Go the Second Mile

Sermon Title: Go the Second Mile: Kingdom Resistance That Overcomes Evil

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

Occasion: The Lord’s Day

Date: January 25, 2026

Opening Prayer

Almighty and gracious God,

We come before You this morning in need of Your mercy and truth.

Open our eyes to see Christ, soften our hearts to receive Your Word, and shape us by Your Spirit into people who reflect Your kingdom.

Confront our sinful instincts, renew our minds, and teach us the way of Christ.

The way of grace that overcomes evil with good.

Do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

For the glory of Your name and the good of Your church,

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Introduction

Church, after several weeks of intentionally focusing our hearts on prayer at the beginning of the year, we now return to our journey through The Gospel According to Matthew, a series we have called The Kingdom Come.

We step back into the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ manifesto of the kingdom, where He is not merely correcting outward behavior, but re-forming hearts, re-shaping instincts, and re-training how His disciples live in a broken world, especially when they are wronged.

Few passages in this sermon have been more misunderstood, misapplied, or avoided than Matthew 5:38–42.

Some have read these words and concluded that Jesus is teaching passivity, that Christians are to be silent, compliant, and powerless in the face of evil.

Others have assumed that Jesus is against justice, authority, or government altogether.

Still others hear this passage and think Jesus is calling His followers to simply lie down and take abuse.

On the other side, many have tried to contain Jesus’ words to private life only, as if He is Lord of your home but not your workplace… Lord of your marriage but not your citizenship… Lord of your heart but not your public obedience.

But Jesus will not allow that divide.

What Jesus gives us here in our text this morning is NOT non-resistance, and it is NOT revenge.

It is something far more radical and far more demanding.

It is kingdom resistance, a way of responding to evil that breaks destructive cycles, exposes injustice, restores dignity, and reflects the very heart of Christ Himself.

And Jesus captures the spirit of this entire section with a simple phrase that has echoed through history:

“Go the second mile.”

Which is the title of my Sermon:

“Go the Second Mile”: Kingdom Resistance That Overcomes Evil

Big Idea

Kingdom people resist evil—not with retaliation, but with redemptive generosity that overcomes evil with good.

Children Emphasis:

Kids, if you remember just one thing today, remember this: Jesus teaches us not to hit back, but to love back.

Outline

The Principle Jesus Corrects – Measured Justice (vv. 38–39a)

The Pattern Jesus Commands – Redemptive Response (vv. 39b–41)

The Posture Jesus Cultivates – Open-Handed Generosity (v. 42)

Transition

Before Jesus tells us how to respond when we are wronged, He first addresses how His hearers had been taught to think about justice.

Because if our understanding of justice is distorted, our responses to evil will always be distorted as well.

So Jesus begins by correcting a familiar principle, one that was true, biblical, and God-given, yet dangerously misused.

1. The Principle Jesus Corrects

Measured Justice (vv. 38–39a)

Matthew 5:38–39 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil…

Exegesis

Jesus begins, as He often does in this section of the Sermon on the Mount, with the familiar words: “You have heard that it was said…”

He is quoting the Old Testament law commonly known as the lex talionis, Which means: the law of retribution.

This law of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” appears in passages like Exodus 21, Leviticus 24, and Deuteronomy 19.

And it is crucial to understand what it was, and what it was not.

The lex talionis was not given to encourage revenge.

It was given to restrain it.

Before God ever gave Israel this law, He showed the world why restraint was necessary.

In Genesis 4:23–24, Lamech, a descendent of Cain, boasts,

“I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

What began with Cain’s murder (Genesis 4:8, only 15 verses later) has now escalated into celebrated, multiplied vengeance.

Violence is no longer feared—it is justified and amplified.

That is the world into which the law of retribution was given.

The law of retribution served several important purposes:

It restrained personal vengeance, moving justice out of the hands of angry individuals.

It placed justice in the courts, not in vendettas or family feuds.

It limited escalation, ensuring that the punishment fit the crime—no more, no less.

In other words, it was a merciful law in a violent world.

The problem was never the law itself.

The problem was what sinful hearts did with it.

What was meant to limit violence became a way to justify it.

What was designed to curb revenge became fuel for it.

Instead of asking, “How can justice be done?”

People began asking, “How can I get even?”

That is why verse 39 is so critical.

When Jesus says, “Do not resist the one who is evil,” He is not calling His disciples to moral passivity or social indifference.

Jesus is not saying:

Do not oppose wickedness.

Do not defend the innocent.

Do not pursue justice in the world.

Jesus resisted evil throughout His entire ministry, resisting Satan in the wilderness, confronting religious hypocrisy, exposing injustice, and ultimately defeating sin and death through the cross and resurrection.

The phrase Jesus uses can rightly be understood as:

Do not resist evil by evil means.

In other words:

Do not answer injustice with vengeance.

Do not return insult for insult.

Do not perpetuate the cycle of retaliation.

Jesus is confronting the instinct that says, “If you hurt me, I will hurt you back.”

Children:

“Kids, this is what Jesus is saying: When someone hurts you, you don’t have to hurt them back.”

Exposition

Jesus is not abolishing justice here, He is fulfilling it.

He is teaching His disciples that the kingdom of God does not advance by escalation, but by transformation.

Measured justice may restrain evil on the surface.

But it cannot heal the heart that loves retaliation.

Only redemptive righteousness, righteousness that absorbs evil rather than multiplies it, can undo what sin has done.

Jesus is calling His followers to live in a way that interrupts the cycle, rather than perpetuates it.

Because once you step into the logic of retaliation, it never ends on its own.

Illustration

We all know how this works in real life, don’t we?

A harsh word is answered with a sharper one.

A slight is returned with bitterness.

A wound is repaid with silence, sarcasm, or sabotage.

What begins as a moment quickly becomes a pattern.

What starts small multiplies.

And before long, everyone involved is wounded.

Jesus is saying, Don’t even step into that circle.

Because once you do, it will keep spinning until someone chooses to stop it.

Application

Refuse the instinct to “even the score”, beloved.

When you are wronged, pause and ask:

Not, “How do I get them back?”

But, “How do I respond in a way that reflects my King?”

Kingdom people do not ask what they are entitled to do.

They ask what will display the righteousness of Christ.

Transition

Jesus doesn’t stop with a principle.

He knows principles alone can remain abstract.

So He gives pictures, four vivid, concrete, real-world illustrations to show us exactly what kingdom resistance looks like when it meets everyday life.

2. The Pattern Jesus Commands

Redemptive Response (vv. 39b–41)

Jesus now moves from principle to practice.

He gives His disciples three concrete, escalating examples, each rooted in honor, shame, and oppression, not situations where life is in immediate danger.

These are not commands about self-defense.

They are commands about how kingdom people respond when their dignity is attacked.

In every case, Jesus is teaching the same pattern:

Do not return evil for evil.

Do not absorb evil passively.

Overcome evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21)

A. The Insulted Cheek (v. 39b)

Matthew 5:39 ESV

…But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Exegesis

This is not a punch meant to injure.

It is a backhanded slap, an intentional insult meant to humiliate.

In the ancient world, this was a way of saying, “You are beneath me.”

Jesus is not addressing physical assault that threatens life and limb.

He is addressing honor violence, public shaming, disrespect, degradation.

Exposition

The natural response to insult is retaliation.

We want to restore our honor by taking honor from someone else.

Jesus says instead: bear the insult, and in doing so, expose it.

Turning the other cheek:

Ends the cycle of insult and counter-insult

Forces the oppressor to reckon with his own cruelty

Restores dignity to the one who was shamed

Children

“sometimes the bravest thing you can do is not say anything back. That’s not being weak—that’s being strong in Jesus.

Turning the other cheek is not weakness.

It is strength that refuses to be ruled by wounded pride.

Illustration

Bullies thrive on reaction.

They lose power when their target refuses to play the game.

When insult is not returned, the cycle collapses.

We see this so beautifully in Christ to be modeled,

1 Peter 2:21–23 ESV

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Application

When insulted, refuse to retaliate—entrust your honor to God who judges justly.

Your dignity is not upheld by winning the exchange, but by belonging to the King himself.

B. The Stripped Disciple (v. 40)

Matthew 5:40 ESV

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

Exegesis

Jesus now moves from insult to legal oppression.

The tunic was an inner garment.

The cloak was essential, it doubled as a blanket at night.

The Old Testament law actually forbade taking someone’s cloak permanently.

To do so was unjust.

So this is not a fair lawsuit.

This is exploitation under the appearance of legality.

Children

Jesus teaches us that doing the right thing matters more than winning.

Exposition

Jesus does not say, “Fight harder for your rights.”

He says, “Lay them down in a way that exposes injustice.”

By giving the cloak as well, the disciple:

Absorbs the injustice rather than multiplying it

Brings moral clarity to the situation

Forces the oppressor to face the shame of what he is doing

The disciple is no longer merely a victim.

He becomes a witness because his response, rather than the injustice done to him, becomes the loudest testimony in the moment.

Illustration

This week, many of us saw footage from Minneapolis where protestors entered a church service and shamefully disrupted worship.

The scene was tense, emotional, and charged.

But what stood out was not the shouting—it was the response of the church.

One man, when asked about it afterward by agitator and journalist Don Lemon, simply said, “We’re just here to love you.”

That response did something powerful.

It didn’t escalate the moment.

It didn’t mirror the anger.

It didn’t return disruption for disruption.

Instead, it exposed the cruelty of the act by refusing to participate in it.

The contrast was unmistakable.

And that’s exactly what Jesus is teaching here.

If Christians respond the same way the world responds, anger for anger, outrage for outrage, nothing changes.

The cycle just continues.

But when the people of God absorb the blow and respond with unexpected grace, the darkness is revealed for what it is.

This is why this passage could not be more fitting for our moment.

Jesus is not calling us to win culture wars.

He is calling us to bear witness to a different kingdom.

And sometimes the most powerful resistance to evil is not louder protest, but Christlike love that refuses to become what it opposes.

Application

Trust God with your losses rather than poisoning your soul with vengeance.

You can afford to lose what this world takes when your treasure is secure in heaven.

C. The Second Mile (v. 41)

Matthew 5:41 ESV

And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Exegesis

Historically, Roman soldiers could legally compel a civilian to carry their gear for one mile.

This practice was deeply resented and deliberately humiliating.

Jesus addresses a daily, grinding form of oppression.

Exposition

The first mile is forced.

The second mile is freely chosen.

By going the second mile, the disciple:

Takes initiative

Reclaims dignity

Transforms compulsion into voluntary love

This is not passive compliance.

It is active, surprising, upside down, kingdom kindness and goodness.

Illustration

Years ago, I worked valet.

One night it was pouring rain, and I was the only one on the drive, running back and forth, soaked to the bone, bringing cars up as fast as I could.

I was wet.

My clothes were drenched.

And because I was wet, the seats were getting wet.

I brought up a high-end car, and the man started yelling at me because his seat was wet, while I stood there dripping in front of him.

That was the first mile.

I had no choice.

I was doing my job.

Everything in me wanted to defend myself, to explain, to fire back.

Instead, I went and grabbed a towel, dried off his seat while he kept complaining, handed him his keys, and stepped back, and said with a smile “thank you for staying at the Airport Marriot” as he drove off.

That was the second mile.

One mile says, “You control me.”

Two miles says, “You do not define me.”

Children

Going the second mile means doing something kind even when you don’t feel like it.

Application

Look for ways to transform obligation into love by the grace of God.

Transition

Jesus has shown us how kingdom people respond when they are insulted, wronged, and pressed.

Now He goes one step deeper.

Because when grace truly rules the heart, it doesn’t just shape our reactions in moments of conflict, it reshapes the posture of our lives.

And that leads us to the final word Jesus gives.

3. The Posture Jesus Cultivates

Open-Handed Generosity (v. 42)

Matthew 5:42 ESV

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

Exegesis

Jesus concludes this section of the Sermon on the Mount not with another confrontation scene, but with a command that reveals the heart beneath all the others—generosity.

The language is simple and direct:

“Give to the one who asks.”

“Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow.”

Jesus is describing a heart that gives without calculation and lends without leverage.

This is not reckless enabling or naïve foolishness.

Scripture elsewhere calls for wisdom, discernment, and love that truly helps rather than harms.

Jesus is not contradicting that.

But here, He is not addressing strategy.

He is addressing disposition.

He is confronting the instinctive posture of a fallen heart, one that closes its hand, protects itself, and asks first, “What will this cost me?”

Kingdom generosity begins somewhere deeper than policy or prudence.

It begins with a heart that is available, willing, and open.

Exposition

This final command shows us that Jesus’ teaching is not merely about how to respond when we are wronged, it is about who we are becoming as kingdom people.

Kingdom citizens are not marked by clenched fists, but by open hands.

Why?

Because we serve a King who gave first.

The Christian does not give in order to earn grace.

The Christian gives because grace has already been given.

This is the fruit of being born again.

A heart that has been made new by the Spirit no longer relates to possessions, power, or provision the way it once did.

It no longer lives in fear of scarcity, because it trusts the Father who provides.

Open-handed generosity flows from a settled confidence:

That God sees.

That God supplies.

That God is faithful.

This kind of generosity does not demand repayment, recognition, or return.

It reflects a life that is no longer grasping for control, because it rests in the care of God.

Illustration

The clearest illustration of this command is not found in us—it is found in God Himself.

The gospel is the story of open-handed grace, isn’t it?

God gave:

When we did not deserve it.

When we could not repay it.

When we had nothing to offer in return.

He did not give cautiously.

He did not give partially.

He did not give conditionally.

He gave His Son.

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

At the cross, Jesus bore insult without retaliation.

He absorbed injustice without returning it.

He went not one mile, but all the way, freely, willingly, lovingly.

And He did it not for friends, but for enemies.

This is why generosity is not an accessory to the Christian life, it is evidence of it.

The open hand is the natural fruit of a heart that has first been opened by grace.

Did you hear all the songs we sang this morning?

“What riches of kindness He lavished on us His blood was the payment, His life was the cost We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford Our sins they are many, His mercy is more

Praise the Lord, His mercy is more”

….

“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt

Grace, grace, God's grace Grace that is greater than all our sin”

Church, those songs are not warm-ups before the sermon.

They are the theology beneath it.

If that is true, if mercy has been lavished on us,

if grace has exceeded our guilt,

if Christ has paid a debt we could never repay, then Jesus’ words in this passage press one unavoidable question upon our hearts.

Application

Not, “Will you give?” But, “What kind of heart is shaping your giving?”

Is it fear—or faith?

Scarcity—or grace?

Is the lavish mercy of God shaping the way you hold what you have?

This week, ask:

Where am I tempted to close my hand in fear?

Where has God placed someone in front of me who needs help, not leverage? (Please see me after church and I can tell you those who are in need in this church!)

How can I reflect the generosity of my Father without demanding return?

We can live open-handed lives because our future, our identity, and our inheritance are already secure in Christ.

To be stingy…

to hoard…

to cling tightly to what we have, is to live as though we are afraid of losing something.

Children

hold your hands like this—tight fists. That’s what fear looks like. Now open them. That’s what trusting Jesus looks like.

But fear has no place in the life of an heir.

Children

An heir means you’re in the family, so what’s Mommy and Daddy’s is yours too.

Scripture tells us that we are heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17),

that in Christ we are heirs of the world (Romans 4:13), and Jesus Himself declares,

Matthew 5:5 ESV

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

And if that were not clear enough, the apostle Paul says it as plainly as possible:

1 Corinthians 3:21–23 ESV

…For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

That changes everything, doesn't it?

Stinginess says, “I might not have enough.”

The gospel says, “All things are already yours in Christ.”

Hoarding says, “I need to protect what’s mine.”

Grace says, “I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

So out of all people, christians should be the most generous, especially toward those in need, not because we are reckless, but because we are secure.

We are not trying to earn an inheritance.

We are not scrambling to protect one.

We are living out of a grace-secured, Christ-guaranteed inheritance.

Here is what I have learned, beloved, when the lavish mercy and grace of our Lord loosens our grip, generosity becomes joy, to the glory of God and for the good of others.

Simply ask your heart this week:

“How can I reflect Christ’s generosity this week—without demanding return?”

Conclusion

Church, Jesus does not merely command this way of life.

He walked it.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied of Jesus hundreds of years before:

Isaiah 50:6–7 ESV

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

At the cross, Jesus absorbed the vengeance.

He took on the wrath of God due us.

He bore our debt.

Beloved, by doing so, He ended the cycle.

And by His resurrection power, He now enables His people to live this impossible life of kingdom resistance.

A way of responding to evil that breaks destructive cycles, exposes injustice, restores dignity, and reflects the very heart of Christ Himself to world that desperately, and I mean desperately, need this-or should I say, needs Christ.

Call to action

This kind of righteousness is not natural.

It is new-covenant fruit.

You must be born again to live this impossible life.

So come to Christ with repentance and faith.

Trust the King.

And by His Spirit— Go the second mile.

PRAY

Gracious and holy Father,

We thank You for Your Word that searches us and shapes us.

You have shown us again today that Your kingdom does not advance by retaliation, but by redeeming grace.

We confess that our instincts are often quick to defend ourselves, to protect our rights, and to cling tightly to what we have.

Forgive us, Lord.

Teach us to see afresh the mercy that has been lavished upon us in Christ.

As we come now to the Lord’s Table, fix our eyes on Jesus, the One who turned His cheek, who bore insult without retaliation, who went not one mile, but all the way to the cross for sinners like us.

Feed us again on His broken body and shed blood.

Strengthen our faith.

Soften our hearts.

And by Your Spirit, form us into a people who reflect His generosity, His patience, and His love.

We come not trusting in ourselves, but in Christ alone.

Meet us here, we pray, for His glory and our joy.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.