Pastor John,
I was just reading in Matthew 5:38-40 and found this…
You’ve heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, do not resist evil. On the contrary, whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one to him, too. And to him who would sue you to take away your tunic, give him your cloak as well.”
So, what was Jesus saying to “do not resist evil”, and then he speaks contrary to what was in God’s law? Is that the difference between old and new covenants? I want to learn what we read about the other night and to think with God’s thoughts … but then this stumped me 🙂
Leah
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Hi Leah.
It is difficult to see sometimes, but there is a difference between speaking beyond the law and speaking contrary to the law. In those verses, Jesus was not speaking contrary to the law; he was going beyond it, to a higher, holier standard. Look at Jesus’ other, similar sayings in this section of his Sermon on the Mount, in particular what he said about murder:
21. You’ve heard that it was said to those in the past, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the Judgment.’
22. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to the Judgment,
and what he said about adultery:
27. You’ve heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’
28. but I say to you that any man who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Technically, someone could argue that those two statements of Jesus were contrary to the law, but actually, they were beyond the law, on a higher, spiritual plain.
In the section you quoted, it is more difficult to see, but the principle behind what Jesus said is the same. We see that principle more clearly in John 8:1-11, in the case of the woman caught in adultery. There, Jesus did not contradict the law’s judgment; he merely insisted that the right person enforce it.
Hope that helps.
Pastor John