“But I Say …”
“BUT I SAY …”
MATTHEW 5:38-48
Jesus demands the whole of us. Even our innermost thoughts belong to God.
A third time Jesus goes beyond what “was said to the men of old” with his “I say to you”—the authority implicit in this emphatic “I” must not be overlooked. The prophets of old said, “Thus says the Lord”; the rabbis were never happier than when they could quote a legal ruling in the name of some illustrious teacher of the past, but Jesus appeals to no authority higher than his own when he brings out the inward sense of the divine law.
The law of retaliation, “An eye for an eye …” (Exodus 21:24f.; Leviticus 24:19f.), originally marked an advance in civilized behaviour when it replaced the unlimited blood-feud; henceforth the rule was “one eye (and one only) for an eye; one life (and one only) for a life.” But Jesus’ teaching marks a further advance: his followers should not retaliate at all. On the contrary, they should take the initiative in repaying evil with good: the man who volunteered to carry a soldier’s pack for a second mile after being compelled to carry it for one mile showed himself a free person and not an involuntary automaton. The spirit in which these directions are obeyed is the important thing: one could even turn the other cheek in a provocative manner (5:38-42).
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) sums up the law of Israel; its application depends on our answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” The added words, “… and hate your enemy” (5:43) are not quoted from the Old Testament; their spirit can be recognized, for example, in the Qumran literature, where love for fellow members of the community and “everlasting hatred for all the men of the pit” are alike enjoined. There is nothing extraordinary about loving. (i.e. doing good to) one’s friends: unregenerate human nature does that as a matter of course. The followers of Jesus must be marked by kindness towards their enemies; in this they will show themselves true sons of God, who dispenses the blessings of creation impartially.
“You, therefore, must be perfect …” (5:48): this recalls “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2, etc), but the special reference here is to perfection in mercy (cf. Luke 6:36). This is no law to be enforced, but a pattern to be emulated.
Note It has been suggested that a blow on the right cheek (5:39) would imply that the striker was left-handed (contrast Luke 6:29, where neither right nor left is specified). But if we wish to insist on such precision, we might consider the possibility that a back-handed blow is envisaged, which would be more painful and perhaps even more insulting.
Discuss some familiar techniques for evading the uncomfortable directness of the Sermon on the Mount.