Love Demonstrated

You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Matthew 5:38-41)

Some read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and see it as a list of ethical standards presented by Jesus to help us become better people. Jesus tells us that it’s not enough that we don’t murder someone or retaliate against them - we can’t remain angry with them. And it’s not even enough that we forgive our enemies - we have to love them. But Jesus didn’t only present us with new ethical standards. He demonstrated through his life and death how his kingdom will break into this world, especially in the way he responded to evil with love. As N.T. Wright noted inThe Day the Revolution Began, Jesus enacted the ‘do not resist an evil person’ passage shown above at his crucifixion:

[Jesus] would stand there unresisting as people slapped him and mocked him. He would be compelled by the Roman soldiers to carry his burdens all the way to Golgotha. He would find his clothes stripped off him and divided up. And, as he died, one of those very soldiers would declare that he really was the son of God. (p. 219)

Jesus could have retaliated against his disciples who denied, betrayed, and abandoned him. He could have retaliated against the religious and political leaders who falsely accused, tortured, and murdered him. He not only forgave them, but loved them by dying on the cross to save them from their sins. Jesus’ kingdom continues to be established in the way we demonstrate love to those to do evil against us!