Jesus’ Absurd
Response
So if our response is not to be neither anger nor despair,
then what should it be? I believe that if we revisit some familiar words of
Jesus, we can find our answer. Gathered upon a hillside, Jesus laid out the
heart of His kingdom. His sermon cut to the core of hypocrisy revealing the
importance not of religious ritual but a redeemed heart. Motive, not mere
repetition, is the defining characteristic of one’s faith, Jesus taught. He
spoke to a mixed group of the committed and the curious. His audience was
largely poor; though I’m sure some scribes and Pharisees inclined an ear to
hear this new rabbi’s teachings. What was true of all was that they lived under
Roman authority and had for the last 90 years. Their own ‘revolution’ story,
the Maccabean revolt, was 200 years past (roughly as long ago as America’s) and
had ended in eventual defeat. Though Rome afforded the Jewish ruling class a
measure of autonomy, everyone knew that the governors and procurators held
ultimate authority. The presence of Roman soldiers made sure of that. I say all
that to say this: Jesus’ audience knew oppression. They know what it was like
to be unjustly treated, by Rome and by their own people. The words He speaks
are spoken (mainly) to the common man and the under-privileged; not to the
powerful and wealthy.
You
have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth.’39 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. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from
him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes
His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you
have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you
doing than
others? Do not even the
Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
Jesus begins each of His two
thoughts here with maxims long-held by the rabbinical authorities. He uses them
to show how the coming of Christ fulfills the Mosaic Law and shifts the center
of religious understanding from a place of absolute justice to one of grace.
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’39 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.
Right out of the gate, Jesus confounds the way justice
worked in 1st century Palestine and in 21st century
America. Our entire world is built upon the notion that we deserve the right to
pay our enemies back for the wrongs done to us. Contemporary (and classic)
literature, music, and film exude this justice. But what does Jesus say? “Do
not resist an evil person.” Jesus calls us to voluntarily give up our demand
for justice. In fact, He goes on to call us to give our oppressor that which
they don’t deserve or even require of us.
40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from
him who wants to borrow from you.
Jesus’ second quotation speaks to the motive behind
these radical responses.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you,
Not only does Jesus
tell His audience not to seek retribution, He goes so far as to tell them to do
the same to their enemy as they would their neighbor (which within the
historical context meant a lot more than it does today). Instead of inspiring
anger, grief, bitterness, or seeking retribution, Jesus intends prayer to be
the response that characterizes His followers when they are oppressed. In fact,
Jesus says that this very act will make one more like the Father in heaven. You
are, Jesus tells His audience, to be the opposite of your enemies, responding
to hatred with love, not with more hatred.
This is not an
unfamiliar verse. This sermon does not lie hidden in the depths of some obscure
biblical book such as Zephaniah or Jude. So why is Jesus’ teaching so rarely
applied today? Why are Jesus’ commands to respond to evil with love, not more
evil, something relegated to children’s Sunday school? Children’s Sunday school
hits pretty close to the truth. “Turn the other cheek” is one of those
platitudes we impart to our children but mostly neglect as adults.
First, I think we
neglect the implications of the sermon because, frankly, it is hard. Our
emotions get in the way. Our God-given desire for justice drives us in
directions antithetical to Jesus’ teaching. We forget that “vengeance belongs
to the Lord.” We have to fight back the feelings of anger when we have been
wronged. Our natural desire is to strike back, to answer tooth for tooth ----
or worse. But we are not natural men and women anymore. We are new creations,
created in God’s image for good works. How did Jesus respond when falsely
accused? When tormented? When mocked? When murdered?
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form
of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The second
reason I believe that we neglect the implications of Jesus’ teachings here are
because we have other options available to us. Jesus’ first audience was the
oppressed and subjugated. The Jews of Jesus’ day knew that they were a
subjugated people. Their options for resisting authority were A) take it and be
bitter, B) personal armed rebellion, or C) Jesus’ radical command to love one’s
enemy. Most of us in the western world don’t have to incite an armed rebellion
against our oppressors. We have more options. We can counter-sue the person
abusing us, we can call the police, and we can call upon our nation to go to
war. As citizens of privilege, we have more rights and avenues afforded to us.
Yet, simply having the legal right to strike back legally or militarily against
our enemies does not negate Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek and to love
those who hate us. Having the option does not mean that we should use it.
Jesus’ command
is radical. Jesus’ command is absurd. Jesus’ command is a relinquishment of the
right to be hateful, bitter, and to revenge. It is antithetical to every
gut-level notion of self. Yet this s what we see modeled in the life of Jesus
Himself. Jesus the Christ relinquished His rights: His rights before men as an
innocent man falsely accused, and His rights before the Father.
Jesus chose not
to strike when He could have.
He chose to
forgive when He could have chosen bitterness.
He chose to love
those who hated and mocked Him.
These commands
of Jesus are not mere words; they are displayed by the actions that cost Him
His very life.
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