Limits of "turning the other cheek"

[TheEvaluator]

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42, NIV)

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31. NIV)

The question is, does Jesus prohibit the use of direct force (taking it back physically, fighting back, suing, using threats to get things back) as well as indirect force (censure)? Since if someone is censured, he can still choose to be outcast and keep whatever he stole.

Jesus himself does promote the use of censure.
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."
Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)

But a real problem arises when one's "peers" are not all Christian and one of them will surely report to the authorities instead of also following the "turn the other cheek" rule. What do you do then? How do you "treat someone as one would a pagan or tax collector"?

What if after the first time you "turn the other cheek" someone keeps wronging you? Do you continue doing nothing and tempt him to continue his abuse?

I'm confused.

Note: I'm not really being abused, this is all hypothetical.

 

[Solidlyhere]

The OP asks: "What if after the first time you "turn the other cheek" someone keeps wronging you? Do you continue doing nothing and tempt him to continue his abuse?"

I guess part of the answer depends on what that person is doing to you.
If a person insults you, this act (in itself) does you no harm.
So, in this sense, the ONLY reason to "strike back" is a feeling of revenge.
The old saying: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.

Then, there's the situation where a person is beating you up.
In this case, a person can call the Police, and have THEM coax this attacker to stop his actions.
Or, get a Restraining Order, and FORCE him to leave you alone.

Most of Life's pains are caused by bad words ... not bad acts.
If a person goes out of his way to hurt my feelings, I certainly can avoid this person.
Or, I can attack him back with angry words.
I think (in this type of problem), that Jesus means: Don't lower yourself to the level of a trouble-maker.
So, I turn the other cheek, and walk-away from him.
This helps him (by not being there to further anger him), and it helps me (by not having to listen further to this bozo).

 

[BreadAlone]

I think you have to understand the context of "turn the other cheek". In those times, and really like it is in our's today, a slap on the cheek was more insulting than anything else. Like if someone slaps you, it's usually not to hurt you, but it's because of something you've said.

So, if someone insults you basically, don't start a flame war lol! But seriously. Silence is the better witness in this scenario.

This was not necessarily Christ's mandate to "not fight back" as some would lead us to believe..

 

[ebia]

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42, NIV)

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31. NIV)

The question is, does Jesus prohibit the use of direct force (taking it back physically, fighting back, suing, using threats to get things back) as well as indirect force (censure)? Since if someone is censured, he can still choose to be outcast and keep whatever he stole.

Jesus himself does promote the use of censure.
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."
Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)

But a real problem arises when one's "peers" are not all Christian and one of them will surely report to the authorities instead of also following the "turn the other cheek" rule. What do you do then? How do you "treat someone as one would a pagan or tax collector"?

What if after the first time you "turn the other cheek" someone keeps wronging you? Do you continue doing nothing and tempt him to continue his abuse?

I'm confused.

Note: I'm not really being abused, this is all hypothetical.

There aren't supposed to be easy answers to these questions. They are supposed to be problems we wrestle with (and get as wrong as we get right) but that when wrestled with bring us closer to Jesus through the great commandments.

 

[HypoTypoSis]

"If someone hits you on one cheek turn to him the other"…

Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

We can forgive him in our heart as well as before God but if he does not repent we cannot forgive him directly. I think the thrust here is the offender's heart, not ours, thus the focus is different, i.e. it is no longer on the offended.

Indeed, if we cannot let go (before God) then the sin is, in essence, passed on to us and festers and grows within us thereby separating us from God.

The Matthew 5:39 phrase, "resist not evil" is, I think, often too misunderstood, we were not created nor meant to be passive punching bags; "resist", in this context appears to have a meaning more on the line of 'destroy' and, more specifically, 'pull down', which implies an active opposition as compared to passivity (for clarity sake, think Hollywood and phrases like 'the underground resistance").

Also, 'evil', in the context used ("resist not evil"), means 'harmful thing working mischief, evil intent' which not only focuses in on what kind of evil... ...but also (the phrase, "resist not evil", itself) seems to be telling us where our true focus should be and, that, not on the evil, but on what is Godly for if we 'contend' with evil, i.e. seek to destroy and tear it down then not only is our focus off of what is Godly but also we have assumed the judicial response (vengeance is Mine saith The Lord) which is God's alone. For example, telling demons or evil thoughts (where the battleground truly is, in our mind and not with those around us) to depart is one thing, to actively seek out those within the confines of the demonic realm and to contend with them is not something we are instructed to do.

Even after we are saved we sin (indeed, perhaps even more so after salvation for we are more aware of it) countless times daily and if we can come countless times to The Master repenting and seeking (see the formula we are to follow with others?) forgiveness knowing He will continually forgive us is, in this respect, the lesson behind the 'seventy times seven' and, also, the unjust steward...

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

The phrase, from your hearts, seems to be telling us we must be willing to let go of our brother's trespasses, as used here, can mean either an unintentional error or a willful transgression.

However, and this throws even greater focus in, for it speaks of our brother, i.e. fellow servant, (the true audience was TO the Jews with secondary application TO those, later to be, in Christ) and not non-Jews or those of the unsaved in the world, and this seems confirmed in vs. 16-17 "two or three witnesses" and "tell it unto the church" and, yet, we are to treat the unsaved the same, at the least, from the heart.

The crux, as I see it, in understanding this "turn the other cheek" issue is neither passivity (beat me unendingly to a pulp) or aggressive (burn the witch!) but, rather, hidden within the Eleventh Commandment, "Thou shalt think dirty" contained within...

Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves"...

...not that we should 'do' dirty but that we should be aware of the wiles and devices contained within The Evil One's world and, rather than resist (i.e. contend and 'war' with) its evil, instead, recognize, be prepared for it and avoid it and simply continue on through life without getting sidetracked thereby keeping our focus on Jesus and what is right and Godly and, if by chance along the way, and we will--time and time again--get burned then we just shrug (read: pray!) it off like nothing happened and continue on our, err…His way merry little way Home.

 

[Rogiback]

From my understanding of the Bible and the commands that Jesus gives us...it is pretty radical! Turning the cheek, goes along with much of the teaching that Jesus gave us, which has to do with absolute surrender. As a missionary in Asia, I'm seeing wonderful breakthroughs of people who are able to see Christ being lived out from the lives of Christians. It is happenning from the kind of people that are truly willing to die to themselves and to actually lose so that Christ can win the heart of an evil person. I think through context of that scripture in Matthew chapters 5,6 and 7, we can rejoice when we are treated bad, if we have a loving attitude, because Christ will be glorified. Stephen is a great example of someone who loved and prayed for the very people that were killing him. I believe that the Apostle Paul was blessed because of that prayer. The Bibe has a lot of radical sayings and I think they mean just what they say. Anyway, that is just my thoughts on that...