This is part of a series on Shalom
The texts and keywords in this section are probably the most obvious to us as peace texts of some kind, though even then the emphasis is less on peace per se, and more on the nonviolent actions. This is all well and good, but I want to note that these passages are more than just teaching a way to behave, they are showing us what a community of peace looks like as well helping us bring that community into reality and then to expand it, even to our enemies. Note that this is not a post (or series) on nonviolence so I will not be digging very deeply into it here. There are many wonderful resources for such a thing but that is not the aim here. The pacifist thought here is more or less assumed.
Synoptics
In the synoptics we have passages such as “turn the other cheek,” the Good Samaritan, love your neighbor as yourself, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Of course there is also the entire narrative of Jesus meekly and willingly being taken prisoner, slandered, tortured and painfully and shamefully murdered without ever retaliating or offering up a single curse. In fact, the only thing he really says about or to his murderers is a plea to give them forgiveness. Additionally, things like eating with tax collectors, talking with the Samaritan woman, healing the Phoenician woman show us, as Willard Swartley says, “Jesus’ inclusion of the outsider, the overcoming of enmity, and the extension of the kingdom of God to all people which is where all of Biblical peacemaking brings us.”
So once again it is helpful to refer back to the Hebrew scriptures as we read through these passages. When we do, we will see how often Jesus is framed in a way that he is embodying shalom. Whenever Jesus is reaching beyond his ethnic group, this is him gathering together the nations. When he communes with sinners, especially those like tax collectors, he is breaking down the walls of division which is preventing us from all living and supporting each other together. These are the exact things we see in passages such as Isaiah 2:2-4. In short, it is all peace talk. When Jesus is walking around and bringing together all who wish to learn from him, we are literally seeing Isaiah 2 being fulfilled. All nations, all people, are flocking to Jesus where he teaches them and sends them out. If they were oppressed, he freed their chains. For those like Zacchius who had previously wielded weapons of oppression, after meeting Jesus they crafted those weapons previously used against others into tools in order to help those same people.
Paul
Following from a person’s justification from God and consequential reconciliation with Him, Paul believes that now one may follow the Spirit as has been desired but was previously unattainable. This is especially true in terms of loving one’s enemies which is about as unnatural an act as one can attempt. Gordon Zerbe does an excellent job organizing for us a list of responses that Paul gives in response to mistreatment from enemies:
- “not repaying evil for evil” (Thess. 5:15a; Rom 12:17a)
- “not taking vengeance for oneself” (Rom. 12:19a)
- “not cursing” (Rom. 12:14)
- “forbearance” (Phil. 4:5; 1 Thess 5:14; 1 Cor. 13:4; Gal. 5:22; 2 Cor. 6:6)
- “endurance” (1 Cor. 4:12; 2 Cor. 11:20; cf. Col. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:4; Rom. 12:12; 2 Cor. 6:4; 1 Cor. 13:7; cf. Rom. 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 1:6) (Reminder that these are all in the context of enemy persecution)
- not litigating (1 Cor. 6:1-8)
- “not reckoning evil” (1 Cor. 13:6)
These are all passive responses which is often a criticism levied at those who emphasize the non-retaliation, suffering and enemy love passages, a criticism not entirely empty. Zerbe continues with active responses to evil:
- responding with good/kind deeds (1Thess. 5:15b; Rom. 12:17b, 20-21)
- “blessing” (Rom. 12:14; 1 Cor. 4:12)
- “conciliating” (1 Cor. 4:13)
- “being at peace” (1 Thess. 5:13; Rom 12:18; cf. Gal 5:20-22)
- “forgiving” (2 Cor. 2:7-10; Col. 3:13)
- “loving” (1 Cor. 13:4-7; cf. 2 Cor. 6:6; Rom 12:9; 1 Thess. 3:12)
Of course Paul speaks in similar ways when not speaking of enemies too. He frequently calls on believers to love each other. In Thessalonians he says to “encourage the disheartened, help the weak and be patient with everyone.” In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul uses the word ‘one’, as in the sense of unity, seven times! This oneness, this unity of the church with each other and with God and His Spirit is found throughout this letter.
This is all, of course, peace talk. He is speaking of shalom. He is speaking of shalom which exists in the midst of a world that is so very far away from shalom. He is often speaking of shalom when we are directly attacked with unshalom. This flies in the face of those who think that peace, though important, largely lies outside our grasp because of the fallenness of this world. According to Paul, the believer does not respond in kind. The believer does not retaliate or use evil. More than doing so simply because we do not harm, we are instead called to pursue peace, to forgive and reconcile with all until the full vision of shalom is finally realized. More than just being called to not participate in evil, we are called to be peacemakers. This goes a step beyond what even many of those who recognize the nonviolence of Paul’s teaching goes.
1 Peter
1 Peter contains one of the most powerful passages for nonviolent suffering and is widely cited in discussions of nonviolence. What’s usually not noticed is that the entire structure of the book is supported by pillars of peace. It begins with the salutation, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance” (1:2d) and ends with the blessing, “Peace be to all of you who are in Christ (5:14b).” Then at the heart of the epistle, just after the nonviolent suffering section, is the noble calling, “turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (3:11). As important as the righteous suffering aspect is, it must be seen within a framework of peace. This suffering isn’t a simple “keep your head down and accept your lot.” It’s a movement towards peace, a call to refuse the option of retaliation which furthers the divide between yourself and others.
So I encourage you when you read and study these non-retaliation passages to look beyond just not hurting others and see that they are all pieces of the puzzle to peace. I’ll end this section with a quote from Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld. “However much marked by meekness, patience, and suffering, such peaceable righteousness must never be severed from the repeated injunction to aggressively pursue (diōkō) peace (Ps 34:14; Rom 14:19; 2 Tim 2:22; Heb 12:14; 1 Pet 3:11).3
Crucifiedpeace 
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