But I tell you not to resist an evil person.In this phrase, Jesus contrasts His teaching with the prevailing interpretations of the Law. The context is the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus redefines righteousness. The phrase challenges the natural human inclination towards retaliation and self-defense. Historically, the Jewish law allowed for "an eye for an eye" (
Exodus 21:24), which was meant to limit vengeance, not encourage it. Jesus, however, calls for a radical response of non-resistance, which aligns with His teachings on love and forgiveness. This principle is echoed in
Romans 12:17-21, where Paul advises believers to overcome evil with good.
If someone slaps you on your right cheek,
The act of slapping someone on the right cheek in the cultural context of Jesus' time was considered a severe insult, often delivered with the back of the hand. This was not just a physical attack but a challenge to one's honor and dignity. The right cheek is specifically mentioned, suggesting a backhanded slap from a right-handed person, which was more insulting than a direct slap. This reflects the cultural importance of honor and shame in the ancient Near East. Jesus' instruction here is not about physical violence but about responding to personal insults and affronts.
turn to him the other also;
Turning the other cheek is a metaphor for non-retaliation and the willingness to endure further insult rather than seek revenge. This action symbolizes the rejection of the cycle of violence and retaliation. It reflects the character of Jesus Himself, who, when reviled, did not retaliate (1 Peter 2:23). This teaching is a call to embody the kingdom values of humility, patience, and love, even towards one's enemies. It challenges believers to trust in God's justice rather than taking matters into their own hands, aligning with the broader biblical theme of leaving vengeance to God (Deuteronomy 32:35).
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristThe speaker of this verse, delivering the Sermon on the Mount, a foundational teaching moment in His ministry.
2.
The Disciples and the CrowdThe immediate audience of Jesus' teaching, representing both His followers and the broader public.
3.
The Sermon on the MountA significant event where Jesus outlines the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, emphasizing righteousness and moral conduct.
4.
The Roman OccupationThe socio-political context of the time, where Roman authority and oppression were prevalent, influencing the understanding of Jesus' teachings.
5.
The Jewish LawThe backdrop of the Mosaic Law, which included principles of justice and retribution, such as "an eye for an eye."
Teaching Points
Understanding Non-RetaliationJesus calls His followers to a higher standard of love and forgiveness, moving beyond the natural human inclination for revenge.
The Heart of the LawThis teaching reflects the heart of the Law, which is love and mercy, rather than strict retribution.
Practical PeacemakingTurning the other cheek is a practical demonstration of peacemaking, showing strength through restraint and love.
Trusting God's JusticeBelievers are encouraged to trust in God's ultimate justice rather than taking matters into their own hands.
Reflecting Christ's CharacterBy responding with grace and forgiveness, Christians reflect the character of Christ, who exemplified this principle in His own life.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Matthew 5:39?
2.How can we practically "turn the other cheek" in daily conflicts today?
3.What does Matthew 5:39 teach about responding to personal insults?
4.How does Matthew 5:39 connect with Romans 12:19 on vengeance?
5.In what ways does Matthew 5:39 challenge our natural instincts?
6.How can Matthew 5:39 guide our interactions with difficult individuals?
7.How does Matthew 5:39 align with the concept of justice and self-defense?
8.Does "turn the other cheek" in Matthew 5:39 promote passivity in the face of evil?
9.How should Christians interpret Matthew 5:39 in modern-day conflicts or personal disputes?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Matthew 5?
11.How should we respond to insults biblically?
12.What is the meaning of "turn the other cheek"?
13.Why does Jesus say "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39) but then violently cleanse the temple with a whip (John 2:15)?
14.Why would Jesus, allegedly teaching nonviolence, use a whip to drive merchants out of the temple (John 2:14–15)?What Does Matthew 5:39 Mean
But I tell youJesus begins with a deliberate contrast—“I tell you”—showing His divine authority to interpret the Law (Matthew 7:29). He is not denying earlier Scripture; He is fulfilling it (Matthew 5:17). By speaking personally, He places Himself as the final voice on righteous living, echoingDeuteronomy 18:18 where God promised a Prophet who would speak His words.
Not to resist an evil personThe Lord’s directive replaces the instinct to retaliate (Exodus 21:24) with a call to trust God’s justice.
•Romans 12:17-19 reminds believers not to repay evil for evil but to “leave room for God’s wrath.”
•Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I will avenge this evil!’ Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.”
•1 Peter 2:23 points to Christ, “When He suffered, He made no threats,” modeling patient endurance.
This is not a blanket prohibition against civil law or self-defense in life-threatening situations (Romans 13:1-4); it targets the personal urge to strike back when wronged.
If someone slaps you on your right cheekA right-cheek slap in that culture was often a backhanded insult—deeply humiliating yet not lethal. Jesus addresses offenses aimed at dignity and honor.
•Lamentations 3:30 foreshadows this attitude: “Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes.”
•Job 16:10 records mockers striking the righteous.
• Christ Himself was slapped during His trial (John 18:22), validating that this scenario is real, not hypothetical. The call is to absorb personal insults without revenge, entrusting honor to the Father (Psalm 25:2-3).
Turn to him the other alsoGoing beyond passive non-retaliation, Jesus urges proactive grace.
•Romans 12:20-21: feeding an enemy “heaps burning coals on his head,” overcoming evil with good.
•1 Peter 3:9: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.”
•Acts 7:60 shows Stephen echoing Christ’s mercy even as stones fell.
Turning the other cheek:
– refuses to let hatred rule the heart,
– exposes the aggressor’s sin without violence,
– mirrors the cross, where Jesus “while we were still sinners” died for us (Romans 5:8).
This is literal obedience springing from love (John 13:34), not cowardice; it trusts God to defend and convert hearts (Proverbs 16:7).
summaryMatthew 5:39 calls believers to surrender personal vengeance to God, absorb insults without retaliation, and respond with unexpected grace. Jesus, our perfect example, transforms the cycle of hurt into an opportunity to display the gospel’s power, inviting others to see the Father’s mercy through our lives.
(39)
Resist not evil.--The Greek, as before in
Matthew 5:37, may be either masculine or neuter, and followed as it is by "whosoever," the former seems preferable; only here it is not "the evil one," with the emphasis of pre-eminence, but, as in
1Corinthians 5:13, the human evil-doer. Of that mightier "evil one" we are emphatically told that it is our duty to resist him (
James 4:7).
Shall smite.--The word was used of blows with the hand or with a stick, and for such blows fines from a shekel upwards were imposed by Jewish courts.
Turn to him the other also.--We all quote and admire the words as painting an ideal meekness. But most men feel also that they cannot act on them literally; that to make the attempt, as has been done by some whom the world calls dreamers or fanatics, would throw society into confusion and make the meek the victims. The question meets us, therefore, Were they meant to be obeyed in the letter; and if not, what do they command? And the answer is found (l) in remembering that our Lord Himself, when smitten by the servant of the high priest, protested, though He did not resist (John 18:22-23), and that St. Paul, under like outrage, was vehement in his rebuke (Acts 23:3); and (2) in the fact that the whole context shows that the Sermon on the Mount is not a code of laws, but the assertion of principles. And the principle in this matter is clearly and simply this, that the disciple of Christ, when he has suffered wrong, is to eliminate altogether from his motives the natural desire to retaliate or accuse. As far as he himself is concerned, he must be prepared, in language which, because it is above our common human strain, has stamped itself on the hearts and memories of men, to turn the left cheek when the right has been smitten. But the man who has been wronged has other duties which he cannot rightly ignore. The law of the Eternal has to be asserted, society to be protected, the offender to be reclaimed, and these may well justify--though personal animosity does not--protest, prosecution, punishment. . . .
Verse 39. -
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smitethee, etc. The first clause comes here only; the second is found also in
Luke 6:29 (for the principle, cf.
1 Corinthians 6:7). We may notice that, while our Lord most perfectly observed the spirit of this command, he did not slavishly follow the letter of it (cf.
John 18:22, 23). Nor did St. Paul (cf.
Acts 16:35ff; Acts 22:25; 23:3; 25:9,10). We must remember that, while he clothes his teaching with the form of concrete examples, these are only parabolic representations of principles eternal in themselves, but in practice to be modified according to each separate occasion. "This offering of the other cheek
may be done outwardly; but only inwardly can it be always right" (Trench, 'Sermon on the Mount'). We must further remember the distinction brought out here by Luther between what the Christian has to do as a Christian, and what he has to do as, perhaps an official, member of the state. The Lord leaves to the state its own jurisdiction (
Matthew 22:21:
vide Meyer).
That ye resist not; Revised Version,
resist not, thus avoiding all possibility of the English reader taking the words as a statement of fact.
Evil. So the Revised Version margin; but Revised Version,
him that is evil (cf. ver. 37;
Matthew 6:13, note). The masculine here, in the sense of the wicked man who does the wrong, is clearly preferable; Wickliffe, "a yuel man." (For a very careful defence of Chrysostom's opinion that even here
τῷ πονηρῷ refers to the devil and not to man. see Chase, 'The Lord's Prayer in the Early Church').
Shall smite; Revised Version,
smiteth, The right reading gives the more vivid present.
Ῥαπίζω comes in the New Testament here and
Matthew 26:67 only. It is properly used of a stroke with a rod. (For "smiting on the cheeks," cf. the curious rendering of
Hosea 11:4 in the LXX; cf. also
Isaiah 50:6.)
Theeon thy right. Matthew only. Although it is more natural that the left cheek would be hit first (Meyer), the right is named, since it is in common parle, nee held to be the worthier (cf. ver. 29).
Cheek.
Σιαγών, though
properly jaw, is here equivalent to" cheek," as certainly in
Song of Solomon 1:10;
Song of Solomon 5:13.
Turn. The action seen; Luke's "offer" regards the mental condition necessary for the action.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Butδὲ(de)Conjunction
Strong's 1161:A primary particle; but, and, etc.Iἐγὼ(egō)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473:I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.tellλέγω(legō)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 3004:(a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.youὑμῖν(hymin)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.notμὴ(mē)Adverb
Strong's 3361:Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.to resistἀντιστῆναι(antistēnai)Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 436:To set against; I withstand, resist, oppose. From anti and histemi; to stand against, i.e. Oppose.anτῷ(tō)Article - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.evil [person].πονηρῷ(ponērō)Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4190:Evil, bad, wicked, malicious, slothful.[If] someoneὅστις(hostis)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3748:Whosoever, whichsoever, whatsoever.slapsῥαπίζει(rhapizei)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4474:To slap, strike, smite with the hand. From a derivative of a primary rhepo; to slap.youσε(se)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.onεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.yourσου(sou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.rightδεξιὰν(dexian)Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1188:On the right hand, right hand, right. From dechomai; the right side or hand.cheek,σιαγόνα(siagona)Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4600:The jawbone, cheek, jaw. Of uncertain derivation; the jaw-bone, i.e. the cheek or side of the face.turnστρέψον(strepson)Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4762:Strengthened from the base of trope; to twist, i.e. Turn quite around or reverse.to himαὐτῷ(autō)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.theτὴν(tēn)Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.otherἄλλην(allēn)Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 243:Other, another (of more than two), different. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Different.also;καὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.
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NT Gospels: Matthew 5:39 But I tell you don't resist him (Matt. Mat Mt) 
