We Must Be Peace-loving And Peacemakers (Matthew 5:38–42)

3 min readMay 8, 2022

“38 “You heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ 39 However, I say to you: Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him. 40 And if a person wants to go to court with you and get possession of your inner garment, let your outer garment also go to him; 41 and if someone under authority impresses you into service for a mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one asking you, and do not turn away from one that wants to borrow from you without interest” (Matthew 5:38–42).
During his arrest which would lead him to death, Jesus Christ forbade the use of weapons, nor even to defend him or defend his cause: “Then Jesus said to him: “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword”” (Matthew 26:52). The murder and the homicide are forbidden, for both personal reasons, and even out of religious or state patriotism. This statement of Christ is a reminder of what it is written in the prophecy of Isaiah: “And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
No longer learning war obviously supposes not to practice both combat sports or martial arts, even those, tinged with religious propaganda which would consist in saying that it is only with “defensive” purpose. Transforming a human body into a “defensive weapon” can quickly become “an offensive weapon” which can injure and until to kill… Christians should not see violent sports performances or films extolling gratuitous violence. This is completely detestable in the eyes of Jehovah God: “Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, And anyone loving violence His soul certainly hates” (Psalms 11:5).
In the Sermon on the Mount, there are no hard-to-understand ideas, which doen not detract from the depth of the teachings. For example, in the laws prohibiting murder and adultery, Jesus Christ emphasized the intentions or motives that may precede these serious sins. Thus, he showed that to avoid reaching such extremes, it is necessary to act upstream. For example, to avoid anger, hatred and resentment and later, possibly homicide, Jesus Christ showed that personality conflicts must be resolved as soon as possible in order to avoid a deadly degradation of the human relationship. Jesus Christ said it is better to settle a problem with your neighbor before praying to God. Jesus Christ explained that to have a good relationship with God, we must have a good relationship with our neighbour. We must solve our problems with our neighbor as soon as possible. Especially if we have sinned against him (Matthew 5:23–26).

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