Matthew 5:39. Resist not evil (‘wrong'),or, ‘the evil man.' The general principle governing all the cases mentioned. Lange: ‘Our Lord refers to sin and evil in the world, which is conquered by wise Christian submission rather than by strenuous resistance. To be merely passive, were weakness; but a non-resistance, from Christian principle and for a spiritual object, is true strength and real victory.'

But whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, etc. An application of the principle to a case of violence against the person. Christian love must make us bear twice as much as the world, in its injustice, could demand. This neither justifies the world in its demand, nor requires passive non-resistance, since the example of Christ (John 18:22) and His Apostles show that there is a time for standing upon our rights. The literal observance may be Pharisaical, yet when rendered in the true spirit, has often most successfully overcome violence. These remarks apply in general to all the cases adduced.

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Old Testament