An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
Jesus forbade the use of the law meant to set the outer limits of legal justice to justify private schemes of vengeance. Society would continue to need to implement controls in order to protect its members. But individuals were not to use this sense of the necessity of justice for evil doers as an excuse to cherish vengeance in violence in their own hearts.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
On the one hand, this prescription of the new law helped prevent a disciple from retaliating and escalating conflict, with trying to solve violence with more violence. It might appear that it would make such a one out to be a doormat to be trampled underfoot by the proud and the strong. But it actually demonstrated a greater agency and control in a difficult situation than that revealed in displays of violence. The one who stands his ground and continues to look upon the other with love has more potential to win the heart of that person than does one who merely takes the invitation to fight back.
Jesus himself perfectly demonstrated how offering no resistance and turning the other cheek actually defanged evil and revealed the love of God for humanity.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly (see First Peter 2:23).
They took from him both cloak and tunic and forced him to the service of carrying his own cross. Yet although Jesus did all of this willingly it was clear that he never surrendered his dignity or the notion that he was after all innocent and righteous. In fact, as they heaped ever greater abuse upon him it became all the more clear that it was he who was handing himself over for their sakes, not that they had won and were claiming victory.
The nonviolence commanded by Jesus seemed at first to be utterly impractical, as though it would lead to the weak dominating the strong. It would seem to such a worldly mind that the only way to check violence was with more violence. But history has revealed that it is generally only those few saints who have been able to put this teaching of Jesus into practice who have been able to truly change the hearts of others. We should add that this is no cause for people subject to abuse to return to their accusers. There is a fine line between displaying our agency in a nonviolent manner and surrendering that agency entirely. This must be discerned on a situation by situation basis.
We tend to think about what is the maximum that we can demand for ourselves, or what is the upper limit of justice that we may claim against others. But Jesus does not want us to begin by thinking about ourselves or self-protection. Of course we don't want to confirm others in their sin by making it easy and consequence free. We genuinely want to reveal to them a posture of love, not of hatred or violence. Most generally, this can be accomplished by not insisting on our own rights and as much as possible going the extra mile to show them compassion. It is not an easy task. There aren't exactly a lot of role models in our society pointing the way. How many years has it been since the Amish responded to a shooting with forgiveness and not violence? How long since John Paul II forgave his would be assailant? Still, there have been shining examples such as these up and down the corridors of history to whom we can look for guidance and inspiration. And above all we can look to Jesus himself who only taught what he himself would go on to put into fullness of practice.
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