"Do not resist the one who is evil." Matthew 5:39

One of the puzzling statements from our reading this week comes from Matthew 5:39, "Do not resist the one who is evil." (ESV) This is translated variously:

"...do not resist an evil person." (NIV)
"...you must not oppose those who want to hurt you" (CEB)

Arlette shared the following link with some thoughts from a Hebrew scholar, David N. Bivin, on what Jesus might have meant by those infamous words: https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/2699/. Bivin suggests, based on similar proverbs from the Old Testament, that:

In idiomatic English, Matthew 5:39a might read simply, “Don’t try to get even with evildoers.”

Bivin continues,

Our response to evil does have to be resistance—it is morally wrong to tolerate evil. However, we also must continue to show love for the evildoer.

It should be noted that loving and praying for one’s enemies in no way precludes defending oneself when one’s life is in danger.

Brigitte brought us additional perspective on the various specific examples used in the passage (turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, etc...) as acts of peaceful protest or non-violent resistance. This seems very much in keeping with Bivin's perspective. The passage may be about how to respond to evil without either ignoring it or exacting revenge.

The explanations of how the actions describes in the Matthew passage could be viewed as non-violent resistance (as opposed to non-resistance) can be found in Walter Wink's work: Jesus' Third Way.

Violence Against Women in the Torah

As we begin our study of Cross Vision, we are faced immediately with the "elephant" in the Christian living room. Violence is ubiquitous in the Old Testament stories, and, even more alarming, much of the violence is sanctioned or even perpetrated by God. Our Old Testament scriptures were part of the Jewish tradition long before they became a part of ours. So, it seems prudent to also keep our eyes and ears out for Jewish interpretations of the same texts. With that in mind, this article seems relevant: Violence Against Women by Judith Plaskow from The Torah: A Women's Commentary. Of note:

It is striking that throughout the portion, God is implicated in the violence in the text. Except in the case of Lot’s willingness to sacrifice his daughters, God carries out or commands the violence (Sodom and Gomorrah; Isaac) or supports it (Abraham and Sarah; Sarah and Hagar). The representations of violence that the text holds up to us are ones on which the human and divine levels mirror each other. There is no cosmic relief, so to speak, from the reality of violence.

"There is no cosmic relief..." It's hard not to feel the weight of that after reading the first chapter of Boyd's book. We are faced with a very real question, one that has caused honest and educated theologians to lose their faith.  It takes both humility and courage to face this issue. Let us hold one another in prayer as we read and study and discuss.