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A Higher Standard

Matthew 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."

As our Lenten season comes to an end we want to Lift High the Cross. We have returned to the Gospel of Matthew for some more challenging teaching from Jesus. He opened with the standard that the world is familiar with; "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:" This is a high standard for justice from the book of Exodus, chapter twenty-one, verse twenty-four. This implies equity and ballace. It's not revenge or payback, it's what's fair. This is NOT what Jesus has in mind!

In today's verse it gets very interesting; "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." These words, this idea needs to shock us. We have a defensive reaction; we read all kinds of meaning into God's words. People have gone to great lengths to try get some nuanced meaning from these verses. But, Jesus is a great communicator, His words mean what they say. The old way was to respond in kind, with as good as you got. The NEW way is to offer up yourself for more of what you just got! It's very disturbing to us. Who can do this? 

Jesus is calling His followers to a higher standard of living. His standard. It's a high standard. It's a high cross bar for us to jump. Our saving grace is that He is in it with us. Our sorrows are His sorrows. He took on our sins so we could take on His Righteousness!

The good parts of these daily devotionals are inspired by the sermon at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg Texas. You can watch it by following this link... https://youtu.be/cEd-TPnIiw4
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