Matthew 5:38-42 Loving Not Punching
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 2, 2019, Matthew 5:38-42
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“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 the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Then He starts to define what righteousness is. Jesus says in this passage not to retaliate when we are attacked. On the practical side, this advice makes sense. When we respond to evil with evil, several things happen. First, the problem usually escalates. On the other hand, responding to evil with kindness tends to diffuse the situation. Second, when we return the attack, our witness for Jesus suffers. For onlookers, it is unclear as to who is acting worse, and shouting out “He started it!” does nothing to make the onlookers feel better about the second person, especially if the second person is winning the fight and beating up (literally or figuratively) the original attacker. Third, with either reaction, the innocent party has received wounds, but with Jesus’ way, we are not guilty of wounding someone else. Physical wounds may or may not heal. We may not physically survive. We may have wounded, bleeding hearts that need healing. However, in Jesus’ eyes, those are temporary. He knew that He would raise us from the dead with incorruptible bodies and that He would heal our mental wounds also and we would have eternal life. On the other hand, if we responded with force, there is a danger that our anger and aggression will spark sin in our hearts and that will separate us from God. Our self-justification for hurting others could create a barrier between us and God that Jesus would not be able to overcome to give us eternal life. The danger in wounding others is much greater than the danger in others wounding us. Fourth, this is a description of God’s righteousness. He does not respond to us in kind when we wound Him with our adultery to this world. Jesus did not ever fight His attackers. He let them do their worst. Jesus is my example to follow. Fifth, responding in kind demonstrates our distrust of God. Until the final day of Jesus’ life, the Spirit and angels rescued Jesus from His attackers so that they could not hurt Him. On the final day, He was not rescued, but the senseless wounding served a purpose. Paul is an example for me also. He was stoned to death. I’m pretty sure that the people doing the stoning and the onlookers were not mistaken in their evaluation of Paul’s physical state, yet when the attackers were gone, Paul stood up and walked back to the city. I believe Jesus brought Paul back from the dead. Paul was whipped and beaten with canes and still sang in prison. He submitted to the violence without fighting back, and Jesus kept healing him. It hurt Paul to endure these physical wounds, but his example served as a guide for those he brought to Jesus. In the end, Paul died, but that state is just a resting state until the time comes to go home to Jesus.
(Understanding the Text) The message of this passage is a call not to resent being treated unfairly. If people take our stuff or cause us to have to work more than is equitable or bully us, we are not to cower before them. We are not to yell and scream about it. Instead, we are to take their punishment and turn it into a gift for them. We are to give more than they take, not out of fear or obsequiousness, but out of love for our Savior. In the process, we gain more than was taken from us. We gain peace from resentment. We gain control over the situation. The other person has power over us as long as we resist and they force, but the minute we stop resisting and give more than they are taking, we take control of the situation. Again, our witness is helped also because instead of seeing angry resentful rebellious victims, people see peace and calm in the face of horror.
This is a call to have a generous spirit towards both those who are worthy and those who are unworthy. It is a call to trust God to protect us from physical and emotional harm, but also from the results of our generosity. It is a call to hunger and thirst after Christ’s righteousness, to want to be of the same character as our Creator, to desire to be part of the kingdom of heaven.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I have a far ways to go to reach the righteousness of Christ. I am sure that I cannot do this, so I pray that in the time of these trials that You will work in me to be righteous like You.