Hello everyone. Welcome back to daily gospel
exegesis. We're continuing in The Sermon
on the Mount today. So we're looking at Matthew
chapter 5 verses 38 to 42, some really interesting teachings
from Jesus year. So if you're new to the podcast,
what we do is we read out the passage from today's Catholic.
Mass and then we'll have a go at providing an exegesis of the
passage. So what might it have meant in
its original context? So today's passage Matthew
chapter 5 verses 38 to 42 Jesus said to his disciples, you have
learned how it was said an eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you offer the wicked man.
No resistance on the contrary if anyone hits you on the right
cheek offer him the other as well.
If a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him
have your cloak as well and if anyone orders you to go one
mile, go two miles with him give to anyone who asks and if anyone
wants to borrow do not turn away.
So challenging teaching, hear from Jesus, or A number of
challenging teachings will have a go at doing an exegesis.
There are different interpretations even among
Catholics on the best way to understand some of these
commandments. So just to recap where in The
Sermon on the Mount and Jesus has already by now, he's already
listed a few of these. You have heard that it was said,
but I say to you his said quite a few of those Jesus basic idea
in this section on the sermon on the It is that the Jews of the
time particularly the Pharisees, they knew the external
requirements of the law very well.
But Jesus now reveals that the true way of following the law is
through the interior transformation that God wants
and that was the whole point of the laws.
So he's in this section, where he's come to reveal the true
purpose of some particular laws from the Old Testament.
Now, with each of the things he's going to list today, he's
not saying this law is wrong. But he is going to say
something, like this, the way you have heard it taught in
emphasized is only a partial, fulfillment, of God's intention
for that law. There is a much deeper and more
meaningful way of doing God's will in relation to this law.
So, in other words, Jesus is telling his audience, some who
are disciples. Some possibly not, there's a
large crowd here, he's telling them that fulfilling the
external requirements of the law is necessary, but there's more
to it as well. There needs to be an interior.
Transformation. So first example verse 38 you
have learned how it was said. So the Jews at the time would
have learnt God's law from the Pharisees and the other rabbis
as part of their education, as a Jew, all the Jews knew the law
very well. I for eye and tooth for tooth.
Now, this quote, this famous quote is from Exodus chapter 21,
verses 24, and it's often called The Lex talionis eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth. The first thing to say about
this law is that in context, it was given as a civil law to
ensure that the Israelites didn't inflict more punishment
than was required. So the point of the Lex talionis
in Exodus was to set the maximum boundaries.
Of possible. Revenge to ensure that things
were proportional. It made sure that someone didn't
do a worse harm in the process of doing Revenge when they are
wronged. So, a set the maximum limits for
Revenge. Basically, it appears that the
Jews at the time of Jesus were applying this civil law.
Remember this is a civil law, that was given though.
We're using it, to justify their own personal Vengeance.
So, in context, The Exodus law was supposed to be about Law
Courts, and the way that they They decided which punishments
were appropriate and it was setting the maximum boundaries,
but in the time of Jesus, they use the Lex talionis on an
individual level to justify them, taking their own Revenge,
individual personal situations. So that's one aspect of this.
And we need to keep in mind they were probably abusing The, Lex
talionis law in a way that it was never meant to be used
anyway, verse 39, but I say this to you.
So Jesus he's the authority of interpreter of God's law because
he's gone. Himself.
He's now going to indicate the deeper true or meaning of this
eye for eye and tooth for tooth law.
Offer the wicked man. No resistance.
Now first thing I notice it's wicked man.
So for this verse we're dealing with someone who is clearly
doing you wrong, offer them? No resistance.
Now this is difficult to interpret.
Jesus doesn't is probably not advocating, not using self
defense. Jesus probably wants people to
use self defense when they're genuinely threatened.
So he's not talking about that. Most likely he is using
hyperbole here and we know that he's using exaggerations and
hyperboles in other passages in Matthew 5 and 6.
So there's the possibility of exaggeration here so that gives
us two possible interpretations of offer.
The wicked man, no resistance. So he could mean, literally
don't resist, when people are doing evil to you, that could
just be the basic meaning for his immediate audience, but if
there's an element of exaggeration, perhaps he means
something like this. Don't let your desire for self
centeredness and revenge, dominate your thinking when
you're dealing with Wicked people.
So either of those could be right, I tend to lean towards it
being a literal commandment to not offer resistance in
particular situations because he goes on to give Three concrete
examples of what that looks like.
Remember, let's keep in mind, Jesus main point here.
He's telling them that they are using the Lex talionis
incorrectly. They are using it for private
Vengeance. When it was only ever meant to
be used as a civil law. So that's the main thing.
He wants to emphasize at a minimum, he saying that the Lex
talionis law. Does not justify taking
individual Vengeance in personal situations.
He certainly saying that he's now going to give some examples
that challenge his disciples to resist the temptation to return.
One offense for another Jesus does not want people, just
returning one offense for another so it's an infinite
chain of offenses. The key theme here in the
examples that we're going to look at is that in each case,
the person is unjustly persecuted by Wicked person.
So they do genuinely have wrong, done to them but Jesus point in
each case is endure it anyway. In fact Return their evil with
kindness. So Jesus says in each of the
cases that I'm going to talk about, you want to return evil
with kindness and he's going to tell us why at the end of the
passage as well. So here's the first specific
example in verse 39 on the contrary if anyone hits you on
the right cheek offer him, the other as well.
So you probably heard people talk about what it means to have
a right cheek slaps. Oh, and that is a certainly, a
factor here, a slap on the right cheek.
That culture. But because everyone was
right-handed, basically that would be a backhanded slap to be
to have a slap on the right cheek.
If you try and sort of visualize that, if you are slapped on the
right cheek by someone's right hand, that is a backhanded slap,
according to the mishnah, which was a body of Jewish, teaching
at the time, not God's word but certainly well respected by the
Jews. To give someone a backhand slap
was a very insulting thing to do.
And if it happened to a do they could demand Double the normal
Financial penalty compared to a normal slap.
So they had the legal, right? According to the mishnah to
demand exceptional repayments if they had a backhanded slap
happen to them, but notice what Jesus says here, he says that
even if you get slapped in the worst possible way rather than
getting financial compensation which they were legally entitled
to, and Jesus doesn't deny that he says, you need to rather
indoor Either insult by offering your other cheek, and that's
pretty radical. This person has been unjustly
attacked basically with an unnecessarily hard back and
slap. So, they do have a legal right
to respond, but Jesus says, don't do that instead offer the
other cheek. Now, if there's a hyperbole
here, again, Jesus might be exaggerating and it would be
something like this. There is Merit in suffering
righteously rather than retaliating Next example, verse
40, if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let
him have your cloak as well so we need to understand the
distinction between tunics and cloaks.
So Jewish men wore two governments, they had a tunic
which was an inner garment and a cloak which was like a larger
heavier outer garment. One a person could be sued for
his tunic as part of the repayments.
If if someone has done wrong to you, you could sue them to have
their tunic because it's sort of considered an unnecessary in a
garment. But you couldn't sue someone for
their coach, because the coat was essential for a person to
keep warm. It was not, you couldn't ask for
someone's coach because that will be depriving them of a
necessity. But notice what Jesus says here,
if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him
have your cloak as well. So rather than seeking
compensation or rather than trying to retaliate.
If someone tries to take your tunic Jesus says, don't go that
path. Don't fight it.
Instead offer your cloak as well and that was a real situation
that they would have been faced with.
So Jesus really expects his disciples to do that, it would
appear. So it's a theme of righteous
suffering suffering for doing good, and despite unjust
persecution verse 41. If anyone orders you to go one
mile? Now, this is again a real law
that existed at the time, a Roman soldier, could legally
force, a Jutsu carry, hit the Romans equipment for up to one
mile. That was a law that existed at
the time, and they force the Jews to do it.
They said take my stuff for a mile and of course, that's what
And to Simon the cyrenian who helped Jesus carry his cross
there. Basically, in a nap to the Roman
law and said you have to carry this cross.
So here, Jesus says, if anyone orders you to do that, go to
miles. So the teaching here, let's
think about the gravity of it. He's telling his Jewish
disciples to show extreme generosity to the Romans, that
would be shocking. Given how much the Romans were
persecuting them show extreme generosity to the Romans.
Even when you don't feel like it even when you're being unjust,
We persecuted verse 42 give to anyone who asks so do not
withhold things. Selfishly is the idea of are and
that's fair. If anyone wants to borrow do not
turn away. So, again, we see this theme of
giving oneself, even when it hurts, give of yourself to other
people. Now, of course, there's more to
this passage and towards the end here, Jesus is going to so why
he's given them all these laws and particularly in relation to
what it tells us about. God, if we follow these laws,
what's it going to show to the rest of the world about God?
And so that will continue in verses 43 to 48 and that is red
on Tuesday of week, 11 in ordinary time and you might be
listening to this podcast as part of that cycle.
It's also read on the Saturday of the first week of Lent So In
this passage, let's try and summarize it.
There are different interpretations of how
literally, Jesus is to be taken. But it appears that what he's
saying overall is, he wants his disciples not to take personal
Revenge. Don't take don't return one
offense for another rather Jesus says return, evil with kindness
in your personal life. So this is doesn't appear to be
a command about legal proceedings in court.
It's about what to do in a personal Possible Revenge
situation in the next part of the sermon.
He's going to intensify things even further because he's going
to say love your enemies. And so it's well worth looking
at that particular episode as well because of course the
enemies of the Jews at that time where the Romans.
So Jesus is going to get really controversial.
So, let's turn to the catechism. There's only one paragraph that
makes reference to verses 38 to 42, and it's paragraph 2443 in
the section about love for the poor.
It says, God, blesses, those who come to the aid of the poor and
rebukes, those who turn away from them.
Quote, give to him, who begs from you do not refuse him.
Who would borrow from you So that quote, there is from verse
42 that we heard today. Catholics according to the,
catechism are required to come to the aid of the poor and give
to those who beg from you do not refuse him who would borrow from
you. That is a command for all
questions in all time. So it's a passage that's well
worth studying and thinking about a meditating about and
just as we finish today's episode, I want to remind you
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