"Resist not evil" (Matthew 5:39) - What does this mean? not to fight evil?
score:8
It does not mean:
- do not fight temptation to sin
- do not defend yourself
Look at the context in which the passage is found:
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Jesus here rejects conventional wisdom to return evil with evil, and to hate one's enemies. Instead, he says we should be humble and love (will the good of) those who do evil to us.
Try the ASV: "resist not him that is evil." In the KJV, "evil" seems to mean "evil actions directed toward you" or "evil in others."
Upvote:1
If you look at the pattern in Matthew 5:20-44, Jesus is not telling us not to resist evil. Quite the opposite. Jesus responds in one of two ways to the old laws. He uses a direct command to in effect disobey the old law as in "Swear not at all" 5:33-34, and "Love your enemies.." 5:43-44. But,as in the case of 5:38-39, he first adds a "that" which I read not as a command word but as a description of the condition of obeying the old law. "That ye resist not evil" then describes what it means to demand an eye for an eye. When you do that, you are not resisting evil. Jesus then gives examples of responses that do resist evil.
Upvote:3
Hold on it does mean do not defend yourself!
Sir you have twisted the verse to take away it's true meaning
Matthew Chapter 5 (NKJV):
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Christ told his followers to accept suffering and oppression and murder all in his name for the kingdom of God so that they would be have great treasure in heaven, and by doing this they would be God's children. The whole sermon on the mount testifies to that!
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
...
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Remember
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Did Christ defend himself? Did Paul defend himself? Did Peter defend himself? Nay, but they all followed their lord to the cs to the glory of God!
More post
- 📝 What does it mean to be perfect?
- 📝 What actions does the LDS church (Mormon) take when a member does not pay tithing?
- 📝 What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on the afterlife of aborted babies?
- 📝 Do any Christian groups sell all their possessions as it seems the Early Church did?
- 📝 What is supralapsarianism?
- 📝 Giving to the church or giving to the poor?
- 📝 Are there any major Protestant denominations that have rejected salvation by faith alone?
- 📝 When was the OT canon as used by Protestants finalized?
- 📝 Have any ante-Nicene writings been discovered in the past 20 years?
- 📝 According to Catholic law and rules, is postponing of the Rite of Acceptance OK?
- 📝 Do any Christian traditions permit suicide to avoid being dishonored (raped)?
- 📝 What do Christians do on a Fasting day besides worshipping?
- 📝 Why did the Catholic Church rule out meat?
- 📝 Noah's flood and Giants
- 📝 What is the difference between humans as "image of God" and Jesus as "image of God"?
- 📝 What is the Catholic understanding of 'reign with him' in 2 Tim 2:12?
- 📝 Does God Laugh?
- 📝 Why do Christians follow Paul?
- 📝 Why do we use the name "Jesus" if the apostles did not use it?
- 📝 Were some of Jesus' disciples more privileged than others?
- 📝 According to Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy are there any doctrinal barriers to Christians sharing places of worship with non-Christians?
- 📝 Has the Church historically considered biblical texts concerning slavery to be transcultural or finite?
- 📝 What is depicted on this piece of artwork?
- 📝 Why is incorruptibility of saints' relics used as proof of their sanctity?
- 📝 What did Papias mean when he wrote how Mark did not write "in order" about what Jesus said or did?
- 📝 Did God ever really help the Hebrews in battle?
- 📝 What is the significance of the three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve in the garden?
- 📝 Was Jesus Christ a refugee?
- 📝 Should we forgive everything?
- 📝 What do Christians believe Kaneh Bosem translates to?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 "Resist not evil" (Matthew 5:39) - What does this mean? not to fight evil?
- 📝 In Gen 15:16, what does it mean that "the iniquity of the Amorites is not complete"...is this related to "fill up the measure of their sins" 1 Th 2:16
- 📝 What does it mean that Satan is "god of this world"?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean by "this generation will certainly not pass away.." in Matthew 24:34?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law but did not abolish it?
- 📝 What does "gates of hell" mean in Matthew 16:18?
- 📝 What does it mean that John's Gospel does not have an account of the institution of the Eucharist?
- 📝 What does inherit the earth mean in Matthew 5:5
- 📝 What kind of baptism is essential to salvation, and what does 'essential' mean in this context? (Catholic perspective)
- 📝 What does Paul mean when he says "do not go beyond what is written."
- 📝 According to Jehovah’s Witnesses what does the name Immanuel mean in light of their belief that Jesus is a created being and not God?
- 📝 What does 'do not be overrighteous' mean in Ecclesiastes?
- 📝 What does Matthew mean by "if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out", etc.?
- 📝 What does it mean to not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
- 📝 Matthew 18:10 "Children's angels always behold the face of the Father" - what does this mean?
- 📝 What does it mean to say an original Greek manuscript did not survive?
- 📝 In Matthew 5:25 what does it mean to be in the way with our adversary?
- 📝 What does it really mean [not able not to sin] according to Augustine?
- 📝 What does John Wesley mean by this phrase?
- 📝 Jesus said he was like the bronze serpent, which was destroyed because it was worshipped. What does this mean for those who worship him?
- 📝 According to the triune concept, at what point does this logically structured statement become NOT True?
- 📝 If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?
- 📝 What does Jesus mean by saying, "Why do you call me good?"
- 📝 What exactly does it mean that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
- 📝 What does "scripture" mean in NT writing?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus was the "second Adam"?
- 📝 What does it mean to "Bless the LORD"?
- 📝 What does CS Lewis mean by True Myth?
- 📝 What does it mean to interpret the Bible literally?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does it mean for a priest to bless an object or person?