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Matthew 5:41
Excerpted from: Taking an Insult

By the way, this is not what Christ is talking about here. You see, these folks who ran that extra mile, they did not know they were running the extra mile. Here, they did know, they knew exactly what was going on. In the first century world there, they were living under Roman rule and at any time a Roman soldier could force someone to carry their luggage, their loads, their armor, whatever, up to a Roman mile. A Roman mile was just about 1,000 paces, maybe a little bit more but right about that.

In essence, though, this practice reduced a person to an object, forced labor, because they were caught under the thumb of Roman rule. And this was a legal requirement for the subjects in conquered territories. I mean, you could be walking down the road one direction and a Roman soldier stops you and says, "I want you to carry this load for me." He could be going another way. You had to drop your stuff and go in the other direction. This practice, by the way, is called impressment, and it was not uncommon. I read that even the citizens would mark the roads to avoid having to carry the burden an extra distance.

So Christ is saying, if a Roman soldier forces you to carry his load one mile, carry it two. Even though you are being forced into labor, public humiliation, He is asking us to sacrifice again. And by the way, I cannot imagine what the reaction of the disciples were at that time as He was saying these things because the Jews hated the Romans. They hated them for putting them in these situations. And so Christ was telling His disciples, "Don't feel bitter. Don't feel resentment, but offer to go another mile for them, cheerfully and with a good attitude." And it shows that as a Christian, we need to do more than is expected of us. It is not easy to do.

What Christ is saying is do not always be thinking of your own liberty. Do not always be thinking about what is only your duty to do. But think about what your privilege may be to serve others. Today, going the extra mile generally refers to just going beyond expectations and making a special effort. By the way, this is a very good principle to live by. But that was not what Christ was saying here in these verses. Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile: The question here is, can you endure wrongs? Can you endure insults? Can you handle humiliation?—emphasizing that the sons of God should not retaliate for injustices, but rather respond in love and generosity.

In essence, going the extra mile in this context is about demonstrating love, grace, non-resistance, even when we are faced with difficult and unfair situations.

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.

Matthew 5:40-41
Excerpted from: Government (Part Four)

His teaching is: generosity of spirit. Do not just do what is required; go above and beyond what is required! Generously sacrifice of yourself and give, even though it is unfair. Everybody seems to agree that what He was talking about here was a common practice. That is, the mail was generally carried by the army (in Roman times). The soldier would get tired of carrying the mail. So he would get some civilian and say, "Here. Carry this." And he [the civilian] would have to carry the mail, while the soldier walked along beside him—unburdened by the weight of the mail. So, Jesus said, "Go two miles." That is, go above and beyond. The point is: generosity of spirit—even in terms of sacrifice.

Articles

Essays on Bible Study  
Go the Extra Mile  (3)
Go the Extra Mile  
The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience  
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Seven): The Sin and Trespass Offerings  

Essays

Is Patriotism Biblical?  
Missing the Mark (Part Two)  
The Jewish Testament?  

Sermons

Themes of I Corinthians (Part 6)  
Taking an Insult  
Offerings (Part Seven)  
Christian Men: Personal Responsibility  
Biblical Principles of Justice (Part Three)  
Biblical Principles of Justice (Part Two)  
Matthew (Part Seven)  
Matthew (Part Seven)  
Themes of I Corinthians (Part 6)  
Strategies for Escaping Babylon (Part Five)  
New Covenant Priesthood (Part 12)  
Why We Tithe (Part 2)  
Four Warnings (Part One)  
We Give Our Heads and Hearts  
'But I Say to You' (Part Six): Retaliation  
'But I Say to You' (Part Six): Retaliation  
Ask, Seek, Knock  

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Matthew 5:42 >>

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