Two weeks ago we began our study of this passage by focusing our attention on this principle of non-resistance in relation to being offended. The illustrations that Jesus uses in this passage are not a list of things to do and not do but rather they are simply pictures of what a heart that does not resist an evil person may look like. Turning the other cheek is not a call to not protect ourselves when attacked in body nearly as much as it is a calling to not defend ourselves when we are offended. Remember, the slap on the right cheek was the slap of insult; it was offensive, derogatory and humiliating. Our human response in those situations is to defend ourselves, to seek out retribution, to protect our name or reputation and even sometimes to seek out revenge or retaliation against the one that has offended us so greatly. Jesus says that we are not to follow that first response but instead we are to not resist, to not take matters into our own hands or effort to prove ourselves in front of others. This matters because our frustration and disappointment and hurt can often turn into being offended if we are not careful. The book of Hebrews tells us that bitterness in our hearts (which is the result of unresolved offence) actually causes us to come short of the grace of God and ultimately defiles or makes us impure. Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24 that at the end of the age that many believers would become offended, betray each other and then be deceived by false prophets and ultimately fall away from faith and love in Jesus. The removal of faith often begins with unchecked offence in the heart. Today we will deal with the next three illustrations that Jesus uses in this principle of non-resistance. Again, these illustrations are not points of law but instead they are images of the truth and I believe that they reveal the state of heart necessary to walk in the surpassing righteousness that keeps us from offence and transforms us into the character of the kingdom of God. Ultimately we have to see past the images and concentrate on the principle, Jesus is not simply teaching about lawsuits, obligations, and the giving and lending of money, what I believe He is revealing is a state of heart in which Jesus is enough, our portion is eternal and our desperate desire to please ourselves is finally denied. Thirty-nine verses from now we will hear Jesus say, “Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness . . .” I believe that in our text today we find Jesus preparing us to be a people that understand that to seek Him first we have to trust Him most and to trust Him most we have to open our hands, open our minds and open our hearts believing that we are called to be a people that believe and display Jesus’ great worth by living lives in which He is all we desire, He is all we need and ultimately He is the only satisfaction of our souls.