April 27 - Jesus and Non-Retaliation: Security

“‘If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also’” (Matthew 5:40).

Most people in New Testament times owned just one coat and likely just one or two shirts. Shirts were undergarments, and coats were outer garments that also served as blankets overnight. This kind of coat was important, what the Mosaic law required be returned to its owner “before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body” (Ex. 22:26–27).

Jesus’ reference here is not to a theft, when someone wants to steal another’s garment, but to a legitimate lawsuit in a legal court. In those days the courts often mandated that fines or judgments be paid in clothing. The illustration is that a genuine follower of Christ will be willing to surrender even his most valuable coat to an adversary rather than cause offense or hard feelings. The judge could not require a specific coat in payment, but the person could voluntarily give it up.

Even if a settlement against us is fairly arrived at for a certain amount, we should be willing to pay more to demonstrate sincere regret for the wrong done and the pain inflicted on another. Most of us have probably never considered this option, but it shows the love of Christ and genuineness of our faith.

Notice again that this series of scenarios from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount consistently calls for more than the law demands. What does that tell you about the way we’re supposed to respond in situations in which our personal integrity or the cause of Christ is being challenged?

Late one summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. He was tired and hungry. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclist - of the Hell’s Angels type - decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his french fries, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it.

How did this trucker respond? How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the cash register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night.

When she returned, one of the cyclists said to her, “Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?”

She replied, “I don’t know about that, but he sure isn’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.”

Please notice carefully what Jesus expects from the citizens of His kingdom:

Matthew 5:39-42 (NKJV) “But I tell you not to 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 away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Is this to be taken literally? This is an important question, is it not? So, what do you think are these commands to be taken literally? If you say, “Yes, these are to be taken literally” then I’m going to ask you for you car keys. Jesus said, “Give to him who asks you”. So, I’m asking you to give me your car keys. If you take this literally, then you must give me your car keys. Do you see the problem here? So how do we know if these verses are to be taken literally or not. Good question, I’m glad you asked. We all know what Jesus said. The important question is, “What did he mean by what he said?” How do we determine that?

We are to determine what the Bible means by the use of Hermeneutics. What is hermeneutics? It is the science of biblical interpretation. The purpose of hermeneutics is to establish guidelines and rules for interpreting the Bible. Any written document is subject to misinterpretation and thus we have developed rules to safeguard us from such misunderstanding. ...

When Jesus says, “I tell you not to resist an evil person”, is he saying that we are not to resist evil? The word “resist” is from the Greek word anthistemi, which means: “to stand against, i.e. oppose, resist, withstand.” Is Jesus saying, “Don’t oppose evil”? No, he is not, and we know this by comparing Scripture with Scripture.

The teaching of Christ in other passages forbids us to understand “resist not evil” in an unqualified and universal sense. He gave explicit directions to His disciples concerning their duty toward those who wronged them:

Matthew 18:15-17 (NKJV) “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector....

Matthew 5:40 (NKJV) “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

Jesus is speaking of the evildoer who wrongfully takes your possessions. Someone might sue you at the law to take your possessions to make you pay your debts. Scripture is not speaking about this; it is speaking about someone taking your possessions when you owe them nothing.

This does not mean that you surrender your property without defending yourself, but that you do not go out to retaliate. I want you to understand, it does not mean that if someone comes to take your property unjustly that you just give them everything you have. This is not what this Scripture is saying. It is saying that you do not go out to retaliate. “

https://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/transcripts/matthew/som/5_38-42.htm

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