Discipleship Series: Following Jesus in a Violent World

FOLLOWING JESUS IN A VIOLENT WORLD

 

Nonviolence is not a “Mennonite thing,” it is a “Jesus thing.” “Nonviolence” best describes what Jesus lived out and modeled for his disciples.

            While we were in Tennessee recently visiting Sharon’s college roommate, we were informed that Tennessee was an “open carry” state (we didn't ask for this information; it was offered without inquiry). That means that people could walk around with guns on their hips. We asked if that meant in church too. Our friend said, “yes.” It was a shocking revelation. Not that people brought guns to church, I knew that, but that carrying a gun was so intensely married to faith in Christ. That was shocking! Evangelicals are the biggest gun proponents in the US. To me, that is incongruent with following Jesus. 

            Even more revealing is that evangelicals support military intervention in global crises. Military historian, Andrew Bacevich recently said, “Were it not for the support offered by several tens of millions of evangelicals, militarism (in the US) becomes inconceivable.” Some call this a problem. Others call it a virtue. The prophets called it idolatry (OT). (Quoted in Nonviolence by Preston Sprinkle)

            This may shock you as well. Did you know that the Early Church in the first three centuries could not agree on anything: The nature of Christ (was he God?); what books should be in the Bible; how to celebrate communion. But when it came to the question of killing, it didn’t matter where the church fathers came from or what their views were on other issues, they all agreed that Christians should not kill. When it came to the question of killing, for whatever reason, every church agreed – Christians do not kill. The John 3:16 verse of their day was “love your enemies.” 

            In a world drowning in violence, Jesus teaches his followers to respond to violent people with aggressive nonviolence. If you take the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48 seriously, you will strive to live out the new kingdom ethics. You will be salt and light in a dark, flavorless world. You will be following a nonviolent Jesus in a violent world.

Living in a World of Violent Tit-For-Tat (38)

 

In the SOM, Jesus uses a phrase, “You have heard that it was said…” to introduce, not a new teaching, but a new interpretation of an old teaching. Here, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’” (38). 

            Make no mistake, this saying is found in scripture (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21), but it is also found in ancient laws of other faiths as well. This law is known as the Lex Talionis. You could call it the law of tit for tat. It was not meant to be savage or to satisfy bloodlust. The intention was mercy. It was meant to limit vengeance, not encourage it.

            In those days blood feuds were a natural way of settling the score. If you hurt one of our guys, we’ll burn down your village. Then the survivors will be obligated to get you back. This law was meant to settle injuries in a court setting. You lose a tooth due to someone’s negligence, you go to the judge, and the judge prescribes exact retribution. It keeps the victim from knocking all the teeth out of his opponent’s face. 

            The problem that developed over the centuries was this misinterpretation of what a person was allowed to do. Rather than going to the judge, the saying became an excuse to get revenge. You hurt me; I hurt you back. It’s biblical, right? 

            Retaliation and revenge are natural responses to injury and insult in our world. We are not satisfied unless some kind of justice is exacted on the aggressor. Following 9/11 and the destruction of the Twin Towers, US planes bombed Afghanistan. At the time it was not clear to me what the connection was between 9/11 and this attack, but it made America feel better. Somebody paid for their injury.

            For many who suffer injustice in some form or another, violent retribution seems to be the cry of a broken heart. I believe that’s why we see so many inexplicable shootings today. Men and women are exacting revenge on strangers for a pain they cannot resolve.

How Jesus-Followers Respond to Violence (39-42)

 

For the would-be disciple, Jesus abolishes the old law of limited vengeance altogether and introduces the new ethic of nonretaliation. Using four examples of how this ethic works in life, Jesus introduced a no-resistance response to evil. He said, “But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.” Note that he says, “the one who is evil”: he is an acknowledged “bad guy.” These are bad people who want to get the better of the disciple. Jesus says, do not resist them. 

            “But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” This covers both injury and insult. If you consider that most people are right-handed, slapping someone on the cheek with the right hand is awkward. That means you would have to give them a back-hand. To slap someone with the back of the hand in ancient Palestine was twice as offensive as being slapped on the cheek. 

            If someone hits you it is almost an involuntary response to hit them back. Jesus says "no." But more than that, Jesus says, "Let him hit you again." This is not normal. To respond to violence with violence breeds more violence. Where does the hitting stop?

            Even in the courts, Jesus counsels that the disciple not resist litigation. In the courts we expect justice to be done, yet Jesus counsels that we give up our right to justice. “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” This is what I mean by aggressive nonviolence: not only does Jesus say to receive the violence done to you but respond with grace. Turn the other cheek; give more than is asked. The tunic was basically a shirt. But the cloak was a significant piece of clothing; it doubled as a coat in the day and a blanket at night. In Jewish law, if you wanted to take out a loan from a neighbor, you pledged this important garment as a trust or guarantee. But it was so critical to one’s sleep that it had to be given back for night. Jesus is thus saying that if someone wants to take your shirt, give them your more valuable piece as well. Rather than declare your rights, the Christian does not dispute his legal rights. 

            The next example is foreign to us as well. “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”Living under Roman occupation, Jews could be pressed into service by a soldier who would put his pack and belongings on the back of a Jew. He could make them carry it one mile according to Roman law. This is an enemy, an oppressor, an invader of the Promised Land. Yet Jesus tells the disciple to not only go the mile, go an extra one as well. We may not relate to this picture, but we can relate to going the “extra mile” when someone imposes their will on us, especially a person who is obnoxious or mean. 

            Finally, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Is this a neighbor or a beggar? Is the asking justified or not? We don’t know. Our natural reaction to these requests is to reject the request for a loan. Jesus teaches the radical alternative of not giving a loan but giving a gift (no payback). This is remarkable generosity in a culture of stinginess, then and now. 

            What each of these examples implies is a violence done to us and the response expected of a Jesus-follower. To physical attack, social shame, legal injustice, political or personal oppression, and the assaults of the beggar, Jesus teaches a nonviolent and even gracious response. Nonviolence is Jesus’ response to a violent world. 

            Nonviolence response can have a powerful effect on your enemy. Martin Luther King Jr. said the world expects people to respond to violence with violence. They know what to do with violence; they don’t know how to respond to nonviolence.

            On one occasion, King was delivering a speech when a member of the American Nazi party walked up on stage and slugged him in the face. King was knocked back but regained his composure, stood up, and dropped his arms. The man continued to punch King in the face until the crowd intervened. Later, King visited the man in a room he was being held in and told him there would be no harm done to him, no charges laid, and that he forgave the man. King returned to finish his speech. 

            No one in the room had any doubt who won the fight. Nonviolence may more effectively defeat violence than violence itself (Sprinkle, Nonviolence, 147). I say “may” because it may not always work, but that’s not why we do it.

What it Means to Love Our Enemies (43-47)

 

The human response to injury or insult is retaliation, to get even. Jesus gives us four examples where that would be the human thing to do but says “do this instead.” The “instead” option is to show extravagant love to those who would harm us. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 

            Love! You experience love in various ways. There is the love of a parent for their child (storgi). Spousal love is an intimate, passionate love between husband and wife (eros). One can even experience a deep and affectionate love of a friend who is closer than a brother or sister (philia). These "loves" are natural responses in the context of give-take relationships. 

            But Jesus is not talking about those experiences in this text; he is talking about a radical decision of the will. He is talking about unconquerable benevolence, invincible good will, it is where a person loves for loves’ sake and not because the person deserves it. This is agape love. 

            This is how God loves. Jesus says that the Father “makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust,” (45). The Father gives good gifts even to those who do not acknowledge him and whom we would say do not deserve such grace. Romans 5:10 tells us that we were all in that position and that while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for us. That’s the nature of our God. That is the very personality of Jesus.

            If we are going to love like our Heavenly Father loves, we need to get rid of the lens that makes us decide to love based on whether someone deserves it or not. Instead, we withhold our love because someone offends us, belittles us, or makes us feel stupid. Those things hurt – I will not deny it – but when we look at the life of Jesus and what he endured to win salvation for us, we see that is exactly what he did. He loved when loving was not easy. He even prayed for his enemies while he was hanging on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

            Pray for those who persecute you. Jesus did that! It is hard to hate those we pray for. It is incredibly oxymoronic to pray to the Father for our enemy and not begin to soften in our hearts for that person. 

 

WHY We Respond to Violence with Love (48)

 

What I am saying to you is hard to swallow. I have heard many arguments and hypotheses against this teaching of nonviolence in the face of violence. I have listened to evangelical Christians talk about the need for guns to defend the church against hostile persons. I have wavered myself on how far I would go in defending my family. I get it! This is not an easy teaching. 

            But let me say this…

            It’s not optional! Jesus taught us to respond to evil people with love and grace. Will you debate the King of kings? 

            Jesus also said this – and this is not going to sound easy – “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” (48). Now you’re thinking this is impossible! There is no way we can be perfect like God. But what did Jesus mean by “be perfect”? 

            The reason we are to called upon to love like God loves is that we become nothing less than children of God when we love like he does. 

            The Greek word for “perfect” is a word that is used in a special way. It has nothing to do with perfection as we understand it. The Greek idea of perfect has to do with function. A thing is perfect if it fully acts in the way that it was designed to work. We could say that a car that drives for 5000 km without breaking down works perfectly. This was our experience even though I received a letter from Toyota informing me that there may be a leak in the fuel pump system. The vehicle "worked" perfectly even though the reality was the vehicle was in fact not perfect in its entirety. 

            You are perfect if you behave in the way that God intended and for the purpose that he created you. Though Satan has perverted the intention in the Garden, you were created to be like God. Satan tells us that to be like God is to rule over others and make them dance for us. Jesus demonstrated that to be like God is to act in extravagant and selfless love for the sake of others. 

            That’s why we respond to violence with love. That’s what Jesus does. And you can argue for a just war, for guns and self-defence, and a place for retribution, but I’m just telling you what Jesus said. 

 

Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount that we are the salt of the earth, and we are the light of the world. You could say that we are called to be “difference makers.” 

            But what influence might we have on society if we act just like everyone else? How are we change agents for the kingdom of God if we treat people roughly and with scorn when they upset us or act violently against us? How will they know the love of God if we retaliate. 

            The Jews expected Jesus the Messiah to come with a sword and conquer their oppressors. Instead, Jesus constructed an intentional paradigm shift that created new categories for how his followers would confront evil. And he demonstrated it. Jesus was accused of being drunk and carousing with prostitutes and sinners, he was threatened, spit upon, punched, slapped, hit with a stick, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross. Violence upon violence was exhausted upon him until humanity had done everything it could to Jesus. And then he was victorious.

            Peter who witnessed all of this challenged his readers (us too) to consider Christ’s nonviolence:

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God who always judges fairly,” (1 Peter 2:21-23 NLT). 

 

                                                            AMEN