chapter five, this is the fifth of the six sayings of the Lord in Matthew chapter five, when he said, you've heard it said, I say unto you, I've loved that, the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he would quote a scripture and he quotes one here. You've heard it being said of them of old, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And actually that is quoted three times in the Old Testament. But I say unto you, this is probably one of the most famous statements of our Lord that most people who know anything about the Bible know he said this when he said, turn the other cheek. And I'm sure people have been mystified by that thought, turn the other cheek.

Now, I want you to imagine this scenario. You've never heard of the Bible. You didn't know who the Lord Jesus Christ was. And someone, the Lord, says, you have heard it been said of them of old, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The law, what men would think of as retaliation, a tit for a tat. This is how the Pharisees viewed this. If somebody breaks your tooth, you break their tooth. If they hit you in the eye, you hit them back in the eye. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And then you hear the Lord say, he that smites you on the one cheek, turn to him the other side also. Allow yourself to be abused, to be mistreated. Don't stand up for your rights. What? Why would I do that?

Verse 40, and if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. Now I want you to think about that. Somebody sues you and takes your coat, give him your cloak as well. Why would I do that? What is the point in that?

Verse 41, and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain, go with him too. Now here is what had taken place at that time. A Roman soldier had the right by law to stop you in whatever you were doing and say, carry my armor and you had to carry it for a mile. Can you imagine the resentment that would create? You wouldn't have any choice. Maybe you're sitting there eating dinner and all of a sudden a Roman soldier sticks his head in your window and says, get out and carry my armor. You had to do it or you might be smitten by that armor you were called upon to carry. You had to do it. Can you imagine the resentment you would feel in that? And can you imagine walking back home that mile and all the things you're thinking about this? And the Lord says, he that compels you to go a mile, go with him too. What? Why would I do that? Go this second mile willingly and voluntarily.

Verse 42, give to him that asketh of thee. Why should I do that? It's mine. I worked hard for it, and somebody just comes up and asks for it, and I'm to give it to him? Give to him that asketh of thee, and he that would borrow of thee, turn thou not away. Now, all this is doing is telling me to negate myself. That's all it's doing. Don't I count? This is telling me to deny myself. Don't I have a right to my stuff? You know, this would make no sense to an unbeliever, would it? Now put yourself in an unbeliever's position and think if someone told them to do this, how they would feel why this is crazy.

But did you know the Lord's not speaking to unbelievers? Look who he's speaking to in Matthew chapter five, verse one and two. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain. And when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth and taught them. Now, I think that's interesting. I don't know if there were large crowds. I don't know if he just left the crowds, went up to the mountain, and the disciples were the only ones who followed him. I'm not sure, but I know this. He was speaking to his disciples.

And what I love about Matthew chapter five, the Sermon on the Mount, is his description of the disciples. They're poor. in spirit." Now, there's no better definition of what a Christian is than the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. They have nothing. It is only as I have nothing to recommend me to God that I can believe Christ is all in my salvation. If I have anything else, I can't see Christ as all. I've got nothing. That's what a believer is. But oh, how rich he is.

Blessed are they that mourn. They mourn over their sin. An unbeliever looks at them and thinks they're so morbid. Why do they even speak that way? But they mourn before God over their sin. Like David said, my sin is ever before me. They look to Christ only.

Blessed are the meek. The meek are those who believe that whatever God does is right. Whatever he brings their way is right. By his grace, they submit. It's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. These are the people he's talking to. People who believe they have no righteousness of their own, but oh, how they hunger and thirst after his.

Blessed are the merciful. They shall obtain mercy. As a matter of fact, the reason they're merciful is because God has shown them mercy. the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.

Now, if God's done that for you, you're gonna be a merciful person. That's what you desire. You wanna be merciful.

Blessed are the pure in heart. That's the heart given in the new birth. pure in heart, holy in heart, the new nature.

Blessed are the peacemakers. They preach the gospel of peace. They're not troublemakers, they're peacemakers.

Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake. And this persecution is not because of, I'm persecuted because of some good work I do, it's because of maintaining that there's only one righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. There is no other righteousness.

Now this is who he is speaking to. Now, these are the salt of the earth. These are the light of the world. And they all without exception live in a world the unbeliever is a stranger to. They live in this world with this understanding.

The earth is the Lord's. and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein." They understand they're living in the world where God is, and He's the first cause behind everything. What a blessing it is to live in that world. There's no such thing as bad luck, chance, bad things happening to me. God is. God is in control. This is my Father's Word.

They all, without exception, believe God is God, and that He doeth according to His will. In the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou? Give an explanation for yourself. He giveth no account of His matters.

We believe the God who is sovereign. We love the God who is sovereign. That's who He is. We live in His world. He's the first cause behind everything, and every believer understands, as much as you can understand this, in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete. I'm complete. I'm not lacking anything. I'm complete. in Him. Nothing lacking. All God requires I have and that can't be taken from me. You can take everything else and it's really of no value that you've taken if I have Him. You are complete in Him.

When your stuff is taken, the Lord's the first cause. When you willingly go the second mile, you do it because the Lord said to do it. If you're to give to that person that asks of you, it's all his anyway. He said, freely you've received, freely give. You see, if you trust him for salvation, and in that, we trust him for salvation, don't we? I love what Abraham said to his son, Isaac, when he said, father, here's the fire, here's the wood, where is the lamb for the burnt offering? My son, The Lord shall provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. All God requires, he provides in salvation and in everything else. You know, if I gave everything I have away, the Lord will provide. We can count on that. We're living in a different world than the unbeliever and they cannot understand this statement by our Lord.

Now, back to our text in verse 38, you've heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And I say, this is found three times in the Old Testament. And do you know it never was meant for personal retaliation? This was a civil law for the judges. Don't punish too severely. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Not two eyes for an eye or two teeth for a tooth. Don't punish too severely. The punishment must fit the crime. Every time this is said, it's said to the judges who judged over Israel. An eye for an eye, be fair in your judgment. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

It was never meant for personal retaliation, but that's the way the Pharisees viewed it. Personal retaliation. You don't give a life sentence to a man or execute him for jaywalking. But the Pharisees used to justify revenge and personal retribution. Some have looked upon this as how society should be ran.

Just turn the other cheek. As a matter of fact, I remember after 9-11, somebody saying in the study after that, The United States was bombed and they said, well, we ought to turn the other cheek. This is not about government. If we turn the other cheek, then we would have been bombed even more. That's not what the Lord is talking about when he's talking about turn the other cheek. He's talking about personal relationships. He's not talking about this is how a government should be ran. It's about the individual actions and attitudes of the believer.

We should turn the other cheek.

Now, someone who believes. and has been saved by the gospel, his view of the world is just different from that of the unbeliever." This doesn't mean he understands everything that's going on. I don't understand why I was unjustly smitten in the cheek. I don't understand why this man has so sued me at the law. I don't understand why I should be required to go this second mile. I don't understand so much why I should give if somebody asked me, and from him that would borrow from me, I should turn away. I don't necessarily understand all that, but I know who the first cause behind everything is. That's all I need to know. I trust his character. Whatsoever the Lord does is right, shall not the judge of the earth do Right, we believe that he is the first cause of everything. And when we believe that, we stop worrying about our rights being violated. How much time do I spend feeling that my rights have been violated? Well, every time I think that way, it's simply because I forgot God is sovereign. He is the first cause behind everything that takes place.

Turn with me for a moment to Romans chapter 12. beginning in verse 17 of Romans chapter 12. Recompense to no man, evil for evil. Don't pay anybody back. Well, he did me wrong, I'm gonna turn around and do him wrong too. An eye for an eye. No, recompense to no man, evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men, if it be possible. It's not always possible, but if it be possible, as much as life in you live peaceably with all men, dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. Turn the other cheek, for it's written vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. We have that assurance. I don't need to, uh, put vengeance on somebody for the way they've done me. The Lord's in control. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord.

Therefore, if an enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. What that means is the worse somebody treats you, the better you treat them. Now that's the words of the Lord.

Now look back in our text in Matthew chapter five. If any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And the only way you can do this is if you believe. And think about how often we don't do this. You know, when I read these verses of scripture, I'm reminded of what a midget I am in grace. I don't know that I've ever fully done any of these things. I've tried to from time to time, and when I do it, I pat myself on the back thinking, well, how gracious you are, and I ended up being worse than I was when I began. But how beautiful this is. Somebody sues you at the law and takes your coat. Give them your cloak also. Doing this thing of Protecting and defending myself is wrong. Simply looking to the Lord to provide for me, overcoming evil with good, and somebody sues me, no matter how unjust I may feel it is, I'm called upon to give him my coat also simply because he said to do it. Is there any other reason needed? If he said to do it, that's enough, isn't it?

You know, I think of when the Lord said to his disciples in Luke chapter 17, he said, If your brother offends you 70 times seven, that's all the time. Yes. Forgiving all the time. And you have the disciples responded, increase our faith. It will take an increase of faith for me to be enabled to do that. Increase our faith.

Verse 41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him too. Now how they hated this law, and I can't imagine how much I would resent that. If I was in the middle of doing something, maybe trying to provide for my family, and all of a sudden I was made to stop, carry my armor. Quit what you're doing and carry my armor. And there I'd carry this heavy armor. I don't know how much it weighed. I'd have to go an entire mile with this guy. And I would be breaking the law if I didn't. Can you imagine how much you would resent that? And you'd be grumbling underneath. And can you imagine once you finished going back home and picking back up and thinking, I can't believe I had to do this. And yet the Lord says, go with him a second mile. Why? Because I said to do it. Go with him the second mile. Actually, that's what I entitled this message. The second mile. Isn't it beautiful? The second mile. Go with him too, when you don't have to, because of his grace to us.

And you know, we should go the second mile in all we do, shouldn't we? Not simply what we have to do or what's required, but go the second mile. In my home, I'd go the second mile being a good husband, being a good wife, being a good parent. On the job, I'd go the second mile. Not just trying to do the minimum requirement, but going the second mile for the glory of God, honoring Christ my Lord. He's my master. In the church, with all the relationships that are involved in the church, go the second mile. Deny yourself. Don't be satisfied with mediocrity. Ask the Lord to enable you to go the second mile in whatever you do. Once again, how we need grace for that. But it's so beautiful.

Verse 42, give to him that asks thee. What if he doesn't deserve it? Give to him that asks thee. No qualifications. Give. Do you know, the Lord moved him to do it. You might not know that. He might not know that. But the Lord's the cause of everything. I love to think of David. He was so down. And Shammai, he's fleeing Absalom this time. And I think everything has gone wrong. And Shammai's cursing him and throwing dirt in the air and just, Abshi, his servant, said, you want me to go take off his head? David said, no. The Lord said, curse David. Would to God that I would remember that with regard to every event, whatever takes place, the Lord said, yes. Give to him that asketh thee. It's more blessed to give than to receive. Give. Time. Some people will not give their time, but they'll give money. Give your time. Give your money. Give your help to the one who asks you. Remember who is the first cause of him asking you, and he that would borrow from you, do not turn him away. Your rights, your possessions, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me.

Look in verse 46 of the same chapter. We'll be looking at this again next week. But look what it says. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only. I'm gonna salute my brethren, but I'm gonna stiffen up at that person I'm mad at. And that person who has offended me. I'm not going to give him that warm salute. If you salute your brother only, what do you more than others? You're not even the public and so. Here's the fact of the matter. Every believer without exception is called upon to do more than others. How beautiful. How glorious. How we desire to do more. than others. I want to be more merciful, more gracious, less nonjudgmental, more forgiving, more helpful.

Look at Luke chapter six for just a moment. Verse 32, for if you love them which love you, what think have you? And that word think is grace. Where's the grace in that? For sinners also love those that love them. And if you do good to them which do good to you, What thank have you? Where is grace in that? For sinners also do even the same. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, where's their grace there? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. But love your enemies and do good and lend, hoping for nothing again. and your reward should be great and you shall be the children of the highest for he is kind unto the unthankful and the evil. Be ye therefore merciful as your father which is in heaven is merciful.

Now everything that I have spoken of is impossible for an unbeliever. He might try and say he does it, but this is impossible for an unbeliever because he doesn't possess faith in Christ, which works by love to Christ. I love that passage of scripture. In Galatians 5, 6, in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith, which worketh by love.

I know this, if I have faith in Christ, which works by love, that which is expressed in the Beatitudes, poor, mourn, meek, merciful, pure in heart, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. If I have that, that means, if that's what I am, that means the Lord's done something for me. And if the Lord's done something for you, you are painfully aware of the opposition of the sinful, selfish nature that is in you, and I'm very painfully aware of the sinful, selfish nature that is in me, to turn the other cheek, to the one who sued me for my coat to give him my cloak. Here it is, take it. To give him that ask, to be willing to go that second mile under such unjust conditions.

Now, here is the reality of this, statement. Who is the one who did turn the other cheek? The Lord Jesus on Calvary's tree when God's wrath fell down upon him as the sin-bearing substitute. bearing the sins of his people. I'm just more in awe of that, that Christ took my sin in his own body on the tree. He bore my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. He is the one who truly turned the other cheek. He didn't retaliate. As a matter of fact, he knew he was guilty. That's why I did. That's why I turned the other cheek. He was guilty. He didn't try to defend himself or retaliate. He turned his other cheek, willingly going to the cross and suffering the wrath of God in the room and place of every believer.

And he was sued at the law. The law condemned him. And what did he do? He gave his coat. He gave his cloak. Talking about someone who has gone the second mile. How truly the Lord Jesus Christ has gone the second mile with me, with every single one of his people. He's the one who fulfilled this second mile. And the Lord gave. The Lord gives, the Lord gave, and he will not turn away.

Listen to this scripture. All that the Father giveth me. I love that, don't you? God's got a people. Christ has a people. They're those the Father gave him, the elect. I love election because I love the God of election. And I know that if he didn't elect a people freely, I'd never be saved. Thank God for his electing mercy. He said, all the father giveth me shall come to me. Every single one of them will. And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise for no reason whatsoever cast away. He gave himself and he will not turn away anyone who comes to him for mercy.

Now, isn't this conduct beautiful? The Pharisees had taken an eye for an eye to stand up for your rights, retaliate. And the Lord says, no, turn the other cheek. Don't stand up for your rights. The Lord's the first cause behind everything. Turn the other cheek. Somebody sues you at the law, take your coat, give them your cloak also. The Lord's in control. That Roman soldier who asked you to go a mile, go with him too, and go the second mile in every aspect of your life. This is what faith, which worketh by love, looks at. I want to be that person. I know I'm so painfully aware of how miserably I fail in every one of these things, but by the grace of God, By the grace of God, I want to be this person. May the Lord make it so.

I love what Paul said to Philemon, knowing that thou wilt also do more than what I say. The second mile.

Let's pray. Lord, how we are awed by the person of your son. How we're awed as we see him turn the other cheek and not retaliate, but accept all your judgment against him because he knew he had taken our sins upon himself. How we thank you that When he was made to be sued by your law, he gave us his cloak. How we thank you he's gone the second mile. How we thank you for him giving and not turning us away. How we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Would you bless us in spite of ourselves for Christ's sake? In his name we pray, amen.