Understanding the Principle of Turning the Other Cheek
Jesus commands his disciples, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also" [1, 2]. This instruction appears in both Matthew's Sermon on the Mount and Luke's Sermon on the Plain, forming part of a broader teaching on non-retaliation and love for enemies. The saying has generated centuries of interpretation about its scope, its literal application, and its relationship to justice.
The Biblical Context
Matthew's version specifies the right cheek [1], a detail that carries interpretive weight. A blow to the right cheek, delivered by a right-handed person, would typically be a backhanded slap—an insult more than an attempt at physical harm. This gesture conveyed contempt in the ancient world, making it "a very great affront" [5]. The command follows Jesus's statement "don't resist him who is evil" [1], which introduces a series of examples contrasting Mosaic permission for proportional justice with a higher standard of patient endurance.
Luke's parallel account pairs the cheek-turning with another example: "if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well" [2]. This pairing suggests a pattern of voluntary vulnerability rather than a single isolated command. The progression moves from personal dignity (the slap) to material loss (the garments), indicating that Jesus envisions a comprehensive posture toward those who wrong his followers.
Proverbial Expression and Patient Endurance
The early commentators recognized this as proverbial language rather than a rigid legal prescription. John Gill notes that the phrase functions as "a proverbial expression" by which "Christ teaches patience in bearing injuries and affronts, and not to seek private revenge; but rather, suffer more, than indulge such a temper" [3]. The point is not to establish a mechanical procedure for responding to violence but to cultivate a disposition that absorbs injury without retaliation.
This interpretation finds support in Jesus's own conduct. When struck during his trial, he did not literally present his other cheek but responded with dignified restraint: "Our Lord's own meek, yet dignified bearing, when smitten rudely on the cheek, and not literally presenting the other, is the best comment on these words. It is the preparedness, after one indignity, not to invite but to submit meekly to another, without retaliation, which this strong language is meant to convey" [6]. The principle governs the heart's orientation, not merely the body's movements.
Old Testament Background
The image of offering one's cheek to the smiter has roots in Israel's wisdom literature. Lamentations 3:29-30 describes the posture of one who waits for God's deliverance: the sufferer puts his mouth in the dust and gives his cheek to the one who strikes him [4, 5]. In the ancient Near Eastern context, lying face down in the dust expressed submission to a superior power [4]. The gesture acknowledged God's sovereignty even over unjust suffering, trusting that vindication belongs to him rather than to the victim's own hand.
Jesus evidently drew on this tradition when instructing his disciples [4]. The connection suggests that turning the other cheek is not passive resignation but active trust in God's justice. The one who absorbs the blow without striking back demonstrates confidence that God will set accounts right, freeing the victim from the burden of personal vengeance.
The Scope of Non-Retaliation
The command raises immediate questions about its boundaries. Does it forbid all self-defense? Does it apply to public authorities charged with maintaining order? Does it extend to defense of others? The text itself does not answer these questions directly, focusing instead on personal insults and property loss in contexts where the disciple has the option to escalate or absorb.
The instruction to "not resist him who is evil" [1] uses language that could be understood broadly or narrowly. Taken in its immediate context, it contrasts with the lex talionis—the principle of "an eye for an eye"—which Jesus explicitly references in the preceding verse. The contrast suggests that Jesus is addressing personal retaliation rather than all forms of resistance to evil. The meekness he commends is compatible with speaking truth to power, as his own trial demonstrates [6].
Submission and Sovereignty
The posture of turning the other cheek "expresses submission" and "recognizes that God is sovereign even over our suffering" [4]. This theological grounding distinguishes Christian non-retaliation from mere passivity or cowardice. The disciple who turns the other cheek makes a statement about ultimate authority: the one who strikes does not have final power over the victim's dignity or destiny. By refusing to retaliate, the victim testifies that vengeance belongs to God and that human worth does not depend on successfully defending one's honor through force.
This submission is voluntary, not compelled. The command assumes the disciple has the capacity to resist but chooses not to exercise it. The choice itself becomes a form of witness, demonstrating a kingdom ethic that inverts the world's assumptions about power and honor. Those who "take Christ's yoke upon them" should expect to be "filled full with reproach" [5], bearing the contempt of those who measure strength by the willingness to strike back.
Meekness in Instruction
The principle extends beyond physical confrontation to verbal and doctrinal disputes. Paul instructs Timothy to correct opponents "in meekness," even when they are "very perverse and obstinate" [7]. The same spirit that absorbs a physical blow without retaliation also responds to intellectual opposition without harshness. The goal is not to win an argument through force of personality but to create space for God to grant repentance [7]. This application suggests that turning the other cheek names a comprehensive orientation toward those who oppose or injure the disciple, whether the opposition is physical, social, or ideological.
The command thus establishes a pattern of patient endurance grounded in trust that God will vindicate his people. It does not resolve every question about the use of force in defense of others or the responsibilities of civil authorities, but it clearly prohibits personal vengeance and calls disciples to a costly vulnerability that mirrors their Lord's own bearing under insult and injury.
Sources
- Matthew “But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. -- Matthew 5:39”
- Luke “Luke 6:29 (BSB) — If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 6:28: And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek,.... The right cheek, offer also the other; the left cheek, by turning it to him, that he may smite that likewise, if he thinks fit: by which proverbial expression, Christ teaches patience in bearing injuries and affronts, and not to seek private revenge; but rather, suffer more, than indulge such a temper; and for the same purpose is what follows urged: and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also: the phrase is inverted in Matthew; See Gill on Mat 5:39. See Gill on Mat 5:40.”
- Lamentations (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Lamentations 3:29: 3:29-30 In the ancient Near East, lying face down in the dust expressed submission (Gen 17:1-3; Lev 9:24; Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 5:4; 1 Kgs 18:39; 1 Chr 21:16; Matt 17:5-6). • To turn the other cheek also expresses submission. Jesus evidently had this verse in mind when he taught his disciples to submit to persecution (Matt 5:39). This response recognizes that God is sovereign even over our suffering.”
- Lamentations (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Lamentations 3:29: He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him,.... Either to God that afflicts him, and patiently bears it; see Isa 9:13; or rather to men. To be smitten on the cheek is always reckoned a very great affront; to turn the cheek to an injurious man is to give him an opportunity and leave to smite, and signifies the taking of it patiently, and agrees both with our Lord's advice and example, Mat 5:39; he is filled full with reproach; has many reproaches, and the reproaches of many upon him; as such must expect, that take Christ's yoke upon them; see Psa 123:3; and ye”
- Matthew (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Matthew 5:39: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right check, turn to him the other also--Our Lord's own meek, yet dignified bearing, when smitten rudely on the cheek (Joh 18:22-23), and not literally presenting the other, is the best comment on these words. It is the preparedness, after one indignity, not to invite but to submit meekly to another, without retaliation, which this strong language is meant to convey.”
- 2 Timothy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Timothy 2:25: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves,.... To the truth; resist it and deny it; or contradict some other tenets and principles of theirs, or the Scriptures, which they themselves allowed to be the word of God, and the rule of faith and practice, and so are self-convinced and self-condemned. These are to be instructed, being ignorant, and in a tender and gentle manner, though very perverse and obstinate. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth: repentance here designs a repentance of errors in principle, a cha”