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MATTHEW 5:41 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Matt 5:40Matt 5:42
“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. The Roman military practice of compelling civilians to carry soldiers' equipment for up to one mile (angaria) was a hated symbol of occupation. The go-two-miles instruction transforms the act of compelled service into a voluntary act: the second mile is not compelled but freely given. This transforms the power dynamic: the soldier who ends up with a willing carrier rather than a resentful conscript has encountered something unexpected. The freely-given extra mile cannot be compelled — it is a gift, and receiving it changes the relationship from coercion to something more human.

Church Fathers on Matthew 5:41

The Lord having taught that we are not to offer injury to our neighbour, or irreverence to the Lord, now proceeds to shew how the Christian should demean himself to those that injure him.

Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria) · medieval compilation · non occ.

This law, 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,' was enacted to repress the flames of mutual hate, and to be a check on their undisciplined spirits. For who when he would take revenge, was ever content to return just so much harm as he had received? Do we not see men who have suffered some trifling hurt, straightway plot murder, thirst for blood, and hardly find evil enough that they can do to their enemies for the satisfying their rage?

Augustine · 4th century · cont. Faust., xix, 25

For without this command, the commands of the Law could not stand. For if according to the Law we begin all of us to render evil for evil, we shall all become evil, since they that do hurt abound. But if according to Christ we resist not evil, though they that are evil be not amended, yet they that are good remain good.

Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century
Read all 28 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Matthew 5:41 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy