Blessings and Woes
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well. Luke 6:29 · Berean Standard Bible
He said, 'If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other. If someone takes your coat, don't hold back your shirt either.'
This isn't about being a doormat — it's about refusing to let someone else's cruelty turn you into something cruel. You break the cycle.
Jesus gives radical, counter-instinct instructions about responding to aggression.
These words have challenged people for centuries. Jesus invites you into a strength that doesn't retaliate — a power that absorbs evil rather than reflecting it. It's the hardest kind of courage.
Two illustrations of non-retaliation: offering the other cheek (siagona) when struck, and surrendering the tunic (chitōna) when the cloak (himation) is taken. These address both personal violence and economic exploitation.
The slap on the cheek likely refers to an insulting backhanded blow (a dishonor gesture), not life-threatening violence. The garment scenario envisions legal or forceful seizure of property.
Jesus provides two vivid examples of radical non-retaliation.
These examples illustrate a willingness to absorb injustice rather than perpetuate cycles of retaliation. The teaching addresses both honor culture (the slap) and property rights (the garments).
27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Read all of Luke 6 — Blessed are the poor; woe to the rich. Jesus delivers his version of the great sermon and demands a love so radical it includes your enemies.
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