He Held His Peace

In our scripture study as a family yesterday my eight-year-old son read these words: “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.” He looked at me in disbelief, wondering if he understood this instruction right: “If someone hits you on the cheek, give him the other cheek so he can hit that too?” Indeed this instruction and the verses around it are both shocking when truly considered and at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ. The Savior continued, “And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”  (Matthew 5:39-44). In one word the Savior wants us to love and to do that perfectly—the injunction to “be ye therefore perfect” when taken in context is about perfectly loving all those around us. To follow Jesus we are to bless those who are against us, do good to even those who would do us harm, pray for even those who would persecute us. As He would emphasize at the end of His life, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

            The Savior Himself showed us how to do this in the way that He died. Though at any point during His final hours He could have called down “more than twelve legions of angels” from His Father, He chose not to but died in the way He taught us to live (Matthew 26:53). We read of His treatment in these words: “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands” (Matthew 26:67). Another account says this, “And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him” (Luke 22:63-65). Mark recorded this, “And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.” But Jesus “held his peace, and answered nothing” (Mark 14:61, 65). Indeed He “held His peace” throughout the whole process, never revolting or reviling or speaking out against those who so abused Him. John described similarly, “One of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?” (John 18:22-23) Jesus did not respond in anger or with violence; rather, He stood there questioning peacefully the man, the other cheek readily available to be struck as well if the perpetrator so chose. To the end He responded in love to all of the terrible pain inflicted upon Him in those final hours. His response to all of the hatred thrust upon Him was exactly what He had taught His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, and He died on the cross literally praying for those who persecuted Him: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To truly follow Jesus is no easy path to walk, for we must learn to love all, even those who hate us. Indeed Matthew 5:44 alone is the quest of a lifetime for all who seek to be called by His name.