do not take revenge

Revenge comes easily to the human race. We have a natural tendency to retaliate when anyone harms us (or even when the harm is in our imagination!). But Jesus instructs his followers to eschew hitting back in all its forms; we should even go the “second mile” in doing more than the enemy asks. This is a radically new approach to the question of grievances. Jesus is, of course, still dealing with great principles, not laying down rules. We must not think that he held that his followers should never right wrongs, for example, nor that he felt that they must give to every beggar who approaches them. Were this so, all Christians would live under tyranny and in a state of destitution. But the principles that we are to refrain from asserting our rights and that we should put the needs of others before our own run through all of life and mark the difference between the servant of God and the worldling. There are some parallels in Luke 6:29–30, but mostly in the general sense. Almost every significant word is different, which makes it difficult to derive either account from the other.

38. The formula is the same as that in verse 27, that is, it lacks the reference to “the men of old.” The quotation (from Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21) inserts “and” to join the two members, but is otherwise exact. The eye, of course, is a very important organ of sense perception, and its loss would be felt keenly. So when an eye is damaged or lost, a similar punishment is to be inflicted on whoever caused the loss. So with the tooth. In both cases the punishment is precisely equivalent. The precept is an ancient one and is expressed, for example, in the Code of Hammurabi (18th cent. b.c.). In its day this lex talionis was, of course, a great advance. It meant evenhanded justice without respect of persons. No matter how great the offender, he could not escape just punishment, and no matter how small, no more could be exacted of him than his offense merited. It took punishment out of the realm of private vengeance, but Jewish practice tended to put it back. By contrast, Jesus teaches that his people should not be noted for insisting on their just deserts. They must be ready to forego private vengeance, as indeed the law provided if people would only heed it (Lev. 19:17–18; cf. Prov. 24:29).

39. Again the emphatic formula is used to introduce striking new teaching. “Do not resist the evil person” does not mean that we should let evil triumph throughout our communities. Jesus is referring to private retaliation, not to public order, and he is instructing his followers not to be intent on getting their own back when someone wrongs them. To be the victim of some form of evil does not give us the right to hit back. Jesus proceeds to give an example, and his but is the strong adversative, a word that introduces a sharp contrast; he says, whoever¹⁴⁵ slaps you, “hits you with the open hand.” The traditional understanding is that the slap is on the cheek, and this may well be right, though the word properly means the jawbone.¹⁴⁷ The proper conduct in such a case is not retaliation, but readiness to endure a further blow. This contrasts with the teaching of the Mishnah, where we find that “If a man cuffed his fellow he must pay him a sela” (B. Qam. 8:6; the tractate goes on to lay down the penalties for slapping, hitting with the back of the hand, etc.). There will be occasions when protest is in order, as when Jesus himself drew attention to an illegality at his trial (John 18:22–23). But such occasions are never for the purpose of revenge or the like.

40. Jesus envisages a further indignity and loss, the oppressor who wants to take the disciple’s tunic. This is not outright robbery, but the process whereby the enemy adopts legal means of depriving the follower of Jesus of part of his clothing. Normally a person would seem to have worn a loincloth, a tunic, a cloak (outer garment), a girdle, a head covering, and sandals. Jesus envisages a situation in which someone adopts legal measures to deprive the disciple of his tunic. Take means here “take into one’s possession”; the verb can be used of seizing by force (21:35, 39). The proper response is not to fight back, but to be ready to let him have the outer garment as well, a more expensive garment and one that even the poorest had the right to keep (Exod. 22:26–27; Deut. 24:12–13). A person had an inalienable right to his cloak; it could not be taken away from him permanently. Its voluntary surrender is thus significant.

41. As in verse 39 whoever is the generalizing use of the pronoun (though this time the verb is in the future, there the present). The verb was used in the sense “requisition”; originally it was used of the Persian post, but it came to be used of forced service of various kinds. In its only other New Testament occurrences it refers to the pressing into service of Simon the Cyrenian to carry Jesus’ cross (27:32; Mark 15:21). The word mile was a Roman mile, that is, 1,000 paces, but it came to be used of a fixed measure, 8 stades (i.e., 4,854 feet or 1,478.5 meters, BAGD). Jesus tells his followers that when they are compelled to drop what they are doing and go a mile for the authority, they should show their willingness by going another.¹⁵² Two points to the importance of going well beyond what is required. The right thing, Jesus says, is not only to put up cheerfully with the unreasonable and disliked demand, but to go well beyond what is asked.

42. Give is unqualified; Jesus looks for generosity without condition. Asks is a general term for making requests, and it, too, is unqualified. Jesus is saying that his people must be ready to give to anyone who asks, deserving or undeserving (as in Deut. 15:7–8; Ps. 112:9); they should not reject anyone who wants to borrow from them. The verb turn away is used in a variety of senses, but here it clearly points to a refusal that should have no place in the life of the Christian. The follower of Jesus may perhaps not be in a position to give the borrower exactly what he asks, but that does not mean that he rejects him. It may be only a kind word or good advice, but he gives what he can in the circumstances in which he finds himself.¹⁵⁵¹

When a man says to me, “I’d swear on a stack of Bibles a mile high,” that is the fellow I do not believe because I think the lie he’s telling is a mile high.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth [Matt. 5:38].

All of that will be changed when Christ is reigning in His Kingdom.

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 [Matt. 5:39].

Do you live like this, or do you resist evil? There is a principle for us here, but we are living in a day when a wise man armed keepeth his house. And Paul could say, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works” (2 Tim. 4:14). In the Kingdom you will be able to turn the other cheek. It reminds me of the Irishman whom someone hit on the cheek and knocked down. The Irishman got up and turned his other cheek. The fellow knocked him down again. This time the Irishman got up and beat the stuffin’ out of that fellow. An observer asked, “Why did you do that?” “Well,” replied the Irishman, “the Lord said to turn the other cheek and I did, but He never told me what to do after that.”

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away [Matt. 5:40–42].

If you have a banker who says that he is living by the Sermon on the Mount, give this verse to him and see how far you get with it. Let’s quit being hypocrites and realize that this is the law of the Kingdom. When my Lord is on the throne down here on this earth, folk can live this way. In our day, business could not be conducted by this law. Years ago Archbishop McGee of Ireland said that it was impossible to conduct the affairs of the British nation on the basis of the Sermon on the Mount. I do not know whether I am related to Archbishop McGee or not, but I certainly find that I think as he did about the Sermon on the Mount. Although it contains great principles for the Christian in our day, it can be enforced only when Christ is on the throne. I think that ought to be quite obvious.

In our contemporary society many of the wealthy churches say that they follow the Sermon on the Mount. That is what the congregation gets as a steady diet on Sunday morning. However, if you go to the rich and try to get something from them, you won’t get very far, I assure you. On Sunday they hear, “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.” It sounds great. They think the Sermon on the Mount is a great document, but on Monday morning it is cold–blooded business and cash on the barrelhead. That, of course, is the way the business world is set up today.

However, there is a great principle in these verses for us, and we should not miss that. Certainly we should be helpful to those who are in need. And there are many fine Christian acts that can be performed by believers. Historically, hospitals, orphan homes, and works of charity (which the Bible calls acts of love) have followed the preaching of the gospel. I do not know any place on earth where they preceded the gospel, but they always followed it. There should be the fruit of good works in a believer’s life.²

Retaliation (vv. 38–42; Lev. 24:19–22). The original law was a fair one; it kept people from forcing the offender to pay a greater price than the offense deserved. It also prevented people from taking personal revenge. Jesus replaced a law with an attitude: be willing to suffer loss yourself rather than cause another to suffer. Of course, He applied this to personal insults, not to groups or nations. The person who retaliates only makes himself and the offender feel worse; and the result is a settled war and not peace.

In order to “turn the other cheek,” we must stay where we are and not run away. This demands both faith and love. It also means that we will be hurt, but it is better to be hurt on the outside than to be harmed on the inside. But it further means that we should try to help the sinner. We are vulnerable, because he may attack us anew; but we are also victorious, because Jesus is on our side, helping us and building our characters. Psychologists tell us that violence is born of weakness, not strength. It is the strong man who can love and suffer hurt; it is the weak man who thinks only of himself and hurts others to protect himself. He hurts others then runs away to protect himself.³

38. The principle of retaliation, lex talionis, is common in both Jewish and other ancient Near Eastern law codes (cf. the Code of Hammurabi). The judicial penalty of An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth is stated in Exodus 2:24 as a means of ending feuds. However, Jesus is clearly saying this method is not a license for vengeance. Many times an offended person will overreact to the offense and retaliate in such a way as to return injury for injury. The idea here is that to the Jews of Jesus’ day it was common to attempt to retaliate upon the offender through the arm of the law, especially in a nation dominated by a foreign power.

39. The Saviour’s point is that we should resist not evil. Evil is seen here, not as a state, but rather as the action of the evil ones or the malicious ones. It represents the evil and sinful element in man which provokes him to an act of evil. Jesus shows how the believer should respond to personal injury. He is not discussing the government’s obligation to maintain law and order. The question of nonretaliation or nonviolence is often discussed in relation to these verses. These passages alone do not mean that a man should not defend his family or his country, but rather that he should not attempt personal vengeance, even through the means of the law, to compensate for a personal injury.

Why would Jesus make such a statement? Certainly these words were spoken to remind those who would be His disciples not to expect divine justice from an unregenerate society. All justice ultimately is in the hand and heart of God. As long as human governments prevail, justice will be limited by man’s finite abilities. The disciples of the kingdom are to look to the King Himself for ultimate vindication. The practical application of this truth is that the believer should not attempt to justify himself or inflict vengeance even through legal means. He is to place his total confidence in the ultimate sovereignty of God over the affairs of his life. (See Rom 12:19 where “give place unto wrath” means God’s wrath.)

Jesus gives five examples of how the believer should react to unfair or unreasonable treatment. First, in retaliation to physical violence, he is to turn to him the other (side) also. Man’s normal impulse is to strike back, but the disciple is not to be a normal man. He is to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). This is probably one of the most feared statements in all the Bible. People have gone to great lengths in an attempt to explain it away. Nevertheless, it remains the most pungent statement of Jesus’ ethic. The life of the believer is to be lived with such a quality of spiritual verity and justice that he needs no physical retaliation in order to defend or justify his position. There is no greater example of this ethical truth than the life and death of Jesus Himself!

40. Secondly, whether robbed by personal assault or compulsory litigation, the believer is to respond with confidence in that which is eternal, rather than that which is temporal. If the believer is sued in order that the accuser may take away thy coat, he is to also let him have his cloak. The coat (Gr chitōn) is the undergarment or tunic. The cloak (Gr himation) is the more expensive outer garment worn over the tunic. Jesus taught us to have confidence in an almighty God who is completely aware of the injustices done to man and totally capable of evoking ultimate eternal justice. He must be trusted even when legal litigation goes against the believer. In our society, we would phrase Jesus’ teaching, “If someone takes your suit coat, give him your overcoat as well.”

41. Thirdly, in ancient times government agents were in a position to compel forced service upon a subjugated people. A Roman soldier, for example, could compel a Jewish native to carry his armor or materials for one mile, in order to relieve the soldier. Jesus now states that if someone compels you to walk a mile, go with him twain. The believer is to be willing to “go the extra mile.” Doing double our duty not only proves the loyalty and faithfulness of our cooperation to human authority, but likewise proves the spiritual intention of our heart. It also provides an opportunity of conviction in order to witness effectively out of our life message. It would have been foolish for the believer of Jesus’ day to reluctantly go only a mile with a Roman official and then attempt to share the gospel with him. By going the second mile he proved the innermost intention of his heart.

42. The fourth example is that of lending to him that would borrow of thee. Jesus made it clear that a loan should be looked upon as a potential gift. When we lend something to someone, we should not expect to receive in return. Is that not impractical? Yes it is! But that which is spiritual is not always that which is practical. There are many statements in Proverbs against borrowing, lending, and surety (cf. Prov 6:1; 11:15; 22:7; 27:13). While we are warned of the dangers of borrowing and lending, Jesus made it clear that the believer ought to be willing to lend to those in need.

Finally, even the beggar is to be ministered to through the provision of giving to him that asketh thee. This statement certainly forms the basis of all Christian charity and provides the proper social application of the message of the gospel to the physical needs of man as well as his spiritual needs.⁴

KEY

5:38 eye for an eye. This “law of retaliation” (Latin lex talionis) was God’s means of maintaining justice and purging evil from among his people (see Deut. 19:20–21). It was intended to prevent inappropriate punishment (the punishment should fit the crime) and was imposed by civil authorities rather than individuals.

5:39 Do not resist the one who is evil. Jesus is not prohibiting the use of force by governments, police, or soldiers when combating evil (see notes on Luke 3:12–14; Rom. 13:1–4; 1 Pet. 2:13–14). Rather, Jesus’ focus here is on individual conduct, as indicated by the contrast with Matt. 5:38, which shows that he is prohibiting the universal human tendency to seek personal revenge (see note on Rom. 12:19). If anyone slaps you on the right cheek pictures a backhanded slap given as an insult (a right-handed person would use the back of the hand to slap someone on the right cheek; cf. Mishnah, Baba Kamma 8.6). The word “slaps” translates Gk. rhapizō, “to slap, to strike with the open hand.” turn to him the other also. One should not return an insulting slap, which would lead to escalating violence. In the case of a more serious assault, Jesus’ words should not be taken to prohibit self-defense (see Luke 12:11; 22:36–38; Acts 22:1; 24:10) or fleeing from evil (see 1 Sam. 19:10; Luke 4:29–30; John 8:59; 10:39; 2 Cor. 11:32–33), for often a failure to resist a violent attack leads to even more serious abuse. Acting in love toward an attacker (Matt. 5:44; 22:39) will often include taking steps to prevent him from attempting further attacks. Jesus’ teaching must be applied with wisdom in the light of related Scriptures that address similar situations (cf. note on 5:42).

5:42 Give to the one who begs from you. Christians should help those who are truly needy (and therefore forced to beg), but they are not required to give foolishly (cf. 7:6) or to a lazy person who is not in need (2 Thess. 3:10), or where giving would bring harm rather than benefit.

Vengeance Belongs to God

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ ” (v. 43). I have heard critics complain that the Old Testament system of justice was harsh and cruel. They point to the law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as an example of such cruelty. Yet I cannot imagine a more just system than to have a punishment fit the severity of the crime. If one were to put out the eye of another, taking out both eyes of the offender would be unjust; in such a case the penalty would be more severe than the crime.

However, Jesus here is not establishing a new system of justice for government or for those who are in positions of authority; He is speaking specifically to the arena of personal ethics, how we are to behave as Christians. Most important in this teaching is Jesus’ speaking against individual pursuits of vengeance and retaliation.

“But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (v. 39). In other words, we are not to retaliate, slap for slap. As Christians we are called to turn the other cheek. I find it strange that Jesus would speak of slapping someone on the right cheek, since most of people are right-handed. How would we go about slapping someone on the right cheek if he is standing in front of us?

Someone posed that enigma to me back when I conducted a Bible study for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were twenty-eight team members who professed faith and came to the study. The study met in the home of Terry Bradshaw at the time. I was trying to explain the difficulty of this text, and I asked the defensive end L. C. Greenwood if he would volunteer to help me illustrate it. He stood up, towering over me. I got up on a folding chair so that I could look L. C. in the eye, and, after promising not to hurt him, I reached around his neck and tried to hit him on the right check. I could barely get there; I could only tap him. I was trying to illustrate that in view here is hitting someone on the right cheek with the back of your hand, which was the ancient gesture of insult.

Jesus is talking here about insult and slander. If someone slanders you, make yourself vulnerable to be slandered again. If someone insults you, do not respond by insulting him in return; make yourself vulnerable to being insulted again. This has great application to us in the twenty-first century, an age when the Internet provides a medium for any manner of insult or slander with impunity. Theologians of note are attacked all the time. I know of a website that was dedicated to attacking me, not theologically but personally. When that happened I offered no response.

We are told not to seek revenge or retaliation for the injuries we suffer at others’ hands. Paul wrote, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Vengeance is not yours or mine; it is God’s. Jesus Himself said, “Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” (Luke 18:7). We are to leave vindication in the hands of the One who, unlike us, is perfect in His vindication. We do not want to get even; we want to get one up. God knows that, which is why He instructs His people to let Him handle vindication.

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two (vv. 40–41). According to Roman law, the authorities had the right to compel someone to transport goods up to the length of one mile without compensation. It was under that law that Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the crossbeam of the instrument of Jesus’ execution. Jesus says here that if someone is afflicted with this unjust oppression, go even an extra mile. Is this not what Jesus Himself did? “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7).

Charity

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away (v. 42). Jesus is putting forth a spirit of charity, a spirit of being willing to help those in need and those who ask you for support. This does not mean, of course, that we are not to be discerning in its application. If we were to give to everyone who asks us for absolutely anything, we would be completely depleted at the end of a week. What Jesus is instructing is the willingness to give and to help.

In the early Christian writing called the Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, there is this aphorism: “Let your donation sweat in your hand.” The principle enjoined there is to be wise in your giving. We are not to give to just anything; rather, we must make sure that we give to worthwhile causes. Such qualifications come from the overall teaching of Scripture about almsgiving.⁵

1 Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (pp. 126–128). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

2 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 83–85). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

3 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 24). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

4 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 1891–1892). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

5 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 124–126). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.