We see it at childhood. Two siblings, one of them does something to upset the other, the other duly does something to get back at the one.
It’s a reasonable way of doing things. Someone hurts you, you get to hurt them back. It’s only fair. When they tell you that it isn’t, they don’t really mean it, because if they had been hurt like you, they would want to hurt back as well.
So it comes as a shock to the system to hear this Teacher talking about not resisting the one that does evil and if someone sues you for your shirt, you can give them the jacket as well. That’s all kind of messed up. What kind of command is that?
The heart of the matter will soon be revealed.
At this stage, though, the Teacher is not declaring something that He would ignore. This is a command He will enact even to the point of being betrayed. Why? Because He knows that it makes no sense to respond to evil with evil. The way of righteousness is to reply to evil with good. This is made manifest by someone touched by His example.
Stephen was a man who had been treated badly, but his reaction even to the point of death was to still seek the forgiveness of those who killed him. He didn’t retaliate, he didn’t curse those around him, he didn’t seek for an eye for an eye. His cry was for mercy to them. This was inspired by the spirit of the Teacher who knew what it was to go the extra mile.
Here was a Teacher that would go as far as to ensure that those who opposed Him would still have the opportunity to turn to Him in faith and receive His Spirit.
Obeying this command highlights how important it is to be filled with the Spirit of the King. It takes the Spirit to have an attitude not only to refuse to resist, but to openly be generous and considerate to those who mistreat you It takes His Spirit to go the extra mile. It takes His Spirit to have a loose connection with your hurt, your sense of grievance and how badly wounded you are. It takes His Spirit to have the focus on heavenly values rather than be mired in earthly pursuits in times of contention. It takes His spirit and His spirit is available to make it a reality as it proves to be for those who follow Him.
That doesn’t stop efforts being made to dilute this message. There’s a sense in which we still want to be justified for taking some degree of retribution. We don’t want to entrust things completely to the God of righteousness and justice. We want to get the sly dig in. Faced with these tendencies and a society that only pays lip service to anything otherwise, they encourage you to get whatever you can get and defend all your rights at all times. Is that the road you’ll stay on? Is this the behaviour you’ll continue to support?
Or will we hear, obey and teach others to observe what King Jesus says?
(Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 