Jesus said some things that are easy to put on a coffee mug and incredibly difficult to actually live.
“Turn the other cheek” is one of them.
In Matthew 5:38–39, Jesus says:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”
Our natural response when someone hurts us is to hurt them back. Maybe not physically. Maybe we retaliate with words. Maybe we tell someone else what they did. Maybe we become cold. Maybe we quietly wait for an opportunity to make sure they feel what they made us feel.
But Jesus calls us to something different.
Paul writes in Romans 12:17, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” A few verses later he says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
That’s the heart of turning the other cheek.
It doesn’t mean pretending evil is good. It doesn’t mean remaining in an abusive or dangerous situation. It doesn’t mean that Christians aren’t allowed to establish boundaries or pursue justice.
It means revenge doesn’t belong to us. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19).
Jesus isn’t asking us to be weak. He’s asking us to have enough faith to put justice in God’s hands instead of taking it into our own.
And Jesus didn’t merely teach this. He lived it.
Isaiah prophesied of Him, “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard” (Isaiah 50:6). Peter later described Jesus’ response to His suffering: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23).
Think about that.
Jesus had the power to stop them. He could have answered every insult. He could have crushed every enemy. Instead, hanging on the cross, He prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
That is strength unlike anything this world understands.
Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Paul takes it even further: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” (Romans 12:20).
That’s hard.
But maybe that’s exactly why it looks so much like Jesus.
So, who has hurt you lately? Who are you arguing with in your head? Whose name makes your blood pressure rise just a little?
Maybe following Jesus this week means laying down the perfect comeback. Maybe it means refusing to gossip. Maybe it means praying for somebody you’d much rather complain about.
Turning the other cheek doesn’t say, “What you did was okay.”
It says, “What you did will not determine who I become.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9