“ 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you… If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other one too…'
“How could anyone accept, even invite, evil treatment in a world as cruel and crushing as first-century Judea was then — and as so much of the world has always been — especially for people impoverished, abused, and exploited?
“Extreme as these teachings sound, people who share Jesus’s apocalyptic vision might find nothing masochistic about them. Instead, those persuaded that 'the time is very short' might rush to adopt these practices. Is this 'sermon,' then, meant as a prescription for daily life, as many believers assume? Or did Jesus intend it instead as an 'interim ethic' that requires radically escalated moral action only for the brief time remaining before God’s kingdom arrives?
“My own guess, exploring the sources, is that Jesus saw himself on the cusp of a transformation that demanded no less than total commitment.”
