Turn the other cheek

[Shmanu YAH]

shalom mishpacha, "All praises, glory and honor to the Most High YHWH" - and todah YHWH for Yahushua as our redeemer.
                                                        I pray all is well with you and yours.

In this quick sharing of scriptural understanding I'd like to look into a inept teaching and conseqentually a grave misunderstanding we have all heard since childhood whether you ever read the bible or not. The particular passage I'm referring to comes from Yahushua during what we call his "sermon on the mount".

Yahushua stated quite a few things during this speaking to the crowds but the thing that gets incorrectly explained the most by teachers is today we find in Matthew chpt. 5:39 but to understand it in it's proper context we MUST read 5:38-45, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 5:39 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. 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 5:44 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; 5:45 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". ......- he was simply teaching temperance!

These are not hard sayings and not hard to understand if you look at them according to who he was speaking to and the behavior of mankind at that time. As usual I like to confirm the definition of words before attempting to understand what was givin, the words "ayab" and "oyeb" are similar but not exactly the same but still can be defined as: to be hostile towards / be a enemy of / to be a foe, etc. (Strong's 340 and 341), and we need to know this so we can go foward with a stronger understanding of what he was conveying to them for a beneficial purpose... their own well-being!

The first statement we hear him recite here is from torah which he never broke but just wanted us to use wisdom to look at and consider the end result. We had first read in sh'mote / exodus 21:24-25, "....eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe". .....- It's not difficult to realize the most high YHWH wanted moshe to teach his people to be civilized, behave themselves, respect the bodies of others ( that HE created not them ) and if you don't you will pay with your own precious body parts. The most high was warning his people there be be consequences and repercussions for the disreguard of another's person.

Next we need to look at what h'mashiach was conveying to them about retaliation. In ancient times and even until now some of the most ultimate insults a person can heave upon another is to spit on them or slap in their face (especially publicaly), If a adversary slapped you with a open hand they were publically demeaning / humiliating you but if they continued with a back-hand to the other side of your face they were challenging you also... oh oh! However Yahushua in his ultimate wisdom knew where this would go if you retaliated, he knew right off the top that it was a act to provoke you to carnality over spituality and do what most of us (at least me) would do and go ballistic showing NO self-control or restraint.

Yahushua wants his followers to behave like him during insults and NOT retaliate in like measure so we can not be conqured but conqurers! Yahushua wants us to turn the other cheek to the insulter and let everybody know we have the mastery over them - and not them and their wickedness over us, or as some say: "is that all you got! ". Yahushua not only talked it but he walked it later as we read in Matt. 26:67-68, "....then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 26:68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou mashiach, Who is he that smote thee? .....- not only did they try to publicaly humiliate him and challenge him, they also taunted him - can you say provocation? and did he strike back?

Yahushua demonstrated this control for our own long-term well being and to remind us if we are truly children of he most high ( 5:45 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") then we need to remember our heavenly father has endured centuries of our insults to him and throwing of his commands behind our backs and serving pagan gods but yet he never went ballistic on us, he just made us go through punishing captivities to stop our rebellion and he still forgave us. What is mis-taught by the unskilled is we ought to stand around while people victimize us or our family and friends and wait till jesus come down and stop them, ... pure stupidity! Do these morons know the difference between a adversary and a enemy? anyone can be adversarial towards you by not agreeing with you or taking a opposing postion/stance against you, thats not as treacherous as being a all out enemy that wants to destroy you. Where in the scripture does it say stand there and let a enemy attack you and destroy you?

Lets take a modern application to this perverted contradiction - Many pastors, religious leaders, etc... ask for their congregations to pray for the safety of those that have grown up and joined the military to support their countries, even though they don't personally endorse wars why are they proud of the soldiers?...isn't that fighting? Why don't they tell ALL the world's leaders to "turn the other cheek"? Why don't they tell the soldiers not to fight but to "turn the other cheek"?... see the supidity?. Satan himself want's to destroy us, but did h'mashiach say stand there and let him do it?

Many people incorrectly taught in this day and age are so far removed from the law of the most high they wouldn't even know what YHWH allows if a criminal is breaking into their very homes or on their property. In sh'mote 22:2 we learned, "If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him". .....- again this is NOT what the most high wants, but what he permits to discourage lawless behaviour.

A man after YHWH's own heart sung a praise to him giving him credit for his successes, in psalms 144:1 melek Dawid sung, "Blessed be YHWH my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight" .....- I simply call that "giving credit where credit is due".

In the basar aka good news another perverted teachings comes from a misunderstanding of Matthew 26:51-54, ... and, behold, one of them which were with Yahushua stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 26:52 Then said Yahushua unto him, "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 26:54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?". ....- You have to be beyond goofy to teach folks Yahushua said weapons are bad! , firstly he told his disciple "put thy sword into it's place" ... meaning it had a place, but not right now, secondly he was teaching ALL matters can't be resolved with violence or you will find that out the hard way, thirdly he was letting them know only his abba could protect him from harm, and last but not least he was reiterating that this was the time for the fulfilling of the prophecy and you are holding up progress.

We can all understand why Shymon Kepha wanted to protect mashiach because this wasn't about verbal insults but bodily harm unto death as we read in Luke 22:35-38, ...and he said unto them, "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing?" And they said, "Nothing". 22:36 Then said he unto them, "But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 22:37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end". 22:38 And they said, "Master, behold, here are two swords". And he said unto them, "It is enough". .....- So Yahushua let them know to prepare themselves because it was "about to get real in the battlefield" so to be prepared because he wouldn't be there to protect them physically, - this has nothing to do with turning the other cheek and endure simple insults!

We in these days and times should have the wisdom by now to know when to stand and "fight the good fight" whether physically or spiritually - verses being drawn into provocation by the adversary or as written in 1st. Peter 5:8, "....Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" .....- translation: dont fall for the okey-doke! And we should know by now the difference between protecting self and others which is profitable - verses getting all "riled up" because you were publicly insulted verbally or any other way. I've yet to know of a person that died from a slap to the cheeks or called a name. Most of us heard a saying as children that is saturated with wisdom: "sticks and stones may break my bones but words / names will never hurt me" ... WOW!

Remember what James stated in his epistle 1:20?, "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of Elohym". .....- translation: be on guard!

Whats worse is how the unqualified teachers incorrectly articulate whats recorded in MattitYahu 5:43-44, "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;" .....- they fail to understand the instruction: "love your enemy" ( because maybe our enemies may not really be as bad as we think ) - but the most High NEVER in torah indicated for us to love his enemy, ....for they are schedueled for destruction! ....BIG difference! Any enemy of YHWH is not worth cuddling up to for any reason.

selah and shalom.