Monday, 20 November 2023
“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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.’”
Don’t just be as Christ-like as the law demands; go way beyond that!
Sometimes, we get the idea that as long as the law allows something it must be okay, or that if the law requires something of us, that’s as far as we have to go. But remember that our highest allegiance is not a legal allegiance, but a relational allegiance to Jesus Christ.
It’s not weak to live the way Jesus describes in these verses. In fact, this description fits Jesus’ own life perfectly. They struck him on the cheek; they took his clothes; they demanded so much of him. He responded by not lashing out, not claiming his rights as God, not summoning his legions of angels, but by healing the soldier’s ear (Luke 22:51), and praying for their forgiveness.
It was his apparent “weakness” that won so many hearts to him.
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