Jesus espoused some counter-cultural beliefs, when he talked about the principle of Pardon in his Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, we read:
- "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God" (Matthew 5:23-24).
A handful of verses later, Jesus spends two full paragraphs deflating the normal, human idea of revenge:
- "You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow."
"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:38-48).
In this instance, Pardon isn't just something we receive from God--it’s something we offer to other people. Even worse, it's about pardoning people who don't deserve it.
Why would Jesus condemn us to such a lifestyle of depressing piety? Does he just want us to be a bunch of doormats who let the world walk all over us? Or is he hoping to raise an army of one goody-two-shoes after another so we can kill the enemy with kindness?
Or is it possible that Jesus is teaching us something completely different? Look at the examples he uses in Verses 38-42. If someone slaps you on one cheek, let them slap you on the other. If someone takes your coat from you in court, give them your shirt, too. Don't just put up with a demand to shoulder a burden--put in extra effort and carry it farther.
All of these instances, if they happen to us, would probably cause us to stamp our collective feet, clench our collective fists, and let out a collective, "But it's not fair!" Jesus is really pushing our buttons with these examples--in each of them, something completely unfair happens in the first place, and he says not only not to put up a fuss, but also to let them get away with more than they did originally.
Why? What's his point? Why would he then continue, in Verses 43-38, to tell us that we have to love our enemies? That we have to be kind to them? He really twists the knife, too, in Verses 46 and 47, pointing out that even ungodly and corrupt people can be nice to someone who's already being nice.
Again: what's the point? Maybe--just maybe--Jesus is showing us how he feels. We've all messed up, we've all made mistakes, some of us seemingly more than others, but not one of us is perfect.
The good thing about Jesus is that, through his life on earth, death on the cross, and resurrection back to life, we can have those past mistakes erased. We can be Pardoned for them.
But not all of us choose Pardon. Some of us choose to wallow in our mistakes, to keep doing wrong, to choose our own selfishness over Christ's sacrifice. And when we do that? We slap him on the cheek.
But Jesus being Jesus, he shows us the other cheek. His offer of Pardon still stands, no matter how many times we resist or refuse it.
God says, "I'm more concerned with your heart and your relationships with my other children. Take care of that immediately. Don't wait. There is no time to lose."
We must Pardon others, and we must receive Pardon for ourselves. This is where the true world-changing begins.
Walt KallestadPresident, ReignDown USA
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