As we begin the new year, Converge churches and missionaries from around the globe will embark on 21 Days of Prayer. Join us on this prayer journey by reading the daily entries on Converge’s blog, or by downloading your free 21 Days of Prayer: Upside-down Kingdom guide (English/Spanish). In addition, you can share daily posts from our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. Thank you for joining us as we open 2022 in prayer together.
Day 9: Eye for eye
Matthew 5:38-42
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Jesus is not weak. Some have mistaken his meekness for weakness, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The biblical definition of meek is not weak. It is power under control. When Jesus was facing arrest, Peter stepped in to defend him with the sword. At this moment, Jesus gives us a tiny hint of the power he wields with a word. He says to Peter, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
To put this in perspective, 2 Kings 19:35 records an angel putting to death 185,000 Assyrians in one night. Multiply that number by 12 legions (12 x 6,000 = 72,000) and you get a grand total of 13.32 billion. Enough to wipe out earth’s population at the time. Dozens of times.
Jesus is not weak, and neither are his followers. When Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek, hand over our coat or go the extra mile, the meaning is deeper than what it appears on the surface. Our tendency when facing adversity is to fight or flee. Jesus is the King of the third option. A slap on the right cheek (note he specifies which side) would be a backhand or an insult (not an assault). To turn the other cheek is neither to cower or to sucker punch, but to force the adversary to choose either the shameful route of assault or to back down. If someone sued you for your shirt, the premise being that they are suing unjustly, and you gave them your second and only layer (coat), that would leave you with precisely zero clothing.
Jesus doesn’t run from the injustice or resort to physical violence He outwits it, placing the ownership on the true perpetrator. Lastly, a Roman soldier was permitted to make a Jewish citizen carry his pack up to a mile but no farther. To go the extra mile would put the soldier in the wrong, forcing him to plead to carry his own pack, humiliating himself and restoring one’s dignity.
Jesus is not weak; he doesn’t flee but he doesn’t pick a fight, either. He finds
the third option.
Where have you felt as if you only have two options (fight or flee) when perhaps
there is a third?
Prayer
Jesus, help me to see the third option in adversity. Give me patience to pause when I want to respond emotionally. When I cannot see the third option on my own, help me to seek wise counsel to see from a fresh perspective. Help me to be meek, just as you have modeled for me. May I keep the strength you have given me under control for the good of those around me and for your glory. Amen.
