Provocative Bible Verses: Turn the Other Cheek
“But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” Matthew 5:39
Many people want to bypass these provocative words from Jesus because they seem to imply that we are to allow people to just beat the tar out of us and not resist physical violence and injury. Having a sense of what I think Jesus really meant by these words causes me to wonder at how easily we get deceived into believing that it means something that is impossible to obey. God does not give us commands that are impossible to obey. He certainly gives us ones that are difficult and that challenge us but never ones that are impossible.
In order to understand what God wants of us, it is important to catch key details. Anytime the Bible gives a particularly vivid detail we need to pay attention. There is a vivid key detail in this verse that speaks volumes. Jesus said, if someone “strikes you on the right cheek” then you are to turn your face to him in such a way as to present your left cheek. The implication being that he may hit you again. What is the significance of the “right” cheek. Why not the left cheek? Picture someone getting hit on the right cheek. What is the most likely way for that to happen? Since most people are right handed and would hit someone with the right hand, then the only way for them to hit someone on the right cheek is to do it as a backhanded slap. What Jesus is speaking about here is not letting someone pummel you into a pile of broken bones. Rather He is talking about taking an insult. I backhanded slap is just that. It is an insult that challenges you to retaliate. It is an attempt to shame you and get you to either back down in utter humiliation or lash out and escalate the conflict.
To turn the other cheek is neither humiliating nor retaliation. It is rather a response of strength that says, “I will not seek revenge because I am stronger than that”. It also says, I will not respond in shame because I have dignity in Christ. My dignity is not found in if I can hit you back and hurt you. My dignity is found in Christ and I will respond in just the way He would respond.
In practice there are very few times in ones life when another person would give you an actual backhanded slap. There are times when they might give you a verbal one, or show great disrespect for you in some other way. It is those things that get people all worked up and excited. Think of how often you see people arguing and fighting because someone “disrespected” them. What they are looking for is dignity. They want an acknowledgement that they are a person of substance and importance. If someone does not give them that respect then they feel somehow violated. The means to get that respect and dignity is to exert power over the other person and show that you are stronger, better, more significant than they are. So instead of turning the other cheek, you strike back, preferably with even more force. If that is what you need to do to get respect and dignity then you will never have it.
Our dignity comes because we are made in the image of God. Our significance comes because we are called by Jesus to be world changers. Our power and strength comes because we are filled with the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to receive the insults of others and respond with as Christ responded to those who hurled insults at Him.
Black athletes who broke the color barrier in professional sports understood this. People like Jackie Robinson knew that they would face insult after insult. Those insults were intended to humiliate and incite an even more violent response. The hope was that such a response would then justify the impression of the black man as out of control and uncivilized. But when the response was a quiet dignity that came from within it changed the world. Racial barriers began to fall and reconciliation started to take place.
It is no different for Christians. When we respond to insults with the same kind of vindictiveness then we affirm for the world that Christianity is a shame. But when we respond in quiet dignity, drawing on the power of Christ, we provoke a response of respect and wonder and we compel people to want to learn more about Jesus. Turning the other cheek is not impossible, but it is difficult. But when we do respond with the gentle dignity of Jesus, then we bring glory to Him.
Great post! Thanks for inviting me to this blog Blake and I are really enjoying it:):)
This whole passage is counter intuitive and counter cultural. Jesus open’s up a number of times with “you have hear it said, but I tell you” Being part of God’s family means that we don’t act like the rest of the world. We do not respond the way the world responds. It is rarely easy, but the effects are profound. Thanks for the post. We need to be challenged by the words of Jesus and by those who believe what He taught and continues to teach us.
Fantastic post on an endlessly difficult passage! Great treatment and explanation. Isn’t it amazing how the Bible, when understood, stops being counter-intuitive and powerless, but empowering!
Matt, the part about it being empowering is something people rarely grasp. Responding as Jesus calls us to keeps us from playing the victim and from responding in a way that the other person expects or maybe even is trying to provoke. Jesus makes it clear that the choice of response is ours. Thanks for your comments and I look forward to more. BTW I love your blog. Tell me about Levi’s House. Is it a house church or something else?
Alan,
Thanks for the reply. It is amazing what results when we follow that counter intuitive teaching. It certainly forces the world to pay attention in a good way. Hope all is well with you. I look forward to reading more of what you contribute.
Dan
Does being hit on the right cheek imply that it was a back handed slap? I was thinking more of the insult of being slapped in the face by the left hand of the agresor: in the Arab and Jewish culture it is taboo to greet with the left hand because of the function. I always looked at it as being a double insult to be hit by the left hand… Just wondering what your input is.
Thank you,
Robert
Robert,
The left hand strike is really all about it being an insult more than a physical confrontation and inflicting bodily harm. I like the idea of the double insult given the culture
Dan
I am twelve years old and I just got baptized (of my choice) on Easter Sunday.Today at school there was a girl who wouldn’t stop verbally horassing me mercilessly and I stayed calm because I remembered this verse. This is definitely one of my favorites because I know Jesus would not be happy with me-though he would still love me-if I had fought her today. Thank you so much for explaining the meaning of this verse to me and to everyone else who gets the message-it’s always nice to know there are great people still left in this cruel, harsh, cold world.
Dear Bri. K.
Thank you sooo much for sharing your story. You have much to teach many adults I know. Your willingness to do whatever Jesus asks you, even if it is difficult to do, is a wonderful trait and I pray that you always keep it.
Please feel free to share your thoughts about other posts on the blog. I look forward to hearing from you again.
Dan
Dear Bri K
just received an e-mail from my sister-in-law thanking me for coming out of ‘comfort zone’ and attending her mothers funeral. This wasn’t hard on me as I had found significance in turning the other cheek as requested of us by Jesus Christ. I didn’t expect that I would once again be confronted with a brother who wouldn’t speak to me, a sister-in-law that would not grasp my extended hand, or a mother that would walk by me without noticing me. I am 57 years old..these series of rebuke’s have continued since I was 8 years old.
Next Sunday I will address young women in a lock down facility
and I will surely add this scripture and my God given response to the situation with the hope God’s word will not return void, and the peace that surpasses all human wisdom will lift us up on wings of eagles..no matter what. no matter who..no matter when
thank you for a timely post!
Morgan
Thank you for this write-up. This seems to be in alignment with Dallas Willard’s teaching on this passage, as heard in his lectures and seen in his writings, especially The Divine Conspiracy.
What about the verse right before the one you mention? Matthew 5:38-39 in my Bible has Jesus saying, “The law of Moses says, ‘If a man gouges out another’s eye, he must pay with his own eye. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the one who did it.’ But I say: Don’t resist violence! If you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other too.”
Matthew 5:43-48 quotes Jesus, 43 “There is a saying, ‘Love our friends and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in Heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. 46 If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. 47 If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
This teaches that we should not fight with our enemies. If we are true believers of Christ, our families and we should be ready to be killed because then we will be in Heaven.
I believe a Christian nation, as some think the USA is, should not have 2000 nuclear weapons, ready to destroy our enemies – that Jesus taught us to love. If too many of those nuclear weapons are used, we could destroy all of God’s creation on this planet.
Do you think Jesus would want our country to spend almost as much money on weapons than all of the other countries in the world combined?
Shouldn’t we care for the poor and minorities who continue to be harmed and held back by the powerful people in this country? Shouldn’t we do so much more to guarantee that Black children can read before they graduate from high school? Many school districts that are run by White school boards allow minority students to advance in grades without learning anything.
Jesus came to deliver justice and fairness. He did not come to grant permission for indulgent living, nor did He come to lavish goodies upon His disciples. Our North American extravagance robs people around the globe of their very lives. Jesus asked us to even the score, not deepen the disparity. Throughout the whole of Scripture, I cannot think of a subject that is returned to more frequently than that of justice for the oppressed—which would especially include the poor. It matters so much that in the parable of the sheep and the goats (see Matthew 25:31-46), those going to Heaven and those going to Hell are not separated by whether or not they said the sinner’s prayer—they are separated by whether or not they took care of the poor and marginalized. Jesus tells us that those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and care for the sick and imprisoned will be welcomed into eternal life.
Over the past weekend, I was talking to an associate at a social gathering about a friend I knew. As the conversation escaladed I realized this old friend was currently dating the girl. The guy began to get angry at the fact that the girl and I used to hang out. After, everyone was leaveing, this guy attacked me and started hitting me in on the right side of my face. I repeatedly kept telling him that I was not going to hit him back at all. Long-story-short, the whole right side of my face is swollen and I feel a bit embarrased about the whole situation, However; all that has been running threw my mind is how Jesus said to turn the other cheak. I pray that in some small way God used me as an example. I pray I gave the right impression that night. Thank you for this great post. I needed to read this.
Jason,
I commend you on your strength and character. There is no need to feel embarrassed that I can see. It seems to me that the other guy is the one who must feel pretty embarrassed right now.
Blessings to you
Dan
I just read the article, “The cheek of it…”, and near the beginning it says, “Turning the other cheek is neither natural nor easy. It is important to remember that to turn the other cheek is not: to become a doormat for others to walk all over; to ask for another hit; a sign of low self-confidence.” I am just curious as to what you would suggest a Christian do so as to prevent being walked on? That is, to have dignity?
Thanks
Thank you for this post !Very helpful!God bless you all!