It's worrisome when people take sermon on the Mount and absolutized it out of the entire scripture. Setting the rest of the scriptures aside or putting it in the background, taking a single statement as all in all is not a valid or legitimate way to interpret the Holy Bible. You have to interpret every single statement in the light of the entire Bible.
I remember when someone gave a testimony in the church. A young Christian being slapped by his classmate and that one didn't stop at slapping one cheek. He challenged him to allow him to slap the other cheek as it is written in the Bible. And he did so. The man giving the testimony claimed the boy passed his examination with flying colors while his classmate failed woefully. Well, I'm not going to dispute that, whether God failed him because he slapped his obedient son or not, it's not because he turned the other cheek. I used to believe otherwise when I was young or let me say when I was a kid and I have this friend of mine who slapped me for it, I followed what I was taught, but I've never expected God to punish him for it. Taking a verse out of context is wrong and inappropriate.
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Suppose a ten-year-old kid comes up to his father and the ten-year-old kid slaps his father across the face. The father being a Christian says, "Turn the other cheek." So the father takes the child and turns the other cheek and the son slaps the other side of his face. When the mother gets home, what have you just taught that kid? Oh, turn the other cheek. Go slap mom in the face, dad didn't do anything, I'm going to go slap mom in the face. So you've just taught this kid to slap someone in the face.
Question: is that the way you want to rear your children?
Something should go off in your head. A child slaps his father, there should be discipline. The Old Testament said that the kid would have really big problems in the Old Testament if he didn't honor his father and his mother. You are not doing that by slapping them across the face. So are you training your kids to do that?
Somebody comes up and is going to do some damage to my wife or my children and I turn the other cheek and then they suffer because I am not man enough to stand up to it. Sorry for using the term "man enough" but that is exactly what I mean. So, in other words, I am a father of a house and something very deep within me is to protect my children and my family. So, to turn the other cheek, yes, in certain contexts, it is appropriate to turn my cheek. But in other contexts, it means I am a coward. So what I'm saying is you can't take this statement and universalize it.
Now when you strike someone on the right cheek, most people are right handed, what cheek are they going to strike? They are going to strike the left cheek. To strike the right cheek, is the person going to be using the back of their hand? They are going to be using the back of their hand. The issue here is not defending yourself, the issue is one of humiliation and shame. So one slap one's cheek in terms of shaming the person, and our honor should be found not in ourselves but in Christ. If you go over to lamentations, it's interesting.
Lam 3:30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.
It talks about striking the cheek as being a sign of disgrace. We as Christians should not--we will bear disgrace because we are Christians, as our master suffered and died on a cross, as we Christians will suffer disgrace. It's not talking about, don't defend your family, don't defend your country, don't defend--you know you have to be careful about universalizing that. There is going to be a time for what? For war and peace!
Joh 18:36
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
And we have Jesus saying his servants are not going to fight for him because this is not his kingdom, not because it's wrong to defend oneself. If Jesus wants you take turning the other cheek literally, could he have said that? By the way, what about the book of Revelation? When Jesus comes back, the meek and mild peace-loving Jesus, when he comes back, what is it? It's the battle of Armageddon. Who is leading the charge in the battle of Armageddon, the struggle between good and evil? Jesus is leading the battle.
I'm in no way urging anyone to be violence or to fight. Avoid it as much as you can, but there are some situations where you got to fight or defend someone if not yourself.
