‘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.‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same?And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-38)
It was, forgive the pun, "eye-opening" to learn the truth behind the retaliation law that Moses introduced. It was during the time when if someone knocked the tooth out of someone in a fight or conflict, the family of the injured would seek to kill the one who knocked out the tooth. And the same was true for almost any type of injury. Moses said, it's best if you seek to repay just what was taken from you. If it was an eye, take the eye out of the one who did it. Same for a tooth, etc. Jesus goes further; right into the unexpected. "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left one to them as well. And if someone wants to sue you for your coat, give them your cloak as well. And if someone forces you to go one mile, go a second mile. And that was interesting because during the time of Jesus any Roman solider could pat you on your back with the flat of his spear which was an indication to you that you had to carry his gear for one mile. If you refused, he would run you through with his spear. Jesus said what He said to say, "Why risk death? Show others the unexpected of going a second mile when that is not at all expected." And Jesus goes even further by saying to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in other words, strive for perfection, which is usually completely based on the unexpected. The world has a set of expectations; it doesn't know what to do when the unexpected shows up.
It's easy to do the expected. In fact, it's expected. The difficult things are usually the Godly things; show love in unexpected ways. Second mile living, giving, sharing, and sacrifice show the God-side of us - and doesn't the world need to see that more? In this time of hateful rants and rhetoric, can the voice of God in us be a voice of love and understanding?
It's up to us. I say we should choose to live in a way that blesses and catches people off guard. Bless God and you will be blessed!
PRAYER: Awesome Father, as I set about this day, help me to live in an unexpected way; going the second mile, turning the other cheek, praying for those who hate me and loving those who I thought were my enemies. I want to turn the world upside down for You. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Here is a quick video on first thoughts on this passage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_rTNXGlg3U
