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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Matthew 5:38:
Matthew 5:38-42
Excerpted from: Submitting (Part 2)Normally and customarily, self-defense is legally right in virtually every nation on earth. But in our case God says, "No, that's not a right. There's a better way to do things!" Notice especially verse 39: "whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn your left to them, as well." The picture here is of a slap, something which every culture views as insulting rather than damaging. It may do damage to the person's ego, but it is not something that is ordinarily intended to really harm. It is intended to put down. Not only does a person get a slap on the right cheek, even worse is to be back-handed on the left. So you go "whack" across the face this way; and then "whack" with the back of the hand which is even more insulting than the first slap with the open palm.
Jesus is trying to open our minds to something here. What He is describing are cases involving offense or insult. He is telling us here that an insult or offense may not come by means of an actual slap, but rather by us being the subject of gossip or maybe being taken advantage of at work. The boss finds out that you are a good worker so he piles more and more on you than you can actually handle. Then your good attitude begins to get sour because the boss is taking advantage of you and you begin to feel offended.
The first action (or reaction) in such cases is what? Our first impulse is usually to retaliate, or to get even in some way—to get some measure of satisfaction. "It's our natural right, isn't it?" Natural, yes; but spiritual, no! God says to submit because He is teaching a Christian to think in a certain way: to think of his duties, not his privileges; to think of his responsibilities. To whom are our duties and responsibilities? They are to God, not to the self. The first responsibility, the first duty is always to God. The first and great commandment is toward Him. The second one is toward us and toward others. And so He is telling us to submit to Him in cases where we are insulted.
Matthew 5:38-48
Excerpted from: Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment!Being merciful is part of a spiritual perfection or completeness. But the Pharisees believed perfection meant following only the letter of the law. And considering the inspired written Word of God as a whole, we are told to imitate our heavenly Father in all His attributes. Therefore, those who are merciful as God is merciful, even toward the evil and the unthankful, are living as God lives. We must be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful. Christ sets the standard by commanding us to love our enemies.
The Jews despised the Romans because the Romans oppressed them, yet Jesus told them to love their enemies. Such words turned many away from Christ. But Jesus was not talking about affection for enemies. He was talking about an act of the will. You cannot fall into this kind of love. It takes conscious effort. Loving your enemies or loving our enemies means acting in their best interests. And we can pray for them and seek ways to help them.
Love means action, and one way to put love into practice is to take the initiative to meet specific needs, and this is easy with people we trust. But love means doing so even for those who dislike us or intend to hurt us.
A merciful and compassionate person overlooks wrongs done to him. He dutifully provides the offender with relief. He does not allow repeated ingratitude to deter him from doing good, even to the unfaithful and the unholy. The reason for this is that mercy is an expression of love. It is a form of love determined by the state or condition of those it is directed toward. Their state is one of suffering and need, yet they may be unworthy or undeserving.
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