What Did Jesus Really Teach About Violence? A Reflection on a Hard Conversation Among Friends
Over the past day or so, I’ve found myself caught in a deeply emotional and challenging conversation with several friends—fellow believers—about Jesus, violence, and what it means to faithfully follow Christ in a broken world. It’s the kind of discussion that forces you to pause, reflect, and grapple with the deep tension between human instincts for self-preservation and the radical ethic of love Jesus proclaimed. I shared something simple, heartfelt, and deeply grounded in the Gospels: that Jesus said things like “love your enemies,” “bless those who curse you,” and “turn the other cheek.” Not because harm is okay, but because He showed a radical, nonviolent way to resist evil—through self-sacrificial love rather than returning violence for violence. ...