For many of us the question of violence or non-violence never really gets asked. We assume that war is necessary, self-defense is righteous, and physical punishment is just. We allow ourselves not only to have enemies, but to fight them, imprison them, and even kill them in the name of peace, allegiance, or war. We allow ourselves to keep bats under our beds and guns in our closets just in case we need to defend ourselves. And we allow ourselves to long for the death penalty to be sentenced upon a convicted murderer.

This behavior may be understandable for those who do not call themselves followers of Jesus, but for those who claim the name of the Christ, this mindset must be questioned.

Jesus not only taught, but lived, a life of love, sacrifice, and compassion. In His sermon on the mount He taught that his followers should not even be “angry with a brother,” should “not resist an evil person,” and should “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” We are taught that it is our job to resist evil by force, to fight back. We are deeply moved by movies when the bad guy gets what was coming to him and finally is defeated in death. But what are we to make of this radical teaching that says, “do not resist an evil person”? Surely Jesus must have meant something else. But then he says that we should love our enemies. It would be rather difficult to love someone whom you are willing to kill for your betterment or preservation.

We can surely see what Jesus meant by his radical teachings on love and non-resistance by how he lived his life and what his disciples after him taught.

We are all familiar with Jesus on the cross. But what we sometimes miss are two key events that led him to the cross. When an armed mob came to the garden of Gethsemane to take Jesus, he almost laughs at the amount of force they brought to take him in. “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?” Jesus asked. They had seen Jesus in the courts everyday and would know his lifestyle and teaching on non-resistance. Surely this amount of force was unnecessary. And when one of his disciples drew his swords to strike down the servant of the High Priest, Jesus heals the wounded man and famously states, “all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Jesus showed no resistance in his arrest.  

Many will argue that Jesus submitted to capture and death only to fulfill his mission to die and rise again. However, Jesus makes it clear that he and his disciples are not fighting, rebelling, or resisting because they are a part of a new way of life. In John 18:36 Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” If we were a part of an earthly kingdom with an earthly king we would need to fight and resist. But since our kingdom and our king is from another place we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

But maybe Jesus really was only trying to get to the cross, and all his love, forgiveness, and non-resistance was done to create a path to his destiny. If this is the case then his teachings of non-resistance and non-violence would not have carried over to his disciples in any strong sense. But this is just not the case.

In Romans 12, Paul tells Christians to “Bless those who persecute you,” not to “repay evil for evil,” not to “take revenge,” and to “live at peace with everyone.” There is no way to enact violence on another human while abiding by these statutes. If someone persecutes you, you are to bless them. If someone does evil to you, another, or the country where you live, you cannot repay them with more evil. The Christian cannot take revenge on anyone who does him/her wrong, but must love the wrongdoer. It is the job of the Christian to be a peacemaker by living at peace with everyone.

Many of us start to feel uncomfortable at this point. How can justice be done? How can the wrong in the world be righted? We can’t just let bad people get away with evil! These are all legitimate concerns that every Christian should be deeply bothered by. After all, if we didn’t hunger for justice and peace we would not be very devoted followers of Christ.

But Paul addresses this issue very clearly in Romans 12, because his readers probably had similar concerns. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” The jobs of punishment, revenge, and wrath are not ours to employ.  By taking them upon ourselves we cheapen justice, play God, and rob Him of the ultimate fulfillment of perfect judgment.

So what are we to do? If our armies are not loving, if our nations repay evil for evil, and if our courts take revenge and rob God of justice, then how are we to act?

Again I point us to Romans 12. “On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”