Matthew 5:39

Context

This verse is part of the fifth of the six antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus first cites the law "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Exodus 21:24). This law was originally a judicial principle intended to prevent retaliation that exceeded the harm suffered. Jesus goes further: if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; if someone would take away your coat, give your cloak as well; and if someone compels you to go one mile, go two (5:39–41).

Interpretations

• As a prohibition of personal retaliation: This view understands the verse as forbidding revenge for personal insults and injuries. Many commentators note that striking another person's right cheek with one's right hand requires a backhanded blow, so the verse refers to an insult rather than a physical injury.
• As active nonviolence: The American theologian Walter Wink and others have interpreted turning the other cheek not as submission but as nonviolent resistance that demands that the aggressor treat the victim as an equal human being. This interpretation has been influential but has also been criticized as overreaching.

Debates and Issues

• Pacifism: The historic peace churches, including the Anabaptists, the Mennonites, and the Quakers, have taken this verse literally and have refused the use of force and military service.
• Just war theory: Since Augustine, the Catholic Church and many Protestants have held that this verse forbids personal retaliation but does not forbid the state from using force to protect one's neighbor. They cite Romans 13:4 in support.
• Two kingdoms doctrine: Martin Luther distinguished between the Christian as an individual, who must endure evil, and the Christian as a public official, who may wield the sword on behalf of his neighbor.

In South Korea, the refusal of military service by Jehovah's Witnesses was long subject to criminal punishment, and an alternative service system was introduced following a 2018 decision of the Constitutional Court. During this process, opinions were divided even within the church over how to view conscientious objection in relation to this verse.

Related Passages

• Exodus 21:24
• Romans 12:17–21
• 1 Peter 2:23
• Romans 13:4