Chizuk Emunah (Pt 2) Under the Microscope: Chapter 37

Luke 6:27-29, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other, and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also." This injunction is a repetition of what is to be found in Matthew 5:39. These injunctions were and are, however, not only disregarded by the members of the Christian religion, but were not even practised by Jesus himself in the spirit in which the words imply. For in John 18:22, we find that Jesus, when beaten by a bystander, instead of offering quietly his other cheek, very naturally argued with him on the unfairness of such summary proceeding. Nor did Paul silently submit to the order given by the priest, that he should be smitten on the mouth, (Acts 23:2, 3), or offer his cheek in meek contentment, but indignantly swore "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall." If the precept were broken, obviously from its extreme rigour, by the very disciple who promulgated it, it is strange to ascribe to the doctrines of Jesus, as is done in certain parts of the Gospel, a greater degree of practicability than to the original laws of Moses, a fact that must convince every thoughtful man that Christian doctrines are not always infallible.

Troki is absolutely correct in stating that Christians have often disobeyed this teaching. In this passage, Luke is recording one of the proverbs Jesus was teaching to the crowds. I feel like I have told people a million times that most of the teachings of the Jewish sages were expressed with hyperbole. They were exaggerated in order to be more easily memorized. Remember that in Matthew, Jesus told his followers that faith the size of a mustard seed could move mountains, and that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out.

Jesus was responding to the popular movement of zealotry, inspired by the Maccabees during the revolt against the Seleucids. The Jews were greatly resentful of their Roman overlords, and many wanted to throw them out violently the way that they threw out the Greeks just a couple of centuries earlier. Jesus argued against this Zealot movement, a movement which not only failed to achieve its goals, but resulted in the destruction of the ancient Jewish state of Israel.

Troki simply becomes pedantic when he faults Jesus for rebuking people who struck him and Paul for rebuking the priest. Neither took up arms, and Jesus in fact told Peter to put away his sword. Both took the route of peace, and only historical revisionists will try to paint Jesus like a Zealot. There is simply too much attestation to the contrary.