The Backhanded Slap
In Jewish law, not all slaps were equal. The Mishnah tells us that if you slap a man with your palm, there’s a fine. But if you backhand him—well, now you’ve doubled it (Mishnah). Why? Because the backhand wasn’t just about sting, it was about shame. It was a master’s way of saying, “You’re beneath me.”
That little detail sheds a lot of light on Jesus’ words. When He said, “Turn the other cheek,” He wasn’t telling people to stand there and take a beating. He was telling them: don’t play their game of humiliation. Offer the other cheek, and suddenly the insulter can’t treat you like an inferior anymore without breaking his own code of conduct.
Josephus and the Weight of Insult
To Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived through the Roman wars, being humiliated was nearly the same as being wounded. He gives us story after story about how insults sparked violence.
One Roman governor, Florus, took money from the Temple treasury. When the Jews begged him not to commit such sacrilege, he mocked them and sent soldiers to beat and crucify the petitioners (Flavius Josephus, Wars 2.224–227).
Another story, from Antiquities 17.163, shows men punished severely for insulting Herod by tearing down one of his dedications. Insult was rebellion. Shame was a wound to the whole community.
That’s the world Jesus spoke into. That’s what makes His words so jarring.
Other Voices of the Time
And Josephus wasn’t alone. Seneca, the Roman Stoic, said it was small-minded to count up insults—better to ignore them. Philo, the Jewish philosopher, praised those who endured wrongs instead of inflicting them (Dialogues, Cato)
In other words, there was a countercurrent of thought in the ancient world: real strength is shown not by striking back, but by refusing to be ruled by insult.
4. The Subversive Message of Jesus
Put it all together, and you see the sharp edge of Jesus’ teaching:
- The Mishnah shows us just how shameful a backhanded slap was.
- Josephus shows us how honor and insult could lead to bloodshed.
- Seneca and Philo remind us that endurance was seen as a higher way.
But Jesus didn’t echo philosophers. He turns the notion on its head and teaches something contrary to popular doctrines.
In going further, He says, “Turn the other cheek,” don’t play their honor-shame game. Instead, expose the injustice by refusing to accept the terms of humiliation.
That’s not a weakness. That’s a dignified, honorable display of defiant strength. It’s the quiet word of someone who knows their worth in God’s eyes, not in the approval of men.
Side-by-Side Comparison
(Josephus, the Mishnah, and contemporaneous voices)
| Source | Content | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:6 | “If he slapped him on the cheek with the back of his hand, which is more degrading than a slap with the palm, he must give him four hundred dinars.” | A backhand is twice as humiliating as an open-palm slap. Insult, not injury, is the main issue. |
| Josephus, Wars 2.224–227 | Florus robs the Temple, mocks the Jews’ pleas, unleashes soldiers to kill and flog, and crucifies many. | Humiliation as a tool of domination. For Josephus, insult is as intolerable as physical attack. |
| Josephus, Antiquities 17.163 | Rebels insult Herod by destroying what he had dedicated. He punishes them harshly. | Honor and insult drive political response. Public shame is treated as rebellion. |
| Jesus, Matthew 5:39 | “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” | A radical command to refuse humiliation without retaliation. Dignity is preserved through nonviolent resistance. |
The Teaching At that Time
In Jesus’ world, the backhanded slap was the ultimate way to belittle someone. The Mishnah shows us the legal weight: it cost double the fine of an ordinary slap. Josephus shows us that insults could spark riots, even war. To be shamed in public was as serious as being wounded.
And yet when Jesus said to “turn the other cheek,” He was not suggesting our popular notion and doctrine of becoming passive doormats. He’s not saying abuse is okay. He’s telling His followers: ‘Don’t live by the old honor, don’t play another man’s game.’
A Comparison
Someone tries to embarrass you, cutting you down with a sarcastic remark
- Popular doctrine: shy away, be passive, don’t confront, allow them to hit you again – just hide away and pray for them.
- Jesus’s teaching: confront with dignity and honor; be angry, but don’t sin.
The idea of being angry without sinning feels strange to many of us. Why? Because somewhere along the way, we were taught that certain emotions—especially the uncomfortable ones like anger, grief, or frustration—were automatically wrong. They couldn’t be displayed, voiced, or even acknowledged. So rather than learning how to handle these emotions honestly, we learned to bury them. We suppressed instead of expressed, mistaking silence for holiness. But suppressed emotions don’t disappear; they simmer. Over time, the pressure builds, and the body keeps score. We wear our “badges of courage” not as medals of faithfulness, but as ulcers, anxiety, sleepless nights, and other disorders that remind us: ignoring what we feel is not the same as overcoming.
Final Thought
Josephus and the rabbis show us that a backhanded slap was more than pain—it was about stripping someone of their honor. Jesus flips the script: our honor doesn’t come from men, but from God. When we turn the other cheek, we demonstrate that we know who we are in Christ. That’s why we don’t have to fight insult with insult. We can stand with dignity, even when the world tries to put us down.
In short: turning the other cheek is not weakness—it’s faith. Faith that God will vindicate us, faith that our worth is secure, and faith that His Kingdom operates on different rules than the world’s.
Understanding His teaching in the context of history sets the common doctrine, ‘I am but a worm,‘ on its head.
A Recovering Legalist 