Whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain.

Matthew 5:41

A brother in South China had a rice field in the middle of the hill. In time of drought he used a waterwheel, worked by a treadmill, to lift water from the irrigation stream into his field. His neighbor had two fields below his, and one night he made a breach in the dividing bank and drained off all his water. When the brother repaired the breach and pumped in more water his neighbor did the same thing again, and this happened three or four times. So he consulted his brethren. “I have tried to be patient and not to retaliate,” he said, “but is it right?” After they prayed together about it, one of them observed, “If we only try to do the right thing, surely we are very poor Christians. We have to do something more than what is right.” The brother was much impressed. Next morning he pumped water for the two fields below, and in the afternoon pumped water for his own field. After that the water stayed in his field. His neighbor was so amazed at his action that he began to inquire the reason, until in due course he too found Christ. “Right or wrong” is the principle of the Gentiles and tax gatherers (verse 46). Not that, but conformity to him, must govern my life.

Watchman Nee

No one in their own power can live a life pleasing to God for even choosing right is often not sufficient. Again and again Jesus set the standard higher than the accepted norm for righteousness. At the very beginning of His ministry He gave what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Included in this discourse are the Beatitudes. What an interesting word for broken into two it is be-altitudes meaning that these are the attitudes that Christ expects us to have.

If we pay careful attention to the Sermon on the Mount, we discover that Christ took the law of Moses far beyond the outward expression and the keeping of it. He insisted that what was on the inside of us was more important than what we do outwardly. As a matter of fact, Christ said that all outward sin begins in our hearts.

“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery hell. “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery‘’; but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “It has also been said, ‘’Whoever divorces his wife let him give her a certificate of divorce”; but I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on grounds of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery. “Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, “You shall not make false vows, but you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord as [a religious duty].’ But I say to you, do not make an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God; or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; or by Jerusalem, for it is . Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you are not able to make a single hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’ [a firm yes or no]; anything more than that comes from the evil one. “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth‘ [punishment that fits the offense].’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person [who insults you or violates your rights]; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other toward him also [simply ignore insignificant insults or trivial losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity, your self-respect, your poise]. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].”

Matthew 21-22, 27-28, 31-39, 44-45

Each of these statements begin with: “You have heard it said, but I say unto you.” And then Christ goes to the heart of the matter-pun intended- and says to us that what is in our thoughts is just as important as what we do with our hands. We usually would agree that murder and revenge are wrong things but what about anger and revenge? Christ said that harboring anger even if we don’t follow up with murder is beneath His expectation for His followers. And the old Chinese proverb that says to those who start on the road to revenge, should dig two graves fittingly describes the end of “an eye for an eye” justice. Even the Old Testament taught that vengeance and justice belong to the Lord.

Perhaps there may be those of us who believe, as Peter did, that they have figured out Christ’s laws. One day as Jesus was teaching, He was asked, “How often should I forgive my brother for his offenses against me?” Peter says, Seven?” In Peter’s defense, the standard taught by the priests was the same society sets today. Three strikes and you’re out. After three times we are then open to enact justice. Peter, perhaps seeking to impress Jesus with his spirituality decides to double the standard and then add one. I’m sure he felt he had a satisfactory answer that would please Christ. He must have been shocked when Christ replied, “Not seven times but seventy times seven.” I hope, like Peter, we have learned that there are no human standards, laws, or moral values that can measure up to those of Christ and yet He actually expects His followers to measure up. That’s why He sent the Holy Spirit to assist us.

In another story, when asked about the greatest commandments, one of which was to love our neighbor as we love self, a listener wishing to justify himself asked, “Who is my neighbor.” This prompted Jesus to tell the story of the Good Samaritan-a oxymoron to a Jew for good and Samaritan didn’t fit in the same sentence. Nonetheless Christ made it clear that anyone in need was our neighbor.

Loving our enemies, going the second mile, forgiving others sins against us and being mindful of our heart condition are hard but not impossible if we will ask Christ to help us. Like the Chinese farmer with God’s help we can go the second mile. We’ll be glad we did.

Dr. John Thompson