What was Jesus really on about?

“Don’t be a wimp; don’t be aggro — just stay cool!”

That’s how we were told to face up to bullying.

“Don’t hit back; don’t just lie down and let them walk all over you — but try to act in a way that let’s them know you don’t like it and aren’t frightened.”

But then I wanted to know how that related to what Jesus said: “Turn the other cheek” — which seems rather like an invitation to get hit again, and again . . .

Well, that question started me on a journey: studies at Whitley College, endless discussions and lots of reading . . .
This is the short answer.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirms the Law/Tradition (Mt 5:17-20), points to the ongoing Problems, and then suggests Transforming Initiatives that can lead us to a ‘greater righteousness or justice’ (5:20).
So when Jesus quotes the Tradition (5:38): “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye . . .’” (which is a good law as an expression of justice in cultures where retribution was often over the top); he also points to the Problem: “but I say to you, do not be set against evil/evil doers” (entrenched ‘tit for tat’ against evil — polarising the issue — does not lead to transformation!); and then to the following Transforming Initiatives:
When someone strikes you on the RIGHT cheek (5:39) — as a master would backhand a slave to publicly shame them — turn the other cheek. That is, invite them to hit you again AS AN EQUAL, because your oppressor can’t backhand you on the left cheek with the right hand, and the left hand is not used for food or human contact in Eastern cultures. That is: you are challenging your oppressor to treat you as a person and not a possession.
When someone tries to sue you even to the point of taking your coat (5:40), give them your undercoat/shirt as well! That is, challenge them to strip you naked, which in Jewish culture at least, would publicly shame both them and you! Again, this forces your oppressor to take account of what they are doing to you!
When a Roman soldier forces you to carry their load (5:41) for one mile (as marked by the Roman milestones on all Roman roads, and as explicitly permitted under Roman law), try to carry it for an extra mile also. This is NOT permitted under Roman law and may get the soldier into trouble — forcing them again to consider what they are doing to you and how they are exploiting you.
BUT when someone BELOW you on the social scale (rather than in a position of power, as in the examples above) comes and begs from you, show mercy (5:42).
SO instead of ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, maybe it’s ‘an eyeful for an eye and a truth for a tooth’!!
Keith Dyer