James Merritt - Over and Above
All over this country, and you probably work with some of these people, you may not know it, but all over this country, there are people who, they moved here from other parts of the world to work here. They’re not citizens, they keep their citizenship with their home country. But the reason they get to stay here and the reason they get to work here is because they carry this card. That’s called a green card. It’s known as a permanent resident card. Now, that card gives them the right to live here. It gives them the right to die here. It gives them the right to work here. But they are not citizens here. What has that got to do with you? What has that got to do with me? If you are a follower of Jesus?
Now, if you’re not, I’m not talking to you, but if you are a follower of Jesus, you carry a spiritual green card, you work here, you live here, you’re probably gonna die here, but you’re really not a citizen here. We’re citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We’re not American citizens primarily, we’re citizens of the king. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul put it this way. He said, «Here’s the difference between an earthly citizen and a heavenly citizen». He said, «Their mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven».
Now, if you’re a guest of ours today, we’ve been in a series on the Sermon on the Mount we’ve been calling, «Get Used to Different». It is the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived. And if you don’t know what the sermon is about, let me tell you what it’s about. Everything we’ve been talking about, everything Jesus says in this sermon is not for unbelievers. He’s not talking to unbelievers, he’s talking to believers. He’s talking to people who are a part of God’s kingdom, people who are a part of God’s family, people who want to follow God and know God and love God and serve God.
And if you’ve been with me for a while, you already know what I’m about to tell you. He doesn’t mince words, he doesn’t pull punches, he doesn’t bait and switch, it’s not smoke and mirrors. He tells you unequivocally, «If you’re going to live the way you ought to live and do what you ought to do and be what you ought be and treat people the way they ought to be treated, no matter how they treat you, then you better get used to different, because you’ve got to go over and above the way the world does it and what the world considers normal».
Now, I wanna just kind of prepare you for what is about to come today. I think of all the things that Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, this is gonna be the toughest to listen to. This is gonna be the hardest to swallow. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say, if you’re not a follower of Jesus, it wouldn’t surprise me when this sermon is over that you would say, «Yeah, I don’t wanna sign up for that. I don’t think that’s what I wanna do. I don’t think that’s the way I want to live».
As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure, I can’t prove this, it’s not in the text, but I’m pretty sure that if you had been there that day, the people that heard Jesus say what I’m about to show you that He said, I guarantee you there were a lot of people there that probably got up and left. They probably tuned Him out. They probably said, «Yeah, that’s a hard pass for me. Yeah, I don’t think that’s what I wanna do with my life». Because I’m telling you, it is very, very tough. You say, «Well, gosh, what did he say»? Well, basically you can sum it all up in four words. «Go the second mile». So buckle up, take a deep breath. Here we go. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride. You’ve heard that it was said, «Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth». And we got some police officers here.
One of my buddies back there, Anderson’s back, he’s a police officer. Sounds logical, you hit me, I hit you. You take an eye, I take your eye, you take a tooth, I take a tooth. Sounds right, sounds about right. When Jesus says, «But I tell you,» you better cover your eyes. «But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, you go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you».
Now, again, I love Jesus, I love Him, I love the way He does business. Gets right to the point. «So you wanna follow me»? «Yeah, I wanna follow You». «So you wanna be like me»? «I wanna be like You». «You wanna be one of mine». «I wanna be one of Yours». «Then you’re gonna have to live a second-mile life. You’re gonna have to go the second mile». Now, before you say, «Oh yeah, I’ll do that,» hold on. If you decide to go the second mile, you will be in the minority. The second mile will tax you, it will test you, it will try you like no other mile you will ever walk. But here’s what I will promise you, if you do walk this mile, which is over and above what everybody else walks, it will lead you to the greatest joy. It will give you the most fulfilling achievements. You’ll earn the finest rewards. You’ll have the approval of your Heavenly Father.
However, let me just warn you, it is a higher road, it is a steeper road, it is a tougher road, it is a bumpier road, but it is the better road. But you gotta be above the norm. You gotta go beyond average. You can’t be like your next-door neighbor. You can’t be like the run-of-the-mill person just walking down the street. But here’s what Jesus said, you ready? «When I give more than what is demanded, I’ll get more than I deserve. When I give more than what is demanded, I will get more than I deserve». So if you would say with me, and I hope you will before this message is over, «I wanna be an over and above person, I wanna be an over and above follower of Jesus, I wanna be a second-mile Christian,» first of all, you have to go farther than you’re required to go. If you’re gonna do this, you’ve gotta go farther than you’re required to go.
By the way, if you bought your booklet, Matthew 5, we’re on page 34. So let’s begin with the central statement in this passage, here’s what Jesus says, «If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles». Now, you’ve all heard that saying about, «Oh, he went the second mile». Well, that’s where we get this phrase. Now, what’s He talking about? 2,000 years ago, you’re Jewish, you live in Israel, but it’s really not your land. It’s occupied territory. And you’re the one that’s occupied, that land belongs to the Roman Empire. They are in complete control. Well, there was a Roman law. If a Roman soldier was walking down the road and he saw you, or your wife, or your son, or your daughter, it doesn’t matter what you were doing, if he saw you, by the law, he could compel you to drop whatever you were doing, pick up his weapons, pick up his shield, pick up his knapsack, pick up any other burden that he had, and you had to take it one mile.
Didn’t matter what you were doing, didn’t matter how busy you might be, he had the right to draft you on the spot and you had to become his personal slave for one mile. Now, just imagine how degrading that would’ve been, how humiliating that would’ve been. The Roman soldier that you despise anyways, public enemy number one, you can’t stand him, he can’t stand you. But he had the right to say, «Hey, pick it up. Here we go. You belong to me for one solid mile».
Let me tell you how much the Jews hated this. Every Jewish father would teach his kids how to measure off in their heart, in their head, one mile to the foot. And here’s what they were taught, «If a Roman soldier ever asks you to pick up that sword, if he ever asks you to pick up that shield, if he ever asks you to pick up that knapsack, if he asks you to pick up whatever burden he’s carrying, don’t say a word, pick it up. But in your mind, you start counting, 'One, two, three, four.' And when you get to 5,280, drop it and walk away,» 'cause they despised it. It was so humiliating. Here’s what they taught, «You just do what you are required to do».
So what’s wrong with that? Well, here’s the problem. That’s what the average person does in this life. The average person just does what they’re required to do. No more, no less. Just what the normal person does. The average person, and listen, I’ve seen tens of thousands of them, «I just wanna get by. I just wanna do the minimum». Let me give you an example. We’ll prove this from school. In school, you get their five letter grades, right? A, B, C, D, F, right? Okay, so A and B was considered good grades, D and F are considered failing grades. What is C considered? Can somebody tell me. It’s average. My first day of class as a first-grader, my first day at school, my dad was such an encourager. My dad had the gift of encouragement. He sat me down, he said, «Son,» he says, «I just wanna tell you two things».
I said, «Yes, sir». He said, «If you get a whipping at school, you’ll get one at home». «Yes, sir». He said, «Number two, if you get a C, you’re gonna get a whipping». I said, «What»? «Get a C, you’re gonna get a whipping». I said, «Why am I gonna get a whipping if I get a C»? He said, «That’s average, we’re not average. You’re better than average, okay»? That’s why it’s called average. Now, let me tell you the problem with that. The average person lives an average life. The average person lives on what I call the C level, not the A level, not the B level, just the C level. «Okay, I gotta dot the I, I’m just gonna dot the I. Okay, I gotta cross the T, I’m just gonna cross the T. All right, I’m gonna punch in at eight, I’m gonna punch out at five».
That’s what most people do. There are gonna be millions of people in Atlanta, Georgia tomorrow, they’re gonna get up, go to work, punch in, eat their lunch, just do what they’re required, five o’clock, punch out, come back home and do the same thing all over again. They don’t wanna be pushed too hard and they don’t wanna push too hard. There was a mother who sat down, she’s trying to help the little boys learn how to eat vegetables. And so she’s trying to teach him to eat the right way. And so this was kind of her first shot at it. And she said, «Okay, now, Johnny, I want you to eat a little bit of spinach». And that little boy said, «Well, how little can I get by with»?
Now, that’s the way Jewish people viewed this law. Just get by with as little as possible. So when it came to carrying a burden, something that that Roman soldier had, here was the attitude, «Just give it a C-level effort. Just do the minimum. Go 5,280 feet, not one foot more. Don’t you do any more than what you’re required to do». Now, again, that made sense. You’re doing what you’re supposed to do. And then Jesus drops the bombshell. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. I wanna tell you, heads must’ve jerked so fast there was an epidemic of whiplash throughout that whole crowd. Because here’s what Jesus said, «I want you to go over and above that first mile. I don’t want you to do your duty, I want you to do double duty. I want you to do more, and I want you to give more than you’re required to do and you’re required to give».
Now, let me just stop and ask a question. Why did Jesus emphasize the second mile? What’s such a big deal about the second mile? What is so important about the second mile? All right, pay attention, here’s the difference. You ready? The first mile, that is the duty-fulfilling mile. The second mile, that’s the difference-making mile. By the way, athletes know that. You know what separates the average athlete from the world-class athlete? You know what the difference is? One of them goes the second mile. Give you a great illustration. I’m a golfer, I love to play golf.
And one of the things that I wish I could do, and maybe I’ll get to do in the next life if there’s golf, I’m hoping there’s gonna be golf in heaven. But one of the things I would love to do just one time, I’d love to play golf like Tiger Woods plays golf, just once, just once. I’d like to be able to hit a ball like Tiger Woods hits the ball. But what you don’t know is why Tiger Woods was able to hit the ball the way Tiger Woods hits the ball. So obviously one of the two greatest golfers that ever lived, let me tell you what Tiger Woods’s routine has always been. At his peak, this was his daily routine. He started his day at six o’clock in the morning with the first of two daily workouts. At nine o’clock, he and his coach would hit the range for a two-hour session. They’d do everything from drive the ball to putting. At 11 o’clock, they’d play nine holes of golf. They’d ride a golf cart almost 30 miles an hour so they could get done in time to have lunch.
After lunch, they’d go spend two more hours on the range. They’d play another nine holes of golf. Then they’d finish the day, he would spend one hour doing nothing but putting the ball. After he got through with that, he’d go back home at six o’clock, he’d do another workout. He would eat dinner at 7:30 and go to bed and get up and do the same thing all over again. See, what you saw at Augusta, what you saw at the championships he won, what you saw was the first mile, but what you didn’t see was the second mile. He went over and above what every other golfer was willing to do. He went beyond the norm. You see, the first mile, that’s where the burden is. The second mile, that’s where the blessing is.
The first mile, that’s where the requirement is met. The second mile, that’s where the reward is received. By the way, let me tell you something, people don’t notice when you walk the first mile because everybody walks the first mile. It’s when you walk the second mile that you get everybody’s attention. So now let’s get practical, 'cause so far it’s been kind of theoretical. So you say, «Well, Pastor, what would it look like? What does it mean? Can you give me some practical examples of going the second mile»? Yeah, I can. You’re not gonna like 'em. But why not? So for some of you, everybody ready for this? Maybe for some of you, going the second mile would be coming to the worship service five minutes early, not 15 minutes late.
If that makes you mad, you apologize, I’ll forgive you. Maybe for some of you, going the second mile would be instead of telling a guest where the preschool area is, you walk them down there. Maybe going the second mile for some of us would be when you see someone walk into the building that you don’t know, you walk up to them, introduce yourself, ask 'em if they’re a guest, ask 'em if there’s anything you can do for them, tell them to come sit with you, tell them how glad you are that they came. Maybe for some of you, going the second mile would be not just giving a tithe, but giving an offering. Maybe for some of you, going the second mile wouldn’t be just attending the church or giving to the church, but serving the church. So Jesus said, if you wanna be a second-mile Christian, you’ve got to go farther than you’re required to go.
Now, if you’re still with me and you hadn’t walked out on me, at least mentally, you hadn’t turned me off yet, Jesus says, «Okay, let’s tighten it up a little bit. You really wanna follow me? You really wanna live a life that I want you to live? Do you really wanna live the most rewarding life you possibly could? Then not only must you go farther than it’s required to go, you gotta give more than it’s reasonable to give».
Now, Jesus applies this over and above, second-mile mentality in a practical way that I promise you would be even more challenging and far more different than anybody could’ve imagined. Let’s go back and see what He said. You’ve heard that it was said, «Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also». Now, what Jesus is doing is actually quoting the Old Testament, because that’s actually said three different times. For example, in Exodus Chapter 21, «Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot». In Leviticus, «Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, the one who’s inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury». And then you’ve got Deuteronomy, say, «Show no pity, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot».
Now, these laws were instituted to make sure the punishment fit the crime. No place for revenge, no place for retribution. You just made sure, «Okay, if he takes your eye, you don’t take both of his, you take one. He knocks out one of your teeth, you don’t knock out six of his,» right? Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just keep it the way it ought to be. The problem was that the Pharisees had totally misapplied these laws to personal relationships. So this is what they taught their kids. This is what the Pharisees taught. «If somebody slaps you on the cheek,» what do you think they told them to do? What do you think? «Slap the other cheek. Don’t slap both cheeks. Don’t give them a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the face. Just slap for slap. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth».
I mean, and you know why they said that? There was nothing more degrading to a Jewish man, by the way, this is true today, there’s nothing more degrading to a human being than to backhand them across the face. That’s why we get the phrase, «A backhanded compliment». If you really wanted to insult a Jew, backhand him across the face. And the Pharisees said, «I’ll tell you this, if somebody backhands you, you backhand them». Well, that’s the way we’re taught, that’s the way we think, that’s the way the world says to do it. In fact, I’m gonna tell you something right now I told the first service. I’m about to give you an illustration, but I want you to hear what I’m about to say.
This is so important. What I’m about to tell you right now has nothing to do with politics. It has nothing to do with how you voted in the last presidential election. It has nothing to do with how you’re gonna vote in this presidential election, okay? Hear your pastor today. I don’t wanna know how you vote, I don’t care how you vote. I only care about how I vote. I don’t make the political personal. I don’t know why people do. Vote for who you wanna vote for, vote your conscious, that’s up to you. You gotta answer your vote, I gotta answer for mine. So what I’m about to say, understand, everybody hear me, I am not into politics, that’s not my point. But I wanna give you an illustration.
Years ago, when Donald Trump was asked, «What are your two guiding principles in business»? here’s what he said. «Number one, always get even. Number two, hit harder than you were hit. Today, they will say, 'Get even.' If somebody fouls you up, you foul them up 10 times over. At least you can feel good about it. Boy, do I feel good»? Well, that’s what the world says. That’s what the average person would tell you. «He hits you, you hit him. He pulls your tooth, you pull his tooth. He gouges your eye, you gouge his eye». That’s the average, that’s the normal, that’s the expected. I gotta tell you a story, I came across this a couple weeks ago, I’ve been waiting two weeks. I’m so excited to tell you. It’s a great story. There was this guy who was an umpire in a fast-pitch softball league. He was umpiring his last softball game, the season was over. And his boy was playing in a big baseball game across town and he wanted to get over there and see his boy play the baseball game.
Well, the game went a little bit late, so he jumps in his car and he takes off, and he’s blowing and going, trying to get to the baseball game. Sure enough, a police officer pulls him over for speeding. So the police officer walks up to the window and he says, «Officer, listen to me. Please don’t give me a ticket. Please don’t do this. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket in my life. Matter of fact, I’ve never gotten a ticket in my life at all. I’m a good driver, I’ve got a perfect record. My problem is I’ve got a boy that’s playing a baseball game across town. It’s his last baseball game of the season. I haven’t gotten to see him play very much. Please don’t give me a ticket». The officer kind of looked at him with a snarl. And as he gave the man a ticket, he just simply said, «Tell it to the judge».
Well, the next year, softball season rolled around. And guess who the first person was that came to the plate to bat in the first game of the season? It was that officer. And he looked at that umpire and they immediately recognized each other. So this guy wants to just crawl under the plate, right? He doesn’t know what to say. So he’s trying to make things light and trying to smooth things over. So he looks at this umpire, and he says, «Hey, man,» he said, «how did that thing go with the ticket that I gave you? I hope the judge went easy on you». The umpire without a smile looked at the officer and said, «You better swing at everything. I don’t care how high it is. I don’t care if it’s in the dirt, it’s gonna to be a strike».
We all have the umpire mentality, do we not? «You better swing at everything. You got me, I’m getting you. You jack me, I’m jacking you. You work me over, I’m working you over. You slap me, I’m slapping you. You hit me, I’m hitting you, I’m gonna hit you even harder». And then Jesus comes along and says, «No, you’re not, not if you’re gonna follow me. You’re gonna go over and above. You’re not going to retaliate, you’re not going to respond. There is no room for revenge. There is no place for holding a grudge. You cannot be bitter if you’re gonna walk the second mile». And now they’re already kinda reeling from everything Jesus said, and then He raises the bar. He says, «Oh, by the way, if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give them your coat too». What? Back in that day, somebody would sue you, if you didn’t have the money, you had to give them whatever clothes that you had, because everybody had clothes.
Now, the one thing you were not required to give was your coat, because your coat was kind of considered kind of a blanket or kind of a shelter. And what Jesus is saying is, «Look, if somebody sues you and they win and you give them everything that you have to give, but they’re still angry and they still think you owe them,» he said, «you go to them and you say, 'Look, what more can I do to make things right? What more can I give you to make this thing right between us? Whatever I can do, just tell me, and if I can do it, I will do it.'» And boy, now that air’s all out of the room. And then Jesus does another one. He says, «Oh, by the way, give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you».
Now, let me just stop right here. I want you to understand what Jesus is saying. He’s talking about a genuine need here. He doesn’t mean you give alcohol to an alcoholic. You don’t do that. He doesn’t mean you give drugs to a drug addict. You don’t do that. He doesn’t even mean you give money to a person who can work, they just won’t work. That’s not what He said. What He was saying was, «If a person truly is in need, don’t loan them something, give them something». The first-miler says, «I’ll loan it to you, but you gotta pay it back». The second-miler says, «Look, what’s mine is yours. If you need it, you can have it».
Now, let me just stop, say one last thing. Don’t think that Jesus was telling all of us, «You gotta be a doormat for people to walk over». That’s not what He was saying either. You say, «How do you know that»? I’ll tell you how I know it, 'cause the same Jesus has said that took a cat of nine tales and beat the daylights outta people in the temple 'cause they were selling stuff in the church. It has nothing to do with selling books, by the way, they were doing it for profit, they were doing it trying to make money. And that same Jesus said, «We need to defend the widow. We need to defend the orphan. We need to defend those who can’t defend themselves». He was not saying be a doormat for anybody, what He was saying was this, «You’re gonna have to give more than it’s required to give. You’re gonna have to go over and above what anybody else would do in your shoes».
Now, if I were you, and I’m just being honest, and I was listening to this message, even if you’re a believer, I’d be going, «Man, I don’t know about this. Can I just ask a question»? Yeah, «What’s in it for me? I know what’s in it for the other person. So if I give beyond what’s reasonable to give and I go beyond what I’m required to go, what happens to me»? Well, here’s the good news. Jesus said this, He said, «If you’ll go farther than you’re required to go and if you’ll give more than it’s reasonable to give,» Jesus said, «you’ll get more than you’re resolved to get. You’ll get more than you’re resolved to get». Because again, I would not blame any of you in this room asking right now, «What’s in it for me? What’s the benefits? So okay, I’m gonna go the second mile, I’m gonna turn the other cheek, I’m gonna give the guy my coat. What does it benefit me»?
Well, Jesus says, «Rest assured, you’ll get more than you’re resolved to get». You say, «Well, what are the benefits»? Let me just give you two or three. Here’s one benefit. Number one, it’ll change your experience. When you decide, «I’m gonna be a second-mile believer, I’m gonna go farther than I’m required to go,» when you decide, «When I’m asked to give something, I’m gonna give more than I’m required to give,» it will change your attitude. You say, «How»? All of a sudden, you no longer use this terminology, «Well, I have to do it».
Now you start using this terminology, «I get to do it». And I’ll give you an example. There are a lot of you you absolutely dread tomorrow morning. You dread it. You know why? You gotta get on Interstate 85 and you gotta bust it down 85. And you gotta fight traffic, you gotta fight rude drivers, you gotta get up early in the morning to make an hour-and-a-half trip, maybe go to a job that you don’t even care about. And then you gotta do the same thing all over again tomorrow afternoon. And you gotta do that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Stop. When you become a second-mile Christian, you don’t have to do it, you get to do it. Go to Nairobi, Kenya.
Please, go with me to Nairobi. Go with me to those slums that we were in a week and a half ago. Just go with me, because there are tens of thousands of people within about a five-square-mile area of the church where we minister. They’d give anything if they had a job. They’d give anything if they had a 401k. They’d give anything if they had a car to drive it in. So when you decide to become a second-mile Christian, guess what? When you get up in the morning, you’re not gonna say, «Gotta go to work,» no, you don’t get to go to work, I mean, «I have to go to work,» no, you don’t have to go to work, you get to go to work. You get to make a paycheck. You get to put food on the table of your family. You get to buy nice clothes. You get to live in a house that doesn’t leak. You get to build a retirement plan. You don’t have to do any of those things, you get to do those things.
So here’s the difference. The first mile, that’s the have-to mile, the second mile, that’s the want.-to mile. The first mile, you’ll be whining while you walk, but the second mile, you’ll be whistling while you walk. In the first mile, you’re the slave. In the second mile, you’re the master. In the first mile, you feel like you’re being controlled. In the second mile, you realize, «I’m in control». And the difference is between doing something because you have to do it and doing something 'cause you want to do it. First example, change your attitude. The second benefit, it makes you an example. Say, «What do you mean»? Nobody pays attention to first-mile people. Somebody hits you, you hit them back. Everybody does that. They cuss you out, you cuss them out. Everybody does that. They blow their horn at you, you blow your horn at them. Everybody does that.
People don’t pay attention to people who retaliate, they pay attention to people who don’t. They don’t pay attention to people that insult you when you’ve insulted them. They pay attention to the people who don’t. Nobody pays attention to the guy that always clocks out right at five o’clock. They pay attention to the guy that stays 'til seven o’clock if the job’s not done yet. That’s who they pay attention to. It sets an example. And see, over and above all of that, you please the Lord, because Jesus goes on to make a bold statement. He says this in Verse 48, «Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect».
Now, obviously we know we’re not gonna be perfect in this life, but what Jesus was saying was, «But give it your best shot». Try every day to see how high you can go. Try every day to see how far you can go. Try every day to see how much you can give. Because when you do, you follow the perfect example of Jesus. So I want you to think about this. How many of you would say, I want you to raise your hand, how many of you would say, «I know that if I died today, I’m going to heaven, I know that»? How many would you raise your hand you’d say that? Okay. How many of you would say, «I know that I have been forgiven of all of my sins»? How many of you would say, «Yeah, I know that»?
All right, last thing. How many of you would say, «I know that I have eternal life»? How many of you would say, «Yeah, I know that»? Okay. Do you know why you can raise your hand and do you know why I can raise mine? One reason, because Jesus went over and above what he had to do. When Jesus walked out of heaven, He didn’t have to, He wanted to. And then He comes to earth. He could’ve come like Superman out of the phone booth. He didn’t. He came in a baby, just like you and I came. He was whipped, beaten, scourged, cursed, spat upon, insulted and crucified. He didn’t have to, He wanted to. We are who we are and we have what we have for one reason, because we serve a savior who went over and above. We serve a second-mile savior. We serve a savior who went beyond what He was required to go, who gave more than it was reasonable to give. And that’s all Jesus wants us to do.
So I’ll close with this story. It’s 1962, it’s at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. standing before an integrated large crowd, and he’s giving the closing address. Right in the middle of his sermon, a white man by the name of Roy Jones jumped up on the platform and began to savagely beat him. The first time he hit Martin Luther King, he hit him so hard, it spun him around in a 360-degree circle. The next time, he jacked him on the jaw and he knocked him completely to the ground. And then he jumped on him again to wail away. And they said later, you could hear the sound of his fist hitting his face. Everybody was stunned. And then they watched Dr. King go to his knees, and instead of doing this, he did this. And he let the man hit him. He literally turned the other cheek.
When Dr. King did that, it so stunned his attacker that he kinda stopped and it gave somebody long enough to jump between them. Everybody was angry, everybody wanted to take vengeance, everybody wanted to beat the daylights out of this guy. But Dr. King shouted, «Don’t touch him. We’re going to pray for him». As that crowd began to pray and they began to sing, King knelt down and began to speak kindly to this man, and gave him a promise, «Even at my own life, nobody’s going to hurt you and nobody’s going to touch you».
This is the picture of it right here. He’s talking to this man. He leads him out to a private office, where they talked. He forgave this man for what he did. He told the police to let him alone, he did not press charges. The man apologized. Dr. King took two aspirin that was given to him by a lady named Rosa Parks. He walked back onto that platform with an ice pack held to his face and he finished his sermon. Now, whatever else you may think about Dr. Martin Luther King, just understand this. In that moment and in that minute and in his ministry, he went over and above what anybody else would’ve done. And that’s what a follower of Jesus does.
You say, «Well, boy, that’s different». Get used to different. If you’re gonna follow Jesus, you’re gonna walk the second mile. But here’s what I’ll promise you, if you will and if you do, you will be glad that you’re dead and your heavily Father will be glorified when you do. But here’s the problem. See, some of you can’t walk the second mile 'cause you’ve never even taken the first mile. You say, «What do you mean»? Well, the first mile’s giving your life to Christ, the first mile’s surrendering your life to Jesus. I don’t expect lost people to act like saved people. That’s where we church people get all fouled up. We get so angry at lost people for acting like lost people. Why would you be angry at a blind man 'cause he can’t see?