Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Pangea Blog

Home

Home
Progressive Christian
Nonviolence 101 – Your Coat, A Longer Walk, & Love Your Enemies (part 4)

Nonviolence 101 – Your Coat, A Longer Walk, & Love Your Enemies (part 4)

Last updated on: July 6, 2011 at 7:50 pm by Kurt Willems

Nonviolence 101 – Your Coat, A Longer Walk, & Love Your Enemies (part 4) 2011-07-06T19:50:22-07:00 Kurt Willems

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The following is part of a fairly long series on the theology and practice of nonviolence. If you would like to read all of the posts, you can do so here.

————————————–

The Shirt off Your Back, and then Some!

This second scenario envisions a situation where a creditor takes a poor person to court to sue them for their shirt. This could be kept as collateral for an unpaid debt, but the coat (cloak) was not to be taken according to Mosaic Law (Ex. 22.25-27; Deut. 24.12-13). A coat (which in a Jewish context would be the only other piece of clothing worn by most people) would not be taken away on humanitarian grounds as it could be used to keep warm, especially at night.[1]

Debt in antiquity under Roman taxation policy was inevitable for common people. Not only did the emperor demand payment from corrupt tax collectors who would take whatever they wanted off the top, but the rich would do whatever they could to gain control of generational property – often owned by poor Galileans. Therefore, the rich charged anywhere from 25-200 percent interest on various ventures, eventually driving them out of their property and leaving the poor person with a large sum of debt.

This situation in the lawcourt presumes that the worst-case scenario has been reached; the only thing worth suing for is the shirt off one’s back! But luckily, the person being sued knows that the coat cannot be taken by force. So, what does Jesus instruct debtor do? He tells such a person not only to give the shirt as payment but to relinquish the coat as well. In doing so, it is not the debtor that would be shamed by the nakedness, but the creditor. This is because in the Hebraic culture it was shameful for the person viewing the nudity, rather than for the naked party (see Genesis 9.20-27). If a person walks out of the courtroom naked, the creditor has not only been stricken with shame because of injustice, but has transferred such to all who will see the debtor without dress. This debtor has now exposed the evils of an unjust debt and tax system, and of the creditor who sued in the first place. Rather than live powerlessly or resort to violent revolution, the oppressed can expose the cruelty of the system by shaming it publicly.[2]

Just One Mile – and No Further

It is commonly known that in the first century Roman soldiers had the right to force a subjugated person to carry his equipment for up to one mile. Law mandated that such soldiers could not have someone carry anything beyond that measure. Imagine being such a person. What about the work that you need to get done simply to survive, and now this arrogant soldier demands that you do his work for him? Jesus’ instructions for the peasant to go the second mile is absurd by first century standards. This impoverished Jewish person who is being taken advantage of has now turned the tables. How will the soldier respond to this Jewish peasant that keeps walking? And, what is the point of going the second mile in the first place? Well, to go a second mile could potentially get the soldier into trouble with his commanding officer, the centurion. Punishment for this extra mile of injustice may include being fined, having food rationed, flogging, or a reprimand; nevertheless, the soldier would be scared of the potential consequences. He may even beg the subversive Jew to put down the pack… what a hilarious scene that could have been! In such a scenario, the powerless have seized the upper hand in the situation and forced their persecutors to recognize the inhumanity of their ways.[3]

In the above predicament a person chooses to be creative over against retaliation. A policy that was used to remind Jews of their subjugation has been subverted to demonstrate their human dignity. Jesus offers a renewed approach to living fully human, one that refuses to join violent revolution movements, to follow a radical revolutionary on a road to the cross.[4]

Love your Enemies

All of the above examples of nonviolent resistance must be rooted in love for enemies (v. 44). This is not a love for only God, but a love for the very people who inflict both physical and social pain. One may wonder if the above examples are actually loving, for they seem to be quite confrontational. But if Jesus is indeed our model for what love looks like, then we must recognize that “his concept of love is apparently not at the level of simply being nice to people and of allowing error to go unchallenged.”[5] Rather, his love for his enemies, such as the scribes and Pharisees, was not without rebuke. So in the cases of the turned cheek, the naked man, and the extra mile, there is indeed the infusion of love for the enemy. This is because “Jesus is not advocating nonviolence merely as a technique for outwitting the enemy, but as a just means of opposing the enemy in a way that holds open the possibility of the enemy’s becoming just also.”[6] In other words, this kind of love extends the possibility of an enemy discovering his or her sin, thus repenting and becoming a friend. But even if this kind of best-case scenario does not come to fruition, one will not have resorted to the pattern of violence that oppressive systems of empire employ. Rather, the one being oppressed has risen above injustice. This is nonviolent resistance.[7]

PS – How do you love someone and shoot them? My answer… it is impossible! (More on the practical questions coming soon!)

[1]. France, The Gospel of Matthew, 221.

[2]. Wink, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium, 103-5.

[3]. Ibid., 106-8.

[4]. Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, 1 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 52.

[5]. France, The Gospel of Matthew, 226.

[6]. Wink, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium, 110.

[7]. Ibid., 110-11.

(Series) Nonviolence 101

Previous Post

February 8, 2011

Nonviolence 101 - Activating the Nonviolent Imagination (part 3)

Next Post

February 10, 2011 The Story of God & Capital Campaigns (Guest Post - Author, Sean Gladding)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Series) All Out War-Spiritual Warfare (Series) Church Plant Journal (Series) Dear Reader... (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times? (Series) Entering the... Conversation (Series) Evangelical Culture Myths (Series) Everything is Meaningless [Pete Enns] (Series) Evolving Evangelicalism (Series) Hell Yes. Hell No! Who Cares? (Series) Hidden Worldviews (Series) If Evolution is Right, what about Adam? (Series) in less than 300 words (Series) Jesus and Nationalism (Series) Liberating Women for Ministry? (Series) Life-Changing Books (Series) Markers of Church Plant Movement (Series) Nonviolence 101 (Series) Philemon - Reconciliation (Series) Quote to Ponder (Series) Red Letter Dialogues (Series) Resource of the Week (SERIES) Revelation Sermons (Series) Share Something Sundays (Series) Simplicity in the Burbs: $2 a day (Series) The Binding of God [Open Theism] (Series) The Creed: Anabaptist Reflections (Series) Values for Church Leadership (Series) Video to Ponder Anabaptism Animal Advocacy Books Church Ministry Church Planting Community Culture Eschatology Eucharist Evangelical Reject Evolution Fundamentalism Greek Greg Boyd Guest Contributors Hell Holy Spirit Israel/Palestine Kingdom of God Lent Missional N. T. Wright Nationalism New Creation Nonviolence Open Mic Open Theism Parenting Passover Paul Philemon Podcast Politics Restorative Justice Revelation (the book of) Rob Bell Ron Martoia Sermon Shane Claiborne Social Justice Speaking Engagement Spiritual Warfare Spirituality Temple Theology Tim Geddert Tribulation Uncategorized universalism Video Blog Women in Ministry Worship Music Youth Ministry

Select a Month August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Support this
Column