Matthew 5:41
Encyclopedia
Matthew 5:41 is the forty-first verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
. This is the third verse of the antithesis
on non-resistance.
In the King James Version of the Bible
the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:41
The word here translated as compel, angareuo, is a Persian loan word that is a technical term for the Roman
practice of requisitioning local goods or labour. Schweizer notes that it specifically refers to the power of the Romans to demand that a local serve as a guide or porter. Later at Matthew 27:32 Simon of Cyrene
will be forced by such rules to carry Jesus' cross, the only other time in the New Testament the word translated as compel is used. The Zealots loathed this practice, and their refusal to participate in such tasks was an important part of their philosophy and a cause of the Great Jewish Revolt. To France these commands would have shocked the Jewish audience as Jesus' response to the Roman occupation was starkly different from the other Jewish activists of the period. Jesus says nothing about the propriety of such demands, Schweizer notes that Jesus simply accepts it as fact. Thomas Aquinas
wrote that this verse implies that it is reasonable to follow laws that are unjust, but argued that laws that are unconscionable most not be obeyed.
The word here translated as mile
refers to the Roman definition of 1000 paces, slightly shorter than a modern mile. The mile was a specifically Roman unit of measure, locally the stadion
was used to measure length. Miles would only have been used by the imperial government and the local occupying forces, which further links this verse with imperial repression. This verse is the origin of the English phrase "going the extra mile," which means to do more than is needed. See The Extra Mile (disambiguation)
for its usage in popular culture.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
. This is the third verse of the antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
on non-resistance.
In the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
the text reads:
- And whosoever shall compel
- thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Whoever compels you to
- go one mile, go with him two.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:41
The word here translated as compel, angareuo, is a Persian loan word that is a technical term for the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
practice of requisitioning local goods or labour. Schweizer notes that it specifically refers to the power of the Romans to demand that a local serve as a guide or porter. Later at Matthew 27:32 Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion, according to all three Synoptic Gospels...
will be forced by such rules to carry Jesus' cross, the only other time in the New Testament the word translated as compel is used. The Zealots loathed this practice, and their refusal to participate in such tasks was an important part of their philosophy and a cause of the Great Jewish Revolt. To France these commands would have shocked the Jewish audience as Jesus' response to the Roman occupation was starkly different from the other Jewish activists of the period. Jesus says nothing about the propriety of such demands, Schweizer notes that Jesus simply accepts it as fact. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
wrote that this verse implies that it is reasonable to follow laws that are unjust, but argued that laws that are unconscionable most not be obeyed.
The word here translated as mile
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
refers to the Roman definition of 1000 paces, slightly shorter than a modern mile. The mile was a specifically Roman unit of measure, locally the stadion
Stadion (unit of length)
The stadion, Latinized as stadium and anglicized as stade, is an ancient Greek unit of length. According to Herodotus, one stade is equal to 600 feet. However, there were several different lengths of “feet”, depending on the country of origin....
was used to measure length. Miles would only have been used by the imperial government and the local occupying forces, which further links this verse with imperial repression. This verse is the origin of the English phrase "going the extra mile," which means to do more than is needed. See The Extra Mile (disambiguation)
The Extra Mile (disambiguation)
The expression go "the extra mile" probably comes from the Bible, when Jesus declares in his Sermon on the Mount, "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two." "...
for its usage in popular culture.