And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
40. And to him who wishes to enter into a law-suit with thee. Christ now glances at another kind of annoyance, and that is, when wicked men torment us with law-suits. He commands us, even on such an occasion, to be so patient and submissive that, when our coat has been taken away, we shall be prepared to give up our cloak also.
The magistrate may lawfully exact this penalty; but the Old Testament never commanded private revenge as necessary. Jewish teachers corrupted it into a demand for retaliation by common men. Christ sweeps away that abuse entirely and calls His followers to something higher: forgiveness and patience even under fresh injury.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 5:38-42
And if any man will sue thee at the law,.... Or "will contend with thee", or as the Syriac renders it, , "will strive", or "litigate with thee"; not contest the matter, or try the cause in an open court of judicature, a sense our version inclines to; but will wrangle and quarrel in a private way, in order to take away thy coat, by...