, first, the Old Testament law Jesus quotes had directed judges to inflict penalties precisely equivalent to offences—‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’ (Exodus 21:24).

It was given to put a stop to over the top retaliation that exceeded the offense.

Let’s first note what Jesus did NOT say with the words, “But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you,” or in another version, “Resist not evil.”

Jesus never intended to teach that we are to sit back and watch our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves; or allow some very grievous harm to come to us without resisting. The law of nature, and all laws, human and divine, justify self-defense when life is in danger.

Even an ant defends itself!

As we read on we find that Jesus immediately explains what he meant to communicate by giving us 4 examples. Each one of His examples has to do with giving up our “rights.”

And there is hardly a more difficult message for our “rights obsessed” culture to receive than what Jesus lays out here in His Sermon on the Mount!

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First, Jesus mentions the slap on the right cheek, which is all about the right to self-worth.

He said, “But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Notice that he says the “right” cheek. Now, most people are right-handed. So...if you struck another person with your right hand, you’re going to hit their left cheek, not the right cheek.

For a right handed person to strike the right cheek, it would have to be a back-handed strike, which brings us closer to what Jesus likely had in mind.

Jesus is referring to a common practice of His day that was considered to be a great insult to another person. A backhanded slap to the face was intended to cause harm to a person’s dignity, not physical harm. It was a demeaning, disrespectful act designed to shame.

Since in today’s culture it is unlikely that anyone is going to give us a backhand-slap to our cheek, there are a lot of other ways that people can attack our sense of self-worth and our dignity. As Jesus reminded His disciples, some of those attacks will come merely because we are His disciples.

What are we to do? I don’t believe for a moment Jesus intended for us to encourage they strike us again. By the phrase “turn the other cheek,” He is teaching non-retaliation.

All of Scripture supports this interpretation.

Peter says of our Lord Jesus, “...who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23).

And then one chapter later, Peter writes we should do the same:

1 Pet. 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

So “turn the other cheek” is the message of non-retaliation, and leaving the offender and yourself to God, knowing your self-worth comes from God, not the opinions or actions of others.

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The second example Jesus gave regarding non-retaliation touches on the right to self-preservation:

“And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”

Once again, we need to be careful to note what Jesus is not teaching here. He isn’t saying that if someone sues you unfairly you are to just give him what he is asking for and then throw in a little something extra.

The implication here is that a person is being sued for a legitimate reason, probably for the repayment of a debt. And because the person being sued has no other assets with which to pay back the debt, he had to give up his tunic.

In Jesus’ day the tunic was an undergarment, similar to a full-length shirt. In fact, this is where we get the phrase “to give the shirt off one’s back.”

And Jesus’ says that if the court determines you need to give up your tunic, instead of being angry and bitter, go ahead and show you’re really sorry by giving up your cloak, too.

Now, as for the cloak—the cloak in Jesus’ day was a means of self-preservation. It was the outer garment, kind of like a coat. And it was often needed to keep warm at night.

In fact, it was so essential to return the cloak that Jewish law required, if it was taken in pledge for a debt, it had to be returned before the sun went down.

Now, the cloak is an illustration of self-preservation that can represent other things in today’s culture. It might be some of our material possessions. It might also be something like our job, or our social position. It represents that which covers or protects us.

What Jesus is saying here is that, if someone imposes on any of those things, don’t begrudge them and certainly don’t retaliate. Instead give the other person even more than he asks for.

Jesus said in another place, “Bless those that curse you, do good to them that hate you...” (Matt. 5:44).

When we do this, we are testifying to the world, “The Lord is my preserver, protector, and provider!” If I let go of this, my heavenly Protector will take care of me.

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The third example Jesus gives of non-retaliation has to do with the right to self-determination:

He says, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”

Some background: The Romans had passed a law in which a Roman soldier could require a person to carry his pack. But the law limited it to carrying the load for no more than one mile.

We see that practice come into play when Jesus was carrying His cross to Golgotha to be crucified and the Roman soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross for Him.

You can imagine how a Jew would feel when a hated Roman soldier would interrupt what he was doing and require him to carry his pack for a mile.

Not only was this an infringement on his right to self-determination, but it was possible that this hated Roman soldier, who he considered to be an enemy, was even asking him to carry something that might be used against him and his people, such as weapons.

While we don’t have that kind of forced service in our culture today, we do have people who infringe on our right to self-determination. In other words, imposing on our time and free will.

It could be anything from a police officer who pulls us over on the way to work to a family member who calls late at night to ask for some help.

When that occurs, Jesus says that we are not just to do what we’re asked but that we are to “go the extra mile.”

And once again, this should be taken in balance. A person who gets in the habit of just taking advantage of our willingness to help should not be endlessly enabled. Jesus is teaching a PRINCIPLE of non-retaliation, the relinquishing of our rights in order to love and serve.

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The last example Jesus gives of non-retaliation has to do with the right to self-indulgence.

“Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.”

Once again, we need to be clear here about what Jesus is not saying. For instance, if a banker applied this saying of Jesus literally in their jobs, they would soon be out of work.

Jesus is not saying here that every time someone asks us for money or other material possessions that we are to automatically give them what they are asking for. If we did this, we’d never make it through a downtown stroll without ending up with an empty wallet due to street beggars.

The implication here is that there is a real need and, by giving to that person, you will meet that need in a legitimate way.

Sometimes when someone asks for a handout, the worse thing you can do for them is to give them what they are asking for, because that often just further enables some underlying behavior that is causing their need in the first place.

Sometimes just giving money to a homeless person enables them to continue their drug or alcohol habit, which is the reason they are homeless in the first place.

And sometimes giving or loaning money to a family member who has a financial need because of the poor decisions that person has made only enables that person to continue making those poor decisions.

What Jesus is addressing here is the tendency to hold on to our possessions for the purpose of self-indulgence when there is a legitimate need that we have the ability to meet.

Both the Old and New Testaments confirm that God provides us with material resources so that we can use them to do good to others. For instance, the Bible says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it” (Prov. 3:27).

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Q: What did Jesus mean by saying, “Do not judge?”

A: Again, let’s read the passage:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:1-5).

So many people use this saying of Jesus to shut down any kind of judgment regarding their lifestyle. It’s like the only verse they know. “Don’t judge!” they quickly say when faced with an opinion about their lifestyle.

The politically correct crowd have adopted this verse as their own. Yet, have you noticed that if you don’t agree with their world view, they are very quick to judge you!

The truth is, Jesus is not forbidding judging. He is forbidding hypocritical judgment. This is why He elaborated on His “Don’t judge” statement with, “...why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite!”

The person Jesus is directing His “don’t judge” message to is the person who is actually doing things in their own life worse than the person they’re judging. The person being judged has a speck in their eye, while the person judging has a 2x4 in their own eye!

Jesus goes on to say, “How can you straighten your brother’s life out when your own life is in even worse shape!”

Paul told the Romans the very same thing, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (Ro. 2:1).

Jesus finished His message on judging others by saying that, once your own life is cleaned up, you’re free to judge another, and to help them with their problem.

“First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

So at the close of His message on judgment, Jesus clearly says it’s okay to exercise judgment! In John’s gospel He said the same thing:

John 7:24 (AMP) “Do not judge by appearance [superficially and arrogantly], but judge fairly and righteously.”

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