What did Jesus really mean when He said "Turn The Other Cheek?"

Is He saying the following...?

Be a pushover - allow anyone and everyone to take advantage of you
Be weak - you are suppose to allow the bullies of life to do evil and get away with it

If so, what are the ramifications of that? Are you just going to let evil reign over your life and become a living doormat?

Obviously not! And the reason why we need to know the real meaning behind this Scripture is to avoid society and culture using it against us.

You see, culture wants us to be passive, wants us to be silent. This is why they use the phrase "silent majority." On the face of it, it looks good (we are in the majority), but at its roots, it is evil, because they are calling us to be silent and look the other way.

So avoid the gaslighting and manipulation. Don't listen to anyone who says you must allow evil to reign and turn the so-called "other cheek." This is NOT what Jesus is referring to!

Let's dive in and see the real truth of this Scripture.

Scripture, Common Sense and Testosterone

Lets briefly look Matthew 5.38-39 from the ESV Translation:

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. (ESV)

Real Quick...and this is very important...before we dive into this Scripture, lets briefly discuss two foundational truths:

Common sense: God gave us a brain for a reason, so lets use it. No one in their right mind would allow people they love to be assaulted. No one would honestly believes through logic and common sense that evil is suppose to take over the world because Jesus said to turn the other cheek.
Testosterone: This Scripture could very well reveal your hormone levels…What do I mean by that?
1. Guys, I'm specifically talking to you…if you think this verse is encouraging us to be passive, then you must lay off the soy latte’s and stop eating tofu…seriously, your estrogen levels are likely surpassing your testosterone…
2. So start eating meat, start lifting weights, go to the gun range, learn combatives and how to fight…you need to increase your T! God ordains our testosterone…we are men, leverage it for His Glory

Word Distinctions

With That said, lets frame our conversation today with two words that will give us a clarity of thought as we look into the context of the Scripture:

Assault vs Insult

The overall point Jesus is making is that there is a clear distinction from being assaulted (life threatening) vs being insulted (ego threatening).

So let's set this up and discover why Jesus specifically mentions the RIGHT cheek.

To be hit on the RIGHT cheek, one would have to be back-slapped with the RIGHT hand…

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): to be back-slapped is to be insulted
In Jesus’ day, Israel/Jews were occupied by the Romans. If the Jews, as subjects of Rome, did not comply with a Roman soldier’s requests for anything from a drink of water to handing over personal property, a swift backhand to the right cheek was common.
So first off, we see that this type of a strike to the right cheek, means that Jesus was teaching about being insulted, not assaulted.
There is a time to fight if assaulted (more on this in a moment, very important, so keep reading because you don't want to miss this information!) and there is a time to walk away if insulted
The plot thickens: this now leads us to another question...why would Jesus then instruct His followers to offer the left cheek as well?

Why turn the right cheek and then also offer the left cheek?

As we have mentioned, Insulting the Jews under Roman authority by use of a back-slap was a sign that the Jews under roman authority were inferior, an attack on their personal dignity.

But to then offer the left cheek reveals another important point and I like how Corey Far explains it, who is an authority on this subject:

To not break down emotionally and simply turn the other cheek meant that the soldier couldn’t slap you again on the right cheek, and, Farr said, “he can’t slap you with his left hand, because that is unclean for both of you.” The soldier’s only option was to slap with the palm of his hand, and “this was not the way to slap a slave. This (to slap or punch with the right onto the left cheek) was reserved for equals.” Thus, in giving the other cheek, the degraded person asserted his humanity in a brave countermove — a humble response, yet also an act of courage against an oppressive system.

Answering Scripture With Scripture

If there is Scripture telling us how to turn the cheek from a simple insult, is there also Scripture telling us that we must fight against an assault?

DEFINITELY...

I won't go into detail on these, but feel free to put these verses in your back pocket…they will help increase your testosterone and give you discernment on when to fight vs when to walk away/turn the other cheek. I will categorize these supporting scriptures into two categories: Hating evil and When To Fight:

Hate Evil: If you love God, then you hate evil

Psalm 97:10: O you who love the Lord, hate evil! (ESV)
- Notice in the first part of Matthew 5.38-39, Jesus says "Do not resist the one who is evil." But we answer Scripture with Scripture by comparing this to Psalm 97:10. So clearly Jesus is telling us there are contextual differences for evil; between an assault (Love God, Hate Evil) and an insult (Turn the other cheek)
Psalm 11.5-7: The Lord tests the righteous,but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. (ESV, emphasis added)

When To Fight: we are suppose to FIGHT at the appointed time

Nehemiah 4.14: And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (ESV, emphasis added)
- And if you keep reading, Nehemiah 4.17 says the following, in reference to the men who were building the wall, but at the same time prepared to defend themselves and fight their enemies:
  - Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.
1 Samuel 17.45-51: Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.
- (side note: that does not sound like turning the other cheek to me!David would NOT allow evil to reign! He loves God and HATES evil, so he had to destroy goliath!)
- Later in the passage (vs 48), we see how David "ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine" - running quickly towards a battle is NOT turning the other cheek. This was a time to FIGHT! David did NOT drink soy latte's! You know the rest of the story from here.
Matthew 10:5-36: In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus instructed Peter to buy a sword, explaining that to be a Christian would become dangerous and that they needed to prepare. They needed high testosterone, not skinny jeans.
Exodus 22:2: says it is acceptable to kill a thief in your house to protect your home and property.

Modern Day Examples

How does all of this play out in modern day life?

Let's look at one of my favorite high testosterone combative instructors, Tim Larkin, Instructor of Target Focus Training and author of many amazing books, including When Violence Is The Answer…(My dad got to train with Tim a while back, so we really like Tim and his fighting philosophies).

Remember How Jesus is making a distinction between an assault vs an insult — for example the references for fighting against an assault (Nehemiah, David, Exodus, Bring a sword, etc) but to brush off an insult (turn the cheek)?

Well watch how closely Tim's philosophy on self-defense is to these concepts:

Tim discusses the difference between social aggression vs asocial violence.

Social aggression is the equivalent of the insult (similar to the backhanded slap)
Asocial violence is the equivalent of the assault (or in other words, time to fight like David, The Stone Slinger!)

Here is how Tim explains it:

“It is essential we understand this distinction between social aggression and asocial violence right now. Social aggression is about competition; asocial violence is about destruction. Competition has rules; destruction has none.” ―Tim Larkin

“Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, the answer will not be violence. It will be avoidance or de-escalation [my input: turn the other cheek). But that one time when violence is the answer, make no mistake, it will be the only answer.” [my thought: Nehemiah, David, Exodus, etc] ―Tim Larkin

Here is Tim on video (link underneath the image):

https://youtu.be/4E0kjMueUs0?si=0G76zeBH02kJkq9g

Social aggression: Did you get a nasty comment on your social media post from some loser hanging out in his pajamas in the basement with cheetoh dust in his belly button? Then brush it off and don't give that loser the time of day
Asocial violence: Is someone threatening you physically and you have no choice but to swing away, then fight. Is someone trying to cancel your social media because they can't handle the truth? The Fight and Swing back!

Turn The Other Cheek?

Now that you know what Jesus meant by "Turn The Other Cheek," you no longer have to be manipulated or gas-lit by culture who is trying to suppress you and keep you from standing against evil.

Use your common sense. Raise Your Testosterone. Love God, hate evil.

Have a great week.

Turn The Other Cheek? THIS is what JESUS Really Meant!

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