38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. 40 If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. 42 If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to someone who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. 45 If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48 So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Read Matthew 5:38-48 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In one of Jesus’ most famous sermons, He briefly turns the focus onto the idea of fairness. While Jesus does not say that all things in life should be fair, or that everything is fair, He does lay out a response for those who face situations that seem to be unfair.
Jesus shifts the topic of His message to this point by saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’” (v. 38)
With this verse, Jesus establishes context for what He will share – but He actually focuses His teaching on a different perspective than what the original intent of this statement was. The statement “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” gains most of its benefit when prompting someone’s self-control or self-restraint. It acts as a hedge prompting someone to think twice before harming another, and it acts as a clear way for a judge and set of witnesses to judge a fair punishment for those who harm others.
But Jesus takes the victim’s perspective in what He shares next. While our natural tendency is to demand that life be fair, reality tells us this is far from the case. Jesus lays out the response we should give when we are treated unfairly. He continues by saying, “But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to someone who wants to borrow from you.” (v. 39-42)
To those who may feel like we are being taken advantage of, we should not let it break our emotions. We should not react out of anger or frustration. Instead, Jesus is saying that we should go the “extra mile”.
What is probably the most challenging part of Jesus’ words in these verses is when He says, “don’t stand up against an evil person.” I believe this is because when we choose to fight, we have a greater tendency of becoming like that evil person. When we choose to fight, no one wins.
But when we choose not to fight, it sends a message that confuses the other person. When we don’t fight, we are being more like Christ. Jesus only was angry at certain points in His ministry, but it was never while being attacked or challenged. While Jesus stood up for those who were oppressed, He never lost His composure when someone was being hurt. Instead, Jesus’ example to all of us is taking the abuse, the whipping, the injury, and ultimately being nailed on a cross to die because His enemies simply didn’t like Him.
Jesus message in our passage is exactly what He modeled for us in His own life as He was headed to the cross. God is more interested in us becoming like Him than on us being stronger, more powerful, and/or more well liked among those in our communities.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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