Faith First Media

The following is an excerpt from the book A Theology of Peace by Matthew Elton, copyright 2009 Matthew Elton.

Giving the Coat Also

If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.

--Matthew 5:40

A coat was an extremely valuable item in first century Judean society. For the average man, his coat was his most valuable possession. The average man owned only two pieces of clothing – a cloak (translated as “shirt”, this was the clothing that the man wore against his skin) and a coat, which he wore over his cloak to keep warm during cold weather. The coat also doubled as a pillow.

In first century Judean society, the three percent of the population that was wealthy acted very oppressively towards the ninety-seven percent of the population that was poor. The wealthy looked down upon the poor class and forced them to pay their taxes and their debts. If a poor man gave away all of his possessions but could still not pay off his debt, then he was mercilessly forced to surrender the clothes on his back. The only possession he was allowed to keep was his coat, so he would not be completely naked.

When viewed in historical context, Christ’s words in Matthew 5:40 are shocking. Today, clothing is mass produced, so it doesn’t seem like a big deal to give away a shirt and a coat. In Christ’s day, however, doing so would mean stripping naked before the court and willingly surrendering all of your clothing.

This radical concept presented a creative, nonviolent method of resisting the injustice that the poor suffered. By surrendering not only his shirt but his coat also, the debtor would thus leave the courtroom naked. Walking the streets naked, he would inevitably be stopped and questioned. This would then give him an opportunity to explain the injustice he had experienced – an opportunity he would not have otherwise, since the poor did not have the power to bring charges against the wealthy in court. Rather than seeking revenge, the debtor would reveal to society the injustice that existed. Imagine if hundreds of poor debtors heeded Christ’s words. The teeming mobs of naked individuals roaming the streets would disgust the wealthy creditor who had demanded their clothing. It would reveal to the creditor just how detrimental to society the oppression of the poor was.

The wealthy were very proud to be members of the Roman Empire – a nation they perceived to be the greatest in existence. If the practice of demanding the clothes of the poor was leading to crowds of naked people roaming the street – effectively reducing the Empire’s people to animals – then surely the wealthy creditors who were oppressing the poor would see firsthand how their evil practice was destroying the society in which they lived. They would therefore be likely to repent and give to the poor rather than stealing from them.

Once again we see that Christ’s teaching is not a command to be submissive, but to oppose evil through creative, nonviolent resistance that changes the heart of the evildoer, leading to repentance, salvation, and of course, peace.