Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comThrough the Bible Day by Day - Matthew 5:38 - 5:38
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Brotherly Relationship
Mat 5:38-48
In mentioning the second mile, our Lord refers to a well-known Eastern custom of forwarding messages by relays of forced labor. We leave our homes on a given morning, anticipating no evil. Suddenly and unexpectedly there are sounds of horses’ hoofs and a great demand is thrust upon us. We are sent off in a direction we never contemplated and are compelled to go one mile. It is the second that tests character; and your actions with respect to it will determine whether you have entered into the spirit of Christ and are willing to serve others for love’s sake and at cost of peril and inconvenience to yourself.
Love to one’s neighbor appears in many passages in the Old Testament. See Exo 23:4-5. But we have to love enemies and resemble God’s sun and rain, Mat 5:45. You say that it is impossible! Remember those sweet old words: “I taught Ephraim to go,” Hos 11:1-4. Ask your Heavenly Father to teach you to love. Remember Gal 5:22. Dare to believe that He will perfect what concerneth you.