If you have lived any length of time you have been impacted by the evil actions of another. If you have lived for any length of time you know someone has slandered you, mistreated you, abused you to some extent. Someone has humiliated you in front of friends, or family. Someone has required something from you in spite.
The question is not if you have been affected by evil, but how do you deal with evil in this world. The question of how to respond to humiliation or violence are not new in our society. We all have our own way of responding to this kind violence or humiliation. We see a response all over the news these days. There are those that respond in peace, and those that respond in violence.
How do you respond? The way of the kingdom, or the way of the world. The new man or the old. For self, or for other. The instinctual response of the old man, of the world is to respond in kind, or maybe not respond at all and give them the silent treatment, or to detach, and isolate that person from your circle. Most of us would not go out of our way to love him. That is simply not the way the world works we say. You would get run over. You would get stepped on. You would get used as a doormat.
Yes – Just look at Jesus. He was abused, spat on. Killed. But through this we were turned from haters to lovers, from rebels to followers, from enemies to family. This is the gospel. Loving the despised. Dying for the enemy. Going through hell for me and you.
The gospel applied to the life of discipleship.
- Overcoming evil with good
- Overflowing with gratitude
Overcoming evil with good
You have heard that it was said, “An Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This comes straight from the book of Moses. There is a need for these laws in a government. That is what we expect of them. There needs to be some rule of justice. The problem is that the pharisees had applied this to all of life. To every personal offence. If you do this to me, then I do that to you. The government bears the sword to prevent evil. God gives a legal regulation as a dam against the river of violence which flows from a mans heart. It is not your job. It never was your job to bear the sword. Your weapon is the love of Christ. To church has been given the ministry of reconciliation till the one day our king returns to judge the living and the dead with the sword of his mouth.
He says, “But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.” The I is placed first for emphasis! Again, this is Jesus speaking. God speaking. And the “But” shows a contrast with the previous line. This is what you have heard, BUT this is what I say to you. And this is not only a New Testament principle, look at how David treated Saul after being mistreated, or Jeremiah, or the other prophets. They were abused, spat one, murdered. Look at how any Psalms pray that God would avenge them. Why? Because they were not avenging themselves. In fact, you not only do not take revenge, but you love them. And please note these are BAD people. There is no doubt about the unfairness of the offence. Evil was really done. How do you and I respond to something so small as people cutting us off in traffic?
“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This is about honor more than physical injury. And an insult to someone’s honor required appropriate recompense, particularly if you were a leader. The greater the honor of the leader, the greater the penalty they would have to pay. But Jesus here tells his disciples to accept the insult without responding. And to even offer the left cheek for a further, if less serious insult. You see people may say Jesus is against retaliation. But he goes further.: Even resistance is forbidden. And no distinction is made between active and passive resistance, violent and nonviolent, legal or illegal. Nor is there any doubt. Jesus calls this person evil. You see the worst of people love their own. You ownt find a gangster who does not love those who love him.
This is the way of Jesus, who being worthy of all honor, being in the very nature God, “gave his back to those who struck him, and my check to those who pulled out the beards; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting (Isaiah 50:6).” Rather than “Getting back at the other person,” You follow in the footsteps of your Savior and suffer unjustly. “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before his shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Our Lord Jesus Christ not only offered the cheek, he offered himself. Are you going to be willing to suffer insult in order to love the other? To empty their evil of its power, by not responding in evil, but showing love?
Here Jesus is saying in the gospel you have a choice to walk in a new way. If Christ is in you this is what you will do. Turn the other check. This is as someone said, “changing a cursing into blessing”. This is what happened with every slap that landed on our savior’s face, he was emptying evil of its power, and turning it to blessing for all who believe in HIm. Evil was being emptied of its power with every wound inflicted upon the savoir.
And if anyone would sue you to take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. They did not just take the tunic of Jesus, but his cloak and undergarment. And then what did he do? He said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Demanding that someone forfeit their cloak was prohibited on humanitarian grounds in the OT (Ex 22:25-27; Deut 12-13). What the evil person would not even dare ask for the disciple is to offer freely. Even at cost to himself with nothing to keep warm. It reminds me of when Paul tells the Corinthian church it is better to be wronged and defrauded rather then institute a lawsuit.
And if anyone forces you to go a mile, go with him two miles.” Or in those days a soldier could force you to carry his pack. This was usually reserved for animals. The soldier would commandeer your animal to carry his pack. So, this is saying, If the soldier treats you like an animal, and asks you to walk one mile, go with him two.” WOW! To do this for anyone would be remarkable. Even a stranger. But to do this for an enemy would be unheard of. This was not some ppor stranger, this was an ocuying force, that mistreated you. If a foreign army invaded and asked you to carry his pack what would you do? This serves to show that we not only renounce our rights but prepares us for the command to love one’s enemies.
You see this world is all about my rights. It’s my right under the constitution. Its my right as citizen. And Jesus says we do not even stand up for our own rights. It is shockingly radical. Three of the four examples Jesus uses here are legal principles. Of not defending one’s honor and allowing others to take advantage. The show a unselfish goodwill which think ONLY how can I best love this person. That’s the only limit to these regulations love of God and love of others. Not of protecting one’s own resources, or even honor. This is not a heavier law; it is a new way of living. It is the way of Jesus. In place of getting back, or retribution he sets nonresistance; in place of defense of legal rights he sets uncalculated generosity; in place of concern for self, he sets concern for others.
Overflowing with gratitude
Finally, there is not just a response of love in the face of evil, but a show of love when invited to it. “Give to the one who begs from you, and not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” The other day me and my wife went for a walk and saw some people made in the image of God looking through trash bins that were outside. They were picking out edibles, and other things that might be of some use. How would you feel if you were that person? How hungry or desperate do you need to be? We can so quickly look down at these people, and these can so quickly think they are less.
You want to know something? That’s you. That’s me. God found us in the sin pit of the world, like the lost son that was eating pig food. That person reflects you. Before Christ came to save you and me we were desperate. Empty without Jesus. Looking in the worst of places for scraps. Until we came to the Fathers house. That’s all of us, and when we see that we won’t be just looking down at them, and feel sorry for them, but we will come beside them and help them. Know that we are what they are. We might go outside and greet them as we would a family member, and say, “Here is some bread and water. Do you mind if I pray with you?” Do not refuse the one who begs from you. The Christian does not turn a beggar away, because God has not turned him away. Its simple faith logic of being in Christ. We come back every day for more, and every day he gives to overflowing. So that in this overflow we may pour into the lives of all those we encounter the love of Christ.
This is simply who we are. Constantly, and daily overflowing with gratitude.
Again, these are not new rules. Absolutes. But all of them like the beatitudes challenge us to unnatural behavior, and all of them seem crazy to the world. Why? Because the world will say, “Who is looking out for you if you are not going to? You can’t let people take advantage of you. Life is about you.
But the Christian says, I have Christ. He is enough. Only in Christ can we have this attitude. Only in Him will we have the attitude, of always willing to go the extra mile, of sacrificing our comforts, of giving even when it hurts. This way of life is basically the practical results of the Gospel in a person. They show us the way of Jesus. They show us how to overcome evil in the world. By taking the way of the cross.
Now some of you are thinking I acted this way then we will get stepped on, walked all over, and used. And I would be broke. We start thinking of excuses right away. That shows how much we love ourselves still. We want to hold onto our lives too badly, rather than really and truly and totally following the way of the cross. Is Jesus really worth it all for you? I mean everything?
Listen to what Paul says what happened to his live after he met Christ. Paul gets it when he says, “To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” Scum of the earth. Garbage of the world. This is the foolishness of the cross. The victory of love does not come by standing up for oneself, but by laying down your live.
Paul is talking specifically about Christian leadership there. It is the opposite of worldly leadership. It invites suffering rather than projecting an aura of strength. It is done in weakness, so that Christ power may be manifest.
Is this normal. Is this what you see? No, its not normal, and it is not what you see at work or anywhere else in this world. Because the world does not know him. But you know him dear beloved! This is the power of Christ within a Christian. So instead of dismissing it as a utopia lets think about, talk about, discuss, and learn how we can put these principles (not rules) into practice. This is why we started offering classes in discipleship before the lockdown and will do so again. I encourage everyone to sign up for these classes. If we are true to Jesus, we will begin to take an essentially non-self-centered approach to life - a cross centered approach to life.
Finally, I do want to add here: We do this for love. And sometimes love does require us to stand up. Not for us first, but for the sake of the other. Sometimes justice is the most loving thing to do. What I mean is if a drunkard asks for money to buy booze the most loving thing to do is maybe not to give him money.
No the best thing that you can do for a drunkard is not give money, but offer classes, a community where he might be transformed. Offer a room if you have one and can do so safely. For the abused you should not continue to play the victim and think you are loving them by not bringing them to justice. The best way to cause someone to change is to let them see the full consequences of sin.
You do it because the love of Jesus motivates you, not out of love for self. Because Jesus has already taken care of you. Bringing sin to light is love. To show them the love and grace and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Displayed in his Work.
That is what it is all about. Showing him. His love. His sacrifice. He lives in you. The more he dwells in you the more your life will be shaped after his. Cruciform (cross-shaped). As the scriptures say we share in his suffering so that we might also share in his glory. Let’s show the world Christ, and the victory of good over evil. Love over hateful self-centeredness. Let’s follow Jesus. Especially now with division, tension, and enemies on the rise. Let’s show real restraint, kindness, patience, and love. Let be the type of people that would give the shirt off our back for someone, that will walk the extra mile, that does not stand up for our own honor, that gives till it hurts. This is the live of a disciple. This is the live of Christ only lived in him and for him.
Amen.