Turn the Other Cheek

(Christ's 9th Command)
By R. Michel Lankford

"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 an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42 NRSV)

 

Experience with God Is What Builds Faith

As growing believers in Messiah, is often useful to examine what we believe and why we believe it. There are great many reasons why I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, but here are just a few of them.
1. I studied. I studied prayed and search for the truth for years. I love God and his Word so much now, that it amazes people to imagine that I wasn't always this way. The truth is though that I had been severely abused throughout my childhood by several people who called themselves Christians, but who simply were not Christ followers. The bottom line is that they were a horrible witness for Christ, and my faith suffered greatly because of it. As a result, I started crying out for God to show me the truth, but I did not get saved or come to Christ until age 19 or 20. During that whole process I was privileged to take a comparative religion course at a College prep school I attended for a year. During that course we looked at the actual texts of most of the world's prominent religions. In the process of studying the various religious texts I realized that Christianity clearly filled in the gaps left behind by other religious thought. I wasn't saved or walking with Christ yet, but the fact that the New Testament was so completely straightforward and it is filled in the gaps left behind by other religious philosophies greatly intrigued me. So I kept studying.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV 1900)

2. I experienced it. When I received Christ years later, I was so touched by the grace of God that I began developing a ravenous appetite for not only reading but obeying the Scriptures. As I grew in reading, praying and understanding the word with a regenerated being (Ezekiel 36:25-27), I steadily grew both in desire and ability to become a doer of the Scriptures that I was reading. Now, I had my failures and struggles like any other growing child of God, (and I still do), but I was clearly moving forward in learning and doing God's written Word. In the process I experienced a terrific phenomenon. God's Word works! That is to say that from the early stages of my faith to this very day I discovered that God's word and promises function exactly as advertised. I learned very early on that almost every promise in God's word has certain conditions. That Is if we want the benefits and blessings that God promises, we must fulfill the conditions prescribed in Scripture. From personal experience I learned that every time I fulfilled the conditions, the promised results occurred in my life. I also learned that the opposite was true. Every time I noticed that I was not experiencing the blessing or promise that I wanted to experience from Scripture, I could always objectively trace it back to the fact that I had not fulfilled the conditions required to receive the Scriptural promise I was seeking.
3. True Biblical Christianity Overcomes. One of the main reasons that I absolutely believe that biblical Christianity is the true religion sent by God is this. Man-made religion is the human beings attempt to reach out and receive God's blessings. The Judeo-Christian biblical standard is God's attempt to reach out and reconcile human kind to Himself, by His power. In Christianity, God sets an absolutely righteous standard and He is unwavering in that standard, but since we cannot meet God’s standard because of our sinful and broken condition, God sent the perfect embodiment of His standard, Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah to restore us to Himself, (Romans 5:8). Even with all of that though, God still expects us to overcome our sinful nature and to adopt a new nature through Christ. Passages like the one we are studying today absolutely confirm to me that Christianity is the true religion of God. Christianity not only calls us to do good (as all other religions basically do), but Biblical Christianity actually calls us to defy, overthrow and overcome the very sinful nature itself, as our focal passage clearly illustrates.

“He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (Revelation 21:7, NASB95)

 

An Eye for an Eye

In our focal passage today, Messiah once again begins teaching by first reestablishing God's true standard. He begins with the familiar phrasing, "You have heard it said..., but I tell you...." Please remember that at the time Jesus spoke these words, there had not been a true prophet in Israel for almost 400 years. During the 400 silent years people began to water down the Scriptures and to interpret them in ways that were more convenient instead of godly. The concept an eye for an eye was in fact biblical but its application had been horribly redefine by human tradition into something that God never intended. When the command was originally given (Exodus 21:22-27), it was originally intended as a judicial sentencing limitation guideline.
In other words a judge could go no further in exercising a penalty than the offense that was given. He was not always required to go that far, but he certainly could never go any further than the harm that was actually done. The rule was in fact intended to ensure that mercy was applied when exercising legal justice. By the time the Messiah came along that Scripture had been horribly abused by tradition as though it gave permission for personal vigilante or vengeance, which Scripture absolutely does not support.

 

Forgo the Desire for Revenge

One of the things that convinces me that Biblical Christianity is the true religion sent by God is this passage. At every turn Christianity commands and challenges us to overcome sinful human nature. Think about it. How does the natural human nature react when we are mistreated? Our natural knee-jerk reaction is to lash out and fight back, and usually to fight back and dish out more pain than we received. The scariest part is that at the time that we are fighting back and lashing out against the mistreatment, we usually tend to hit just a little bit harder then we got hit ourselves, and feel perfectly justified in doing so. The conflict then escalates.
To better understand Christ’s command, it pays to remember that as followers of God through Jesus Christ, we are called to be transformed into and exhibit the character of our Heavenly Father Almighty God. When Jesus the Messiah gave this command, He was really highlighting the nature and character of the Heavenly Father:

Exodus 34:6–7 Then The LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin,…” (NASB95)

To understand this command, it pays to remember that as followers of God through Jesus Christ, we are called to be transformed into, and then exhibit the character of our Heavenly Father Almighty God. God is love (1 John 4:8), so we are called to be transformed, filled with, and then exhibit Godly love to others. When Jesus the Messiah gave this command, He was really highlighting the nature and character of Almighty God the Heavenly Father revealed to Moses. The specific characteristics of Godly love are described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. One of loves major characteristics is that it is not easily provoked to rage or anger, or it does not hold on to offenses or hold grudges for wrongs that are suffered (see 1 Corinthians 13:5). That is the principle behind what Christ was commanding here. If we are truly allowing God to transform our nature from a sinful one to a Godly one, then our knee-jerk reaction ought to become more and more agreeable to the character and nature of our Heavenly Father.
As we grow in Messiah, our first reactions should be not to take revenge when we are offended, instead our initial response should become one that takes the offense without retaliating because God's character is living inside of us. Our first response should be to do exactly the opposite of what our normal sinful nature desires. As Biblical Christians, we need to become willing and able to do more then what is asked of us. We are to turn the other cheek. We ought to give more than is demanded, and we ought to do more than what is required of us, even when it's not quite fair to us. Why? Because we remember that Jesus Christ paid for our sins through His death on the cross, even though this was not fair to Him at all.

 

Was Jesus Christ Requiring Absolute Pacifism?

Some people mistakenly use this passage to suggest that Jesus Christ was demanding and requiring absolute pacifism from His followers. However, this is not biblically accurate. Jesus was not banning all acts of self-defense, or defending others when He gave this command. He was not requiring believers to be absolutely passive regardless what anyone did. In Luke 22:35-38, Jesus told His followers to trade in their clothes and buy swords. Now, Jesus would not have told them to do that if He intended them never to defend themselves and others after He returned to the Heavenly Father. The point is that we are to act in balance and moderation with a heart and actions that lean more toward forgiveness and self-sacrifice than fighting. If you are fighting to protect an entire race of people from genocide, and you still exercise justice with mercy while doing so, then your fighting is justified and Godly. However, if you use your weapon to slash your neighbor’s tires because he owes you $40, and you are angry and tired of waiting, then that's revenge and you have sinned against your neighbor. Jesus was not saying that we were never to draw a sword, but it's all about the motive and the when, why and how we use that sword.
Prayer
Almighty God, Lord Jesus Messiah and gracious Lord Holy Spirit; blessed be Your name. In Your mercy, save me according to Your unfailing Love. In Your love You sent Your Son, and in obedience to Yahweh, Yeshua willingly came and voluntarily took the punishment my own personal sins deserve. You willingly watched your Son sacrifice Himself, without taking violent revenge on us which we deserved. Jesus willingly took the punishments upon Himself that were not His due. Instead, Yeshua willingly and painfully sacrificed His rights, His comforts, and even His earthly life, so that we could receive the forgiveness and blessings of God, instead of the wrath and punishment we justly deserve. In light of all this, what rights have I to take revenge when I'm wounded and offended?
Almighty Yahweh, Lord Yeshua Messiah, gracious Lord Holy Spirit; have mercy upon me. Save me according to Your unfailing Love. Please forgive me and remove all wickedness including all unforgiveness and sinful revenge from my very own heart. Please, take my heart and all that is in it. Graciously wash, transform, and fill it with Your Love through Messiah's sacrifice. Help me to turn the other cheek and to endure offenses without taking revenge for myself. Help me to give generously, even if it sometimes feels as though the one asking is taking advantage. Help me to willingly go the extra mile and do more than I’m required, but grant me Your Love and comfort through it all, so that I will not be overwhelmed and crushed with grief or burden. Whenever I do "draw my sword" and take action, let it be only when You direct it, and let me do so with mercy and compassion and without malice in my heart. Please, mercifully grant all of these things for the sake of Your unfailing love, and Your Son Yeshua, the Messiah. Amen.
Brother R. Michel Lankford
“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9, ESV)
“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15, ESV)