The Second Mile
“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Matt. 5:41
There was a rule that a Roman soldier could ask a Jew to carry his burden anytime. If they refused they were punish severely. This made the Jews very bitter against the Romans. They expected to hear from Jesus some denouncement of the Romans, but instead of condemning the oppression by them, He told the Jews to, do mare: for them than what they required.
Did Jesus go beyond the law? Did He tell His hearers to do more than what the law required?
Many professed Christians have difficulty obeying the letter of the Law which is the first mile required. The second mile is the spirit of the law which is an expression of love. The letter is fulfilled by walking the first mile. The second mile goes beyond the dead letter.
The commandment of love goes far beyong the letter of the law.
The rich young man said to Jesus that he had kept the commandments og God from his youth up. He had walked the first mile. When Jesus presented to him the second mile he went away sorrowful.
The law requires also tithe paying. Some members pay 20 percent of their income. They go to the second mile, while others are cutting short of the 10 percent tithe.
When Abraham’s servant Eliezer asked Rebekah for a drink of water, she did exactly as Eliezer asked and then offered to draw water for his camels also. This was the sign that Eliezer expected. It was the second mile that made the difference. If she had not gone the second mile, Eliezer would not have asked her to be the wife of Isaac.
God Himself is practicing the second mile system. When Solomon asked for an understanding heart, God fulfilled his request and added also richest and homour to him.
This is how we can compare the first mile to the letter of the law and the second mile to the Spirit of the law.
The letter says, “Thou shall not kill” but the spirit. of the law says, “‘Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.”
The letter of the law says, Thou shalt not commit adultery,” but the spirit of the law condemns sinful thoughts even.
“Paul says that as ‘touching the righteousness which is in the law’ – as far as outward acts were concerned – he was “blameless” (Phil 3:6); but when the spiritual character of the law was discerned, he saw himself a sinner. Judged by the letter of the law as men apply it to the outward life, he had abstained from sin; but when he looked unto the depths of its holy precepts, and saw himself as God saw him, he bowed in humiliation and confessed his guilt.” S.C. 29-30.
“In the parable, Christ exalts the Samaritan above the priest and the Levite, who were great sticklers for the letter of the law of the Ten Commandments. The one obeyed the spirit of these commandments, while the others were content to profess and exalted faith in them; but what is faith without works? . .. It is impossible for those who profess allegiance to the law of God to correctly represent the principles of that sacred Decalogue while slighting its holy injunctions to love their neighbour as themselves.” Test. Vol. 4 p. 58
Unless we love our neighbour as ourselves we cannot keep the law of God correctly. The priest and the Levite thought that they have kept the law blamelessly as Paul had, yet without love they only had kept the dead letter.
“Nicodemus had read these scriptures with clouded mind; but he now began to comprehend their meaning. He saw that the most rigid obedience to the mere letter of the law as applied to the outward life could entitle no men to enter the kingdom of heaven. In the estimation of men, his life had been just and honorable; but in the presence of Christ. he felt that his heart was unclean, and his life unholy.” D.A. 174
“The scribes and Pharisees appeared to be very punctilious in living out the letter of the law; but Christ said to his disciples, ‘Except your righteousness shall exceed the, righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.’ What a startling declaration was this!” R.H. April 30, 1895
“Outward conformity to the letter of the law was not sufficient. The very principles of the law must be planted in the heart, and love to man must be revealed in the character, words, and actions.” S.T. Oct. 29, 1896
The commandments are an expression of Love. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:3
If love to God and to our fellowmen ~is lacking, then our obedience to the law is not perfect. We must go beyond the mere letter and understand the deep meaning of the spiritual law. In other words, the law must be written in our hearts. We must love the law as David did and if we love it; then we will meditate on it day and night. (Ps. 1 :2) Then the second mile will not be a burden to us, but a pleasure and a joy.
AMEN