Matthew 5:38-48 (NKJV) 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.‘ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
As I was getting ready to write this morning, I realized I had almost forgotten what God spoke to me as the theme for this year. God said it was a year of restoration. As I looked back on the first half of the year, it seemed like anything but restoration. Then I realized the power of what he said to me. God is going to restore all that the first half of 2020 has taken. Anyone who will reach out in faith now will see something wonderful happen by the end of the year.
The wisdom of God is of particular necessity if we are going to see restoration. There are many ways the wisdom of God manifests in our lives. Most do not make sense to the natural mind. I want to look at a statement from the sermon on the mount that is full of God’s wisdom but looks like foolishness if viewed in the natural. In these times of hatred, distrust and unrest, this wisdom will be necessary to bring restoration to our nation.
I want to remind you that these are the words of Jesus. He is speaking to people who have no idea what Christianity will look like. They are not listening to a preacher of doctrine. They are listening to someone who heals their sick, comforts their souls, speaks as one who has authority and reveals to them how to walk in the Kingdom of God. What he says here is not what the pharisees teach. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite. Yet after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, this wisdom was so powerful that it turned the world upside down.
Jesus begins this section of scripture with a very important statement. He says, “You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you do not resist an evil person.” He is quoting a statement of perfect justice. What could be more fair than to require payment that exactly fits the wrong done to us. However, Jesus then says something that, on face value, seems completely foolish. We are not to resist an evil person.
He goes on to explain. If someone slaps me once, I should offer my other cheek so he can slap me again! I am not sure I like that. To understand more fully, I think we need to look at his choice of words here. He did not say punch. The Greek word expressly means slap with and open hand. The fact that he says slap gives insight into what Jesus is really speaking about.
If a man punches me in the face, I will likely want to punch him back. If we fight it out, we may end up enemies, but we may also end up friends. A fight is a manly thing. A slap in the face is something else entirely. If a man slaps another man in the face it is a sign of disrespect. It is a challenge to his manhood. If one man slaps another, there may be a fight but even if there is not the disrespect will remain a point of contention for a long time. Why is this significant.
Jesus is not talking about defending our families or stopping a burglar or looter. He is talking about the personal affronts that come to us in life. He is declaring a different way for people to respond even when they are under pressure. In verses 40-42 he further explains how this would work. If someone takes your shirt give him your coat. If someone forces you to go one mile out of your way, go a second mile willingly. If someone wants to borrow what you have, do not say no even if they never return it. These things go against our sense of justice. The thing that Jesus is showing us is that there is something more powerful than pure justice. In verse 43 he tells us what it is.
The Israelites were taught to love your neighbor but hate your enemy. Leviticus 19:18 tells the Israelite to love their neighbor but the part about hating your enemies is not in the Bible. It was their tradition. The thing we need to understand is that in the Hebrew tradition, another Israelite was your neighbor. Anyone not an Israelite was not. It was not acceptable to cheat, lie to or wrong your neighbor, that is another Hebrew. It was considered quite acceptable to do all those things to those who were not “neighbors” since they were not Israelites. Jesus once again challenges their traditional thinking.
He says something that would have sounded absolutely absurd to them. To people who know the New Testament, especially born-again Christians, this is a familiar statement. I do not think most of us consider it any more practical than the Jewish people who heard him preach on the mount. It is a nice idea. It is a beautiful statement, but surely, we cannot be expected to do it! These things are not suggestions. They are not poetic statements that have some figurative meaning. They are commands from the Lord of the church. We are really supposed to live this way.
To the natural mind this would seem to lead to our being abused and “walked over.” We would be seen as weak and vulnerable. In the short term that might be true. In the long term this philosophy defeated an empire and created a channel of God’s power to the world that the devil has never been stop. If we love the way Jesus teaches us in these few verses, we will change the world. Some were required to love this way unto death. Most of us will only have to die to our pride and our flesh. If we choose to do so, we will always win in the end.
In my search for a true relationship with the Lord as a teenager, God used the story of David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz to open my heart. Nicky was a gang leader in New York City during the 1950’s. At that time David Wilkerson was a preacher from rural Pennsylvania. God told him to go to New York City and preach to the gangs. At one-point Nicky Cruz encountered Wilkerson with a knife and demanded he stop preaching or die. Wilkerson told him that if Nicky cut him into a thousand pieces every one of them would say, “I love you and Jesus loves you.” The power of that so impressed Nicky Cruz that he received Jesus as Lord and savior and has preached around the world with the same message.
The manifest love of God through the life of an individual to those around him is a weapon for which the devil has no defense. As we continue to look at this scripture next time, get ready because it does not get easier, it gets harder. Do not worry. If God asks us to live this way, he intends to provide the power to back it up.
Right now, we need to love our enemy as never before. If we do, we will see the world around us change.
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