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Some people take every imperative statement in the Bible as a commandment. For example, they take it that if someone slaps us on one cheek, we have to physically offer the other cheek for them to slap (Mt.5:39). Some make a joke of it by pointing out different literal interpretations: only a left-handed man can slap us on our right cheek, which is rare, and another to say that after we have offered our cheek once, we are free to do anything else we like! But jokes apart, it is obvious that when Jesus Himself was slapped, He didn't offer His other cheek (Jn.18:22,23). If we were to take an entirely literal approach, what would we do with Pr.26:4,5?

A mistake we can make when we read the Bible is to read it just as we would read an earthly book, especially as if it was a legal document spelling out what we ought to do in different situations, or as if it was a book of science, written with every word precisely in place to mean what it says. But though it is the word of God in the sense that this is what God has passed on to us to reveal Himself and His ways to us, it is to be understood as a spiritual communication trying to pass on spiritual truths to us (1Co.2:14).

So, when we read the Bible, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to speak to us personally through the written word. Sometimes He may show us a personal application of a verse for a special occasion which we should use for our special situation and not for forming doctrines for everyone. What the Spirit reveals will be in line with the heart of God that has already been revealed in the written word, and will not contradict with other parts of the Bible. This is why we have to interpret different verses along with what the Bible says about the subject in other places.

In places such as where Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, when we compare that with what He Himself did later, we can see that it was not meant to be obeyed literally. Then what did He mean?

This whole passage in Mt.5-7 is about our inner heart attitudes under the new covenant which Jesus was going to bring about through His death, in contrast with the old covenant that God had made through the Law with Israel. The main thing we see is that the new covenant is about what goes on inside us. For example, it is not enough now not to kill anyone, but not even to hate anyone enough to want to kill him. It is not just to avoid physical adultery but to avoid desiring someone in our heart. When we see things in this context, we Jesus trying to teach us to move away from retaliating with an approach of 'eye for an eye', etc., and to learn to be forgiving and bearing with others who are evil towards us. We cannot literally give to 'everyone' who asks, for another example. What Jesus is trying to teach us here is that we need to learn to bear with people who are evil and unreasonable, instead of retaliating in an 'eye for an eye' legalism. The peak of this passage is about loving our enemies!

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