<p>5:40&nbsp;<em>And if anyone wants to sue you and take away</em>- A rather liberal translation of the single Greek word&nbsp;<em>krino</em>. The idea is quite simply of judging. We can be wrongly judged by others without them taking us to court. The simple principle 'Do not resist wrong judgment of you' is a very large ask. Even in this life, truth often comes out. And if we believe in the ultimate justice of the final judgment, we will not for ever be going around correcting others' misjudgements and wrong impressions of us. That is something I have had to deeply learn in my own life.</p>
<p><em>Your coat, let him also have your cloak-&nbsp;</em>It was forbidden by the Law to keep a man&rsquo;s outer garment overnight (Ex. 22:26,27). But the Lord taught&nbsp;<em>whilst the law was still in operation&nbsp;</em>that we should be willing to give it up, and even offer it (Mt. 5:40). The threatened man could have quoted the Law and kept his clothing. But the Lord bids us go to a higher level, beyond using God&rsquo;s law to uphold our own rights. And in this He raises a vital if difficult principle: Don&rsquo;t always enforce what Biblical rights you have against your brother. Don&rsquo;t rush to your own defence and justification even if Scripture is on your side. Live on the level of true love and non-resistance to evil. In this case the idea would be that even if someone amongst God's people does something unBiblical to us, clearly breaking God's laws, we are still to not resist evil but rather by our grace to them, shame them into repentance.</p>