Holy Textures

Matthew 5:38-41, Publicly Expose and Mock Injustice

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Matthew 5:38-41 has a tragic history of poor translations and even worse interpretations.

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.

This passage is NOT recommending becoming a doormat; nor does it tolerate domestic violence.

First of all, the translation, "Do not resist an evildoer" fails to convey the full meaning of the underlying Greek. It would be better translated as, "Do not violently resist an evildoer." Thus the teaching is primarily about non-violence. It is not about acquiescing to evil.

Jesus then goes on to offer three quick examples of how to non-violently resist an evildoer - in fact, of how to publicly shame and mock an evildoer.

Sermon On The Mount

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The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of the teachings of Jesus which Matthew records in Chapters 5 through 7. The sermon ends with a teaching from Jesus about a difference between those who are wise and those who are foolish:

Matthew 7:12-20

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Verse 12: "The Golden Rule," was common folk lore and probably did not originate with Jesus, though he might have quoted it as here:

Do to others as you would have them do to you

This is not bad advise though its flaw is that makes each of our personal whims / desires / egos the arbiter of what is good. It is not difficult to find examples of someone who actually does not want what you want.

Matthew 16:13-28

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Verses 13-20 are part of the Lectionary reading for Year A, August 21 to 27, but I am using it during Lent this year to give my congregation a clearer sense of the events that led to Jesus' arrest, trial, torture and execution.

Interestingly, this pivotal passage occurs outside of the "home turf" of Jesus and his followers, in the district of Caesarea Philippi north of Galilee.

Jesus has been traveling about doing signs, teaching and healing. This has resulted in crowds being drawn to him. It is now time to do some assessing.

Matthew 16:1-12

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Chapters 16 and 17 of Matthew are a turning point in Matthew's telling of the Jesus story.

In my humble opinion, ;-) the action of these two chapters can be summarized as:

• the religious authorities don't get who Jesus is, what he is about, what he has been making plain to anyone with two good eyes to see;
• the crowds don't get who Jesus is, what he is about, what he has been making plain, and their support for Jesus is going to make the authorities nervous;
• the disciples do get who Jesus is - sort of;
• Jesus begins to teach his followers the next level of truth about trusting God.