Is It Too Much?

Matthew 5:38-40 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 one who isevil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.


Here we go with the really tough stuff of Jesus teaching. It was accepted that you could repay someone with an equal force something that had been done to you. Families could respond to the murder of a family member by murdering the murderer. Jesus says no revenge rather turn the other cheek, or in other words let it happen again.

All of the examples in this section of Jesus teaching demand that you go over and above what was expected in his society. We would argue I'm sure that it sounds too much like asking people who are victims of abuse to continue being victims of abuse. The last two examples deal with generosity not abuse, and Jesus always calls for excess in generosity, but the first which does deal with abuse calls us to forsake revenge even when we are abused.

People often claim that pacifism does not work. They imply that the only way to stop a bully is to bully back. In history many who would promote a pacifist response have been ridiculed for their appeasement of the bullies. Jesus however changed the whole world in the end by his practice of pacifism. In the moment it looked like defeat but in the end he was the victor. Gandhi certainly is another example of winning with pacifism changing a whole country and led to the independence for his nation.

We need to realize that Jesus does not say anything that God does not wants him to say. We cannot dismiss these teachings simple because they do not fit our picture frame. Truth is truth whether we want to or not.