Matthew 5:38-42 – Going beyond retaliation

In the Old Testament, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” command was to prevent revenge from getting out of hand. Knowing human nature, people won’t be satisfied just getting angry, they want to get even. And worse still they want to exact a revenge with escalating intensity that would certainly create an endless feud. So this instruction limits what someone could do to an offender.

In three examples, Jesus proposed something better for us, His disciples. We are not to retaliate. We are to act in ways that will reflect the nature and character of a kind God. What Jesus proposed is for us to be magnanimous, like He is. We can do something that will shock our offender. Instead of hitting back when one is struck on one side of the cheeks, one is to offer the other. A slap on the face is certainly an insult, but when one hits back, the evil will be perpetuated. The offering of the other cheek is a call to act differently. Instead of insisting on one’s right to hit back, we allow our security in God to express in ways that would disarm our offender.

Similarly, when one is being sued in court for one’s shirt, Jesus advocates the offering of one’s outer cloak as well. This is of course not to be taken literally again. It’s Jesus’ way of saying that we don’t need to insist on our rights, legal or otherwise. We can be secure in God enough to divest of our right, and be willing to renounce it in the interest of others.  

Verse 41 reflects Roman military occupation. There was a practice that a Roman soldier or a government official could insist that a citizen carry his equipment for a prescribed distance and no further. Here the Lord said that His people should do more than what is required by this law. When asked to carry for a mile we make it two.

What is in all these illustrations for us? Regardless of what situations we are in, we must think through carefully and consider how best to reflect God’s love. Whether in tension or aggravation, and irritation or frustration, we must remember that we are still salt of this earth and light of this world.