Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
March 24, 1985
Cowards of the County
Matthew 5:38-42, NIV
December 1984. Four black youths in a crowded New York subway surrounded a thin white man. They asked him for five dollars so they could play video games. Without saying a word, Bernhard Goetz pulled out a .38 revolver and shot each one in rapid succession. He then checked the first three to see that they were "taken care of," in his words. When he came to the fourth one, Goetz didn't see any blood. So he said, "You don't look too bad, here's another." The bullet struck nineteen year old Darrell Cabey in the spinal cord, which has paralyzed him and left him in a coma to this day.
What should you, as a Christian, do in such a situation?
Apparently many people can justify everything. Goetz did. Before he turned himself in, police put up wanted posters with a sketch of him on it. Subway passengers drew halos on the posters. More thoughtful people have said they can see his need to defend himself, but the last shot seems to have been nothing but brutal vengeance.
Still others would argue, on the basis of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, that Goetz should not even have defended himself. He should have turned the other cheek and given them the five dollars. Then given them the shirt off his back, and anything else they wanted (Luke 6:29).
Today's passage is very well known. We all know it's in the Bible, but we don't know what to do with it. If Jesus is saying what we think he is saying, it doesn't seem very practical.
As a young child I remember seeing an old western movie on television. The cowboys were holed up in a house that was surrounded by hundreds of murderous Apaches. The Indians were racing their horses in a circle around the house while the pale faces blasted away at them. Suddenly a black-robed preacher in the house told them to stop firing. He said, "Let me go out and talk to them about the love of God." So he grabbed his Bible and headed out the door. Silence - broken by the thud of arrows into the pacifists. The cowboys resumed firing and predictably saved themselves. As a little kid I remember thinking - that guy was dumb!
From the Kenny Rogers song about the Coward of the County, to the press conference where President Reagan dares his opponents to "make my day", Americans have put their faith in resistance. Giving in to someone else is wimpy. But is that what Jesus wants us to do?
I have come up with an answer - Yes and No. Jesus is saying we should give in to others, but he is not necessarily saying you can't defend yourself.
Let's start at verse 38. Jesus quotes an Old Testament saying:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'"
Three of the books by Moses contain it - Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The idea is nothing new. It is found in the Law Code of Hammurabi, which dates eight hundred years before Moses. Hammurabi says:
"If a man has shattered a rich person's leg, you shall shatter his leg. If he has caused a poor man to lose an eye, or shattered a poor man's leg, he shall pay one pound of silver."
Apparently he thought some legs were worth more than others. The Old Testament is much more democratic.
"Eye for an eye" sounds harsh to us but it had a merciful purpose. One of the earliest examples of retribution in the Bible is found in Genesis 4:23-24. Lamech lets his wives know what happens to people who mess with him:
Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
Instead of letting people take all the revenge they wanted, "an eye for an eye" limited their retaliation. If someone knocked out your eye, at most you could knock out their eye. You couldn't break his legs and burn his house down for good measure. In actual practice, the victim did not gouge out the other man's eye in the Old Testament. Instead, he received a cash payment for his lost eye. (see Exodus 21:26-27)
Another humanizing aspect is the fact that "an eye for an eye" was a principle for the courts. In the Old Testament the phrase always occurs in a legal setting. It was not intended for personal vendettas. As a matter of fact, revenge is explicitly prohibited. Turn in your Bibles to Leviticus 19:18. God says:
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
The Jews of Jesus' day missed this point. They not only wanted the principle of an eye for an eye in the courts, they wanted it in their personal dealings in order to get revenge. Their attitude was: How much can I retaliate without breaking the law?
In his reply Jesus does not reject the principle of retribution. Much of his teaching, such as the final judgment of God, is based on this principle. Instead of rejecting the principle, Jesus brings up one area where it should not be used - personal relationships. Personal relationships are to be based on love, not justice. When people wrong us we should not retaliate, but accept the injustice without revenge.
As Jesus puts it literally in verse 39:
"Do not resist an evil person."
The King James says merely "Resist not evil." This gives the idea we cannot oppose sin or something like that. However, the word "evil" is in the masculine case, which means wicked people are in view.
The four short illustrations which follow all deal with the idea that Christians should not seek revenge or even our own way. Each illustration introduces a person who is trying to injure us; one by striking us in the face, another by suing us in court, a third by drafting us and a fourth by begging money from us.
Jesus is asking quite a bit here. To get struck on the right cheek is an insult in the Middle East - they use the back of the hand to do it. Jesus says you should not only endure it, but allow them to slug you on the other side.
If they sue you for the coat off your back, give them your T-shirt as well. This is extreme because in the Old Testament you couldn't sue for clothes - but Jesus says fork them over.
The third illustration of going the second mile is more obscure. In those days soldiers could force civilians to carry their equipment. This is what happens when soldiers force Simon of Cyreme to carry Jesus' cross.
In each illustration Jesus says our Christian duty is not only to forget revenge but even to let them double the injury. This seems like he is ordering us to be doormats. But Jesus never describes weaklings who offer no resistance. Instead he describes strong people whose control of themselves and love for others are so powerful that they reject every form of retaliation.
To me this sounds very Biblical. The more I study the scriptures the more I see this principle. But I still have a struggle. Just how far should I take it? If we start giving away our T-shirts, we'd all end up naked. If I gave to everyone who asked for money, I would be broke myself. It doesn't seem very practical. I keep thinking of the frontier preacher and the Apaches.
Most scholars see a degree of overstatement in Jesus' words. For example, no one in the New Testament ends up naked. However, be careful that you don't write off all of it. There are many occasions when Jesus' teaching can be obeyed literally. It may not be practical in the sense that you come out ahead, but Jesus never promised that.
Let's say you've been insulted at work. Somebody really put you down and made you look like a jerk. How did you react? If Christ rules in your heart you should not only forget about revenge, but even forgive them.
Perhaps it has gone beyond words and gotten physical. It can happen. As one example, I'll mention Tom Skinner, the black evangelist. Tom was the leader of the largest gang in New York City, The Harlem Lords. His conversion to Jesus Christ was so real he left the gang the next day, turning from a life of violence to preach the gospel. He had an immediate victory over crime and cruelty. Several weeks after he was saved, Tom was playing in a football game. During the game he blocked a member of the other team while his own halfback scored a touchdown. As Tom got off the ground and headed back to his huddle, the boy he had blocked slammed him in the stomach and threw him to the ground. The white player kicked him and made racist remarks. Under normal circumstances he would have pulverized the boy, but instead, he got up, looked him in the eye and said, "You know, because of Jesus Christ, I love you anyway."
As it turned out, the other boy later apologized; but even if he hadn't, Tom did the right thing.
Don't say the teachings of Jesus cannot be followed. If Christ lives in you they can be. What is more - they have to be.
____________________________
THE COWARD OF THE COUNTY
Sung by Kenny Rodgers
Written by Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler
Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow,
But something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.
He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison.
I looked after Tommy 'cause he was my brother's son.
I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy:
Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun.
Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man.
There's someone for ev'ryone and Tommy's love was Becky.
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man.
One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'.
They took turns at Becky.... there was three of them!
Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin'.
The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.
He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddy's picture.
As his tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again:
Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man.
The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom.
One of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor.
When Tommy turned around they said, hey look! ol' yellow's leavin'
But you coulda heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and blocked the door.
Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all.
When Tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'.
He said, this one's for Becky, as he watched the last one fall.
And I heard him say,
I promised you, dad, not to do the things you done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man.
Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.
________
Typed on February 19, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Full featured multi-format Help generator