00:02Today, today I'm going to empower many of you, and I'm going to do it by helping you
00:08to understand some of the most misunderstood words that ever came out of the mouth of Jesus
00:14Christ.
00:16Turn the other cheek.
00:19It may be one of the most misunderstood things Jesus ever said.
00:24People hear those words and imagine Jesus telling Christians to become weak, passive, and easy to abuse.
00:32They picture a believer standing still while someone humiliates them, hurts them, and then walks away without resistance.
00:43That is not the Jesus we meet in Scripture.
00:47Jesus was gentle with wounded people, but he was never timid with corrupt people.
00:54He comforted the broken, but he confronted the powerful.
01:00He challenged religious leaders in public.
01:03He exposed hypocrisy.
01:06He called out greed, pride, and spiritual manipulation.
01:10He entered the temple courts, overturned tables, and drove out people who were turning worship into exploitation.
01:21Jesus did not live to keep everyone comfortable.
01:26He spoke truth even when truth made people angry.
01:30He stood alone when others backed away.
01:33He refused to flatter powerful men, and he did not change his message when threats began to rise around him.
01:43Jesus was not weak.
01:45He was controlled.
01:47And you know what?
01:49There's a difference.
01:51When Jesus said,
01:54If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
02:00Totally misunderstood.
02:03People picture that as,
02:05Hey, if somebody slaps you across your face,
02:07Turn to them the other cheek and let them slap you again.
02:11And then it's totally okay.
02:12They get to walk away.
02:14And you get to be a good Christian who just got slapped around.
02:18Jesus was not teaching people to enjoy abuse.
02:23He was teaching them how to face evil without becoming controlled by it.
02:29The passage begins with revenge.
02:31Jesus referred to some familiar words.
02:36An eye for an eye.
02:37And a tooth for a tooth.
02:40Now, that principle had originally placed limits on punishment.
02:44It prevented someone from answering a small injury with extreme retaliation.
02:51But people have always wanted more than justice.
02:56They want revenge.
02:57You embarrass me, so I destroy you.
03:02You insult me, so I insult you worse.
03:06You hurt me, so I make sure you suffer longer than I did.
03:10But, Jesus stepped directly into that cycle and said,
03:15In effect, it stops with you.
03:19That is not weakness.
03:22That is strength strong enough to break a pattern that has controlled humanity for generations.
03:29You see, there's a meaning in the way Jesus describes the strike.
03:34I want you to think about this.
03:38He specifically mentioned the right cheek.
03:40Now, for a right-handed person, to strike someone on the right cheek, the blow would most naturally come from
03:50the back of the hand.
03:51Now, that was not only an attack.
03:54That was an insult.
03:55A backhanded slap was meant to humiliate someone, to place that person beneath the attacker, and to send the message,
04:06You are less than I am.
04:09Now, picture what Jesus told the victim to do.
04:14Do not collapse.
04:16Do not beg.
04:18Do not lose control.
04:20Do not swing wildly in rage.
04:23Turn your face, and look the person directly in the eyes.
04:31Stand there.
04:32Still upright.
04:34Still calm.
04:36Still possessing yourself.
04:39Turning the other cheek was not saying,
04:43Please hurt me again.
04:45It was saying,
04:47You did not destroy me.
04:49It was a refusal to accept the identity the attacker was trying to impose.
04:55The person striking you wanted fear.
04:58They want submission.
05:01They want to reduce you.
05:04But when you turn and face them,
05:07You are saying,
05:09You may have struck my face, but you don't own my dignity.
05:14You do not control my response.
05:17You do not decide who I become.
05:21You see, that takes more strength than throwing a punch.
05:25Anyone can react in anger.
05:28Anyone can become violent when pride is wounded.
05:32Anyone can allow a rage to take control.
05:37Jesus was teaching something much harder.
05:41Remain powerful without becoming cruel.
05:46Remain truthful without becoming hateful.
05:49Remain courageous without surrendering your soul to revenge.
05:54You know, we see Jesus practice this during his own arrest and interrogation.
06:02An officer struck him across the face.
06:05Jesus did not strike him back.
06:08But he also did not lower his head and pretend that nothing happened.
06:14He challenged the man.
06:16If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong.
06:22But if I spoke the truth, then why did you strike me?
06:28Now, that's not a weak response.
06:32You see, Jesus made the officer face his own injustice.
06:35He did not scream.
06:37He did not beg.
06:39And he did not become violent.
06:43He stood in truth and demanded an answer.
06:47That's what turning the other cheek looks like.
06:51It's not silence.
06:53It's controlled confrontation.
06:55It's not surrendering your value.
06:59It's refusing to let another person's sin determine your character.
07:05Now, Jesus never taught that people must remain trapped in dangerous situations.
07:12He himself sometimes withdrew from crowds that endangered him.
07:19He told his disciples that when they were persecuted in one town,
07:24they should leave for another.
07:27Walking away from danger is not cowardice.
07:31Setting a boundary is not hatred.
07:35Calling the police is not revenge.
07:40Reporting abuse is not a failure to forgive.
07:46And protecting a child, a spouse, a vulnerable person, or yourself
07:51does not violate the teachings of Jesus.
07:56Turning the other cheek does not mean repeatedly placing yourself
08:00within the reach of someone committed to hurting you.
08:04It means that even when you leave, confront, report, testify, or seek justice,
08:13you refuse to let hatred take command of your heart.
08:18Jesus understood power better than anyone.
08:23When soldiers came to arrest him, one of his disciples drew a sword and attacked.
08:30Jesus stopped him.
08:32He said he could call upon his father and receive legions of angels.
08:38Jesus was not helpless in that garden.
08:41He was surrounded.
08:43But he was not overpowered.
08:46He could have escaped and he could have called for heavenly force.
08:51He could have answered violence with destruction.
08:56You think God can't cause destruction?
09:01Yeah.
09:02But Jesus chose restraint because he was committed to something greater than self-preservation.
09:11That's why the cross cannot be understood as weakness.
09:17Jesus did not die because he lacked the strength to resist.
09:21He gave his life because he possessed the strength to remain faithful when resistance would have been easier.
09:30He stood before governors, soldiers, religious authorities, and an angry crowd, without begging any of them for approval.
09:41He carried the cross without allowing hatred to enter his heart.
09:45He forgave while being tortured.
09:48He remained obedient while people mocked him.
09:52The world looked at him and saw a defeated man.
09:57Well, the world was wrong.
10:01Jesus was doing what no violent ruler, warrior, or empire had ever been strong enough to do.
10:09He was defeating evil without becoming evil.
10:14That's the power behind turning the other cheek.
10:18The world says strength means making people fear you.
10:23Jesus showed that strength means refusing to be ruled by fear.
10:28The world says strength means getting even.
10:33Jesus showed that strength means having the ability to retaliate and choosing not to surrender to revenge.
10:42The world says the strongest person is the one who hurts his enemy the most.
10:48Jesus showed that the strongest person may be the one whose enemy cannot corrupt him.
10:57Turning the other cheek does not mean I am worthless so you may do whatever you want with me.
11:04It means you have shown me who you are.
11:08Now I will show you who I am.
11:13I will stand.
11:15I will speak the truth.
11:17I will protect the innocent.
11:20I will confront what is wrong.
11:24I may leave your presence and never give you another opportunity to harm me.
11:31But I will not let you turn me into a hateful, bitter, uncontrolled version of yourself.
11:41Jesus was not soft in the way people often imagine.
11:47He was compassionate, but he was unshakable.
11:51He was peaceful, but he was dangerous to every system built on lies.
11:57He was merciful, but he never confused mercy with cowardice.
12:04Jesus was strong enough to face violence without worshiping violence.
12:11He was strong enough to comfort injustice without being consumed by vengeance.
12:21He was strong enough to absorb hatred without returning it.
12:26turning the other cheek was never a command to become weak.
12:34It was a command to become so strong that another person's evil could no longer control you.
12:46Now you understand.
12:49God bless you, my friends.
12:52My name is Douglas Van der Graaff, and I believe in Jesus Christ.
12:58And may God bless every single one of you.
13:02Every single one.
13:09Bye-bye.
13:10Bye-bye.
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