I quizzed my kids the other day by reading them part of an article by Deepak Chopra and asking them whether it was true and theologically sound. It brought up a great discussion, the gist of it was this:
Are we to resist evil or not?
In the cited article, Chopra states that Jesus told his followers in Matthew 5:39, “Do not resist evil.” He went on to say that Jesus “gave in to evil and is worshipped for it.” He then blasts Christians by saying that they ignore this teaching and instead “seek revenge” on terrorists, Nazis, murders, and pedophiles. Apparently, Chopra thinks that Jesus words in Matthew 5 (and His going to the cross) mean that Christ-followers should never resist wrongdoing in this world. He concludes, “Now that … punishing all evil-doers to the absolute maximum is the most Christian thing to do, we can all rest easy. Jesus’s most radical ideas have been washed clean from our memories and our conscience.”
A few thoughts:
- First, he misquotes Jesus’ words. Just a slight twist, but it’s in there. My ESV says, “Do not resist the one who is evil.” Some translations say, “Do not resist the evildoer.” In the Greek it literally reads, “Do not resist THE evil.” The word for evil can be translated an evildoer, or just evil. But no matter how the English comes out, it’s clear that Jesus isn’t just making a blanket statement, “Do not resist evil.”
- Jesus came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Obviously the works of the devil are … EVIL. How can you destroy something without resisting it? Clearly Jesus came to resist and to destroy evil.
- James tells us, “Resist the devil” (James 4:7). If we are never to resist evil, how on earth would be resist the devil? Is it possible to tease the two apart? I can’t imagine how on earth you would do that.
So what is a Jesus-follower to do?
Follow Jesus exact words, His methods, His ways.
Jesus overturned evil by personally suffering evil. He resisted evil by refusing to retaliate. The context of Matthew 5:39 is Jesus saying, “Turn the cheek. Offer the cloak. Go the second mile.” When mistreated, Jesus is saying, “There’s actually a better tactic than just merely resisting (or retaliating against) the person mistreating you.”
Don’t fight the person, fight FORCE behind that person.
To Chopra’s credit, though I hate to admit it, I do think some of his observation is correct: As a whole, we Christians haven’t done a great job of enduring personal mistreatment. We’re a very quick lot to defend ourselves. But he’s also mangling Jesus’ message, and (it seems) using the criticism to discredit Christianity as a whole. That sort of sloppy theology and finger-pointing isn’t super helpful, in my opinion.
There’s a lot more I’d love to say, but for now … What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
One thought on “Are we supposed to resist evil or not? What did Jesus really mean?”
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I read this. I read the linked article. His theory is pretty deceptive. Really in line with how Satan rolls…(Not saying he is Satan! But only that deception is Satan’s forte and the article reeks of it. We know Satan loves to twist God’s word and discredit His righteousness and sovereignty…ie…Eve and the fruit)
Jesus is not asking us to forget what the evildoer has done, or to pardon a murderer or pedophile but that we forgive. Isn’t forgiving simply releasing the need to seek vengeance? That need of righting the wrong done? When a murderer is caught and is proved guilty there has to be consequences. Of course God doesn’t want violence to run rampant and overtake us!
““But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.”
Exodus 21:14 NKJV
There are laws. There is forgiveness. We are able to honor and uphold both.