{"id":404,"date":"2014-09-26T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=404"},"modified":"2014-08-30T21:33:38","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T21:33:38","slug":"matthew-538-42-an-eye-for-an-eye-factual-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/09\/matthew-538-42-an-eye-for-an-eye-factual-info.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 5:38-42; An Eye for an Eye (Factual Info)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic,\u201d Jesus preached in his Sermon on the Mount, \u201clet him have your cloak also.\u201d With all this archaic talk of tunics and cloaks, it\u2019s easy to overlook the devastatingly difficult demand of this little statement.<\/p>\n

Consider:<\/p>\n

\u2022 In Jesus\u2019 time, most people wore a thin tunic\u2014a long-sleeved inner garment akin to a modern day undershirt. It was the basic clothing item for men and women, rich and poor alike. Men typically wore shorter tunics, while women wore longer, ankle-length versions.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Over the tunic, people wore an outer cloak made of thicker material (comparable today to a light jacket or heavy shirt). Among the poorer classes\u2014thousands in Jesus\u2019 audience\u2014owning only one tunic and one cloak was the norm.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A person\u2019s outer cloak was considered nearly inviolable. Theft of even the poorest beggar\u2019s cloak could, and most likely would, bring swift legal repercussions.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A garment used as a cloak during the day commonly did double duty at night, serving as a blanket for warmth against the cold. Among the poor, it was their only blanket.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Because a cloak was often used as a blanket, when a person gave his outer cloak as a pledge or collateral, it was required to be returned to him by nightfall. It was unlawful for a cloak to be kept from its owner overnight.<\/p>\n

\u2022 By law, creditors were not allowed to take a poor person\u2019s outer cloak as a collection for debt, regardless of the amount of debt due.<\/p>\n

In the context of Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount then, the cloak and tunic represented not just some random clothing, but everything<\/em> a poorer person might own\u2014literally \u201cthe shirt off his back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus command here wasn\u2019t simply \u201cbe generous,\u201d but for his followers to be willing to be stripped nude, both physically and economically, in order to demonstrate love for a greedy, callous, undeserving enemy. It demanded a complete abdication of a person\u2019s legal and moral rights in favor of kindness toward one who only intended harm.<\/p>\n

This was a hard teaching in Jesus\u2019 time\u2014and it\u2019s no less difficult today. How does it apply in 21st<\/sup> Century American society, particularly in the battleground arenas of politics and social activism? Maybe it\u2019s time for Christians to find out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[BBC, 60; ZB1, 41]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic,\u201d Jesus preached in his Sermon on the Mount, \u201clet him have your cloak also.\u201d With all this archaic talk of tunics and cloaks, it\u2019s easy to overlook the devastatingly difficult demand of this little statement. 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