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Question 6

Luther tried to solve the Sermon on the Mount tension by saying a Christian must not use secular power “for himself,” but may seek vengeance and protection “for others”; how would early Christians have heard that distinction, and where do you see this same logic used today to justify actions Jesus forbids?

Another way to ask: Luther said Christians shouldn’t use power to protect themselves, but they may use it to protect others. How do you think early Christians would respond, and where do you see this same reasoning used today to excuse things Jesus forbids?

Direct Answer Bercot implies early Christians would have rejected Luther’s distinction as a workaround that contradicts Jesus’ plain teaching, because it still uses vengeance and secular power, just with a different excuse. The transcript doesn’t map modern examples in detail, but it shows the logic of defending “others” becoming a door back into violence and coercion.

Support from Transcript:

Luther interprets “resist not evil” to mean: don’t use secular law “for himself,” but “for others… seek vengeance, justice, protection.”
Bercot critiques it with a concrete contrast: if struck, turn the other cheek—but if your neighbor is struck, “you should avenge his injury.”
He says, “But that isn’t what Jesus said… And it has never worked in practice.”
He observes Reformation Europe “looked nothing like New Testament Christianity,” and Lutherans behaved like Catholics regarding lawsuits and war.
Bercot frames this as trying to “serve two masters,” which “simply cannot work.”

Discussion Follow-ups How often do we excuse disobedience by calling it “protection” or “love for neighbor”? What teachings of Jesus do we most want to reinterpret?

Jumpstarter 6 of 10