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John 2:14-17-And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE HAS EATEN ME UP.”
Several years ago, I was blessed to have a series of Bible studies with a young man who had recently been baptized into Christ. We will call him Allen (not his real name). One day, Allen was very upset as we got together at a local restaurant for our scheduled Bible study.
Mark: What’s troubling you my friend?
Allen: Brother Mark, doesn’t the Bible teach that we are supposed to stand up against evil?
Mark: Yes, it does. We are told to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), to oppose those who oppress the weak and vulnerable while seeking justice (Isaiah 1:17), and make sure that we do our best to speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9). In fact, Jesus was always standing up against those who were committed to wickedness. He even overturned tables and drove people and animals out of the Temple!
Allen: That’s what I thought to! But then I read that Jesus tells us not to resist people who are evil. Does being a Christian mean refusing to stand up to people and letting them walk all over the weak? Because if so, I don’t know if I want to be a Christian.
(End Of Relevant Conversation).
Allen was referring to something which Jesus said in one of His most powerful sermons, what we know commonly as the Sermon On The Mount.
Matthew 5:39-But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
Do we resist evil, or don’t we?
Let’s study.
The first thing to notice in this passage is how it is rendered in different translations.
Matthew 5:39 (BBE)-But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned.
Matthew 5:39 (GNB)-But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too.
Matthew 5:39 (CEV)-But I tell you not to try to get even with a person who has done something to you. When someone slaps your right cheek, turn and let that person slap your other cheek.
Please observe how the word “resist” (NKJV) is translated in various ways. This is very important in helping us to understand what Jesus is discussing:
“Many of those who have committed their lives to ending injustice simply dismiss Jesus’ teachings about nonviolence out of hand as impractical idealism. And with good reason. “Turn the other cheek” suggests the passive, Christian doormat quality that has made so many Christians cowardly and complicit in the face of injustice. “Resist not evil” seems to break the back of all opposition to evil and to counsel submission. “Going the second mile” has become a platitude meaning nothing more than “extend yourself,” and rather than fostering structural change, encourages collaboration with the oppressor. Jesus obviously never behaved in any of these ways. Whatever the source of the misunderstanding, it is clearly in neither Jesus nor his teaching, which, when given a fair hearing in its original social context, is arguably one of the most revolutionary political statements ever uttered: 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 (Matt. 5: 38–41 NRSV). When the court translators working in the hire of King James chose to translate antistēnai as “Resist not evil,” they were doing something more than rendering Greek into English. They were translating nonviolent resistance into docility. Jesus did not tell his oppressed hearers not to resist evil. That would have been absurd. His entire ministry is utterly at odds with such a preposterous idea. The Greek word is made up of two parts: anti, a word still used in English for “against,” and histēmi, a verb that in its noun form (stasis) means violent rebellion, armed revolt, sharp dissention. In the Greek Old Testament, antistēnai is used primarily for military encounters—44 out of 71 times. It refers specifically to the moment two armies collide, steel on steel, until one side breaks and flees. In the New Testament it describes Barabbas, a rebel “who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15: 7; Luke 23: 19, 25), and the townspeople in Ephesus, who “are in danger of being charged with rioting” (Acts 19: 40). The term generally refers to a potentially lethal disturbance or armed revolution. 7 A proper translation of Jesus’ teaching would then be, “Don’t strike back at evil (or, one who has done you evil) in kind.” “Do not retaliate against violence with violence.” The Scholars Version is brilliant: “Don’t react violently against the one who is evil.” Jesus was no less committed to opposing evil than the anti-Roman resistance fighters. The only difference was over the means to be used: how one should fight evil. There are three general responses to evil: (1) passivity, (2) violent opposition, and 3) the third way of militant nonviolence articulated by Jesus.” (Walter Wink, Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way (Facets), 9-11 (Kindle Edition): Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press)
So the idea of not “resisting” an evil person is the idea of not utilizing violent and potentially lethal force against another.
But notice secondly the meaning of “turning the other cheek.” A friend of mine used to tell me if someone hits him on the cheek, he will turn it….but the Bible doesn’t say what to do after that!
😂.
To understand what it means here to “turn the other cheek,” we have to look at the phraseology of “slapping” the “right cheek.” The only way a right-handed person could hit someone on the right cheek is with the back of the hand. In the ancient world, hitting someone with the back of the hand was a very demeaning act, akin (in our modern equivalence) with spitting in someone’s face. It is the proper way to respond to a grave insult that Jesus is discussing here, not to physical violence.
“Although many Christians and non-Christians alike take for granted that Jesus absolutely prohibits any use of force, we have our doubts. Of course, the starting point for most discussions is Jesus’s command to turn the other cheek after being slapped (Matt. 5: 39 NASB). So let’s begin there: “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” As it turns out, this admonition to “turn the other cheek” is not the response to an act of violence, rather, to a gross insult. This is so whether one strikes with the back of the hand (Matt. 5: 39) or with the palm of the hand (possible in Luke 6: 29, though the specific cheek isn’t specified). The language of Lamentations suggests this: “Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults” (3: 30 ESV). Notice, too, that when Jesus was slapped in the face while on trial, he did not actually “turn the other cheek” but challenged this (John 18: 23). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is prohibiting returning insult for insult. He is exhorting his followers to break the vicious cycle of exchanging insults and to move toward reconciliation and peacemaking with our personal enemies—even with Roman soldiers who might commandeer Jewish citizens to carry their loads for them for a mile (Matt. 5: 41).” (Paul Copan, Matt Flannagan, Did God Really Command Genocide?: Coming to Terms with the Justice of God, 300-301 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books)
So the context of Jesus’ statement is not dealing with an angry man who is intent on beating the life out of someone. It is specifically about dealing appropriately with those who would degrade, insult, and humiliate other human beings made in God’s image.
What practical application would this have?
“Why then does he counsel these already humiliated people to turn the other cheek? Because this action robs the oppressor of the power to humiliate. The person who turns the other cheek is saying, in effect, “Try again. Your first blow failed to achieve its intended effect. I deny you the power to humiliate me. I am a human being just like you. Your status does not alter that fact. You cannot demean me.” Such a response would create enormous difficulties for the striker. Purely logistically, what can he do? He cannot use the backhand because his nose is in the way. He can’t use his left hand regardless. If he hits with a fist, he makes himself an equal, acknowledging the other as a peer. But the whole point of the back of the hand is to reinforce the caste system and its institutionalized inequality. Even if he orders the person flogged, the point has been irrevocably made. The oppressor has been forced, against his will, to regard this subordinate as an equal human being. The powerful person has been stripped of his power to dehumanize the other. This response, far from admonishing passivity and cowardice, is an act of defiance.” (Walter Wink, Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way (Facets), 15-16 (Kindle Edition): Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press)
Finally, Jesus is not telling us that evil must not be opposed: He is teaching us a new way to oppose it! The three examples that the Lord uses of resisting evil (turning the other cheek to one who insults us, giving our cloak to the man who unjustly sues us for our tunic, and going the second mile to the Roman solider who compels you to go one) illustrates fighting against evil in a new “revolutionary” way. Instead of ignoring evil, running from it, or meeting it with brute force, the Lord instructs us how to stand against evil and injustice in a non-violent way.
“With Jesus a way emerges by which evil can be opposed without being mirrored: Jesus’ Third Way • Seize the moral initiative • Find a creative alternative to violence • Assert your own humanity and dignity as a person • Meet force with ridicule or humor • Break the cycle of humiliation • Refuse to submit or to accept the inferior position • Expose the injustice of the system • Take control of the power dynamic • Shame the oppressor into repentance • Stand your ground • Force the Powers to make decisions for which they are not prepared • Recognize your own power • Be willing to suffer rather than to retaliate • Cause the oppressor to see you in a new light • Deprive the oppressor of a situation where a show of force is effective • Be willing to undergo the penalty for breaking unjust laws • Die to fear of the old order and its rules.” (Walter Wink, Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way (Facets), 27-28 (Kindle Edition): Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press)
“Might makes right” is not the way of Christ. While God’s Word authorizes the use of force in regard to self-defense and protection of others (Luke 22:36), it does not allow for vigilantism and oppressive domination of others.
Romans 12:21-Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
What are some ways that we can use this knowledge to better resist evil in our time?
Lord Jesus, grant us a heart of wisdom as we resist evil in this world. Help us to overcome evil with good. Amen.