³⁸ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: ³⁹ But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. ⁴¹ And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Matthew 5:38-41 (KJV)

This is a profound teaching of Jesus, this seems to be a paradox in our modern world. If someone does evil to you, at least defend yourself, if not get some blood in return. The ESV is easier to understand “But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil…”, Jesus is telling us if someone does evil to us, allow it, even encourage them to do evil on the other cheek

The First Verse Jesus references is from Exodus 21 where Moses is laying down the civil law for the Children of Israel.

²² “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. ²³ But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Exodus 21:22-25

This is an idea of Justice, that all are equal (even pregnant women) and if evil is done to them, justice requires equity. The principle is still part of our justice system today, A life for a life. We don’t gouge out eyes, pull teeth, or cut off limbs, but the principle is still valid. Even though we don’ t have a perfect justice system, it’s based on the idea of Exodus 21. I’m sure it was often quoted by the victims of Jesus day, but Jesus is flipping that entire table.

The principle is far loftier than we can ever imagine, again the Sermon on the mount is to the disciples of Jesus Christ, He is bestowing upon them the Wisdom of God. We should not seek justice here in earth, we should seek the souls of the lost. Do we deserve justice? Sure, but Jesus is telling us our reward is in heaven, not here. If a person seeks to hit us, allow them to hit, but do not return a punch.

Jesus then continues, if we are sued by a court of law, then we should give anything that is asked and more, trusting that our Father who is in control of all things will give to our needs accordingly. And if we are forced to do labor of any kind, do it to the fullest, do it well, and do it to the Glory of God.

These are hard teachings, and we see how this fallen world will abuse these teachings, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t true. These are teachings used by Civil Rights leaders in our country to defy bad laws, and in God’s economy Justice belongs to God. Even today, we face evil, we should not run away, but we should be willing to stand, not seeking vengeance, but seeking the souls of the lost.

Our actions and words should be of peace, not vengeance. We should be ever seeking the souls of the lost rather than seeking justice in this world, it’s far more important to focus on the eternal than the temporal.

Lord, give me the peace to trust you in all the ways of this world, help me to turn the other cheek. Help me to trust in your eternal plan over the simple ways of this fallen world.