Unveiling the Message from the Sermon on the Mount
Michael Ryer • January 1, 2019
The Mile of Desire… Dr. John La Noue
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivers the message called, “the Sermon on the Mount.” Tucked away in this message, in chapter 5:41, there is a powerful statement that takes a leap of faith to understand and practice. “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Let me tell you a story to illustrate this teaching.
A young Jewish lad was hoeing in his father’s garden when hesaw a soldier approaching. He dropped his hoe, laid down under a vine, andtried to hide. Suddenly there was a loud burst of raucous laughter from thesoldier as he shouted, “I see you Jew boy! You can’t hide from me! You know thelaw, come get my pack!”
During the Roman occupation of Israel, there was a rule that a Roman soldier could force any Jewish male to carry his pack for one mile, about 1,000 paces. Many of these people had marked a mile in each direction from where thy worked, They did NOT want to carry a Roman’s pack a foot further than they were supposed to do.
The boy got up, picked up the heavy pack, and startedtrudging behind the soldier, muttering hateful things and cursing under his breath!
At his mile marker, the boy threw the pack to the ground and ran, screaming curses in anger!
The soldier laughed and shouted, “I know where you live, Jewboy! And when I come back from this campaign, I will make you carry my pack again!”
Several months later, the Roman soldier was returning, and he saw the young man working in the field. The lad dropped his hoe, leaped to the road and started running toward the soldier! This shocked the man so much that he thought, “Ambush! Something is wrong!” He moved his shield to the front, stopped, and gripped his sword!”
The Jewish lad ran to him smiling and shouting, “You made it! I’m so glad to see you! Wow, your pack is very large now!” The soldier dropped his pack and said, “Pick it up, boy!” He replied, “Yes, sir. I have been waiting to help you.”
The stunned soldier walked cautiously beside him. The lad said, “You must have been very brave and victorious to have so much stuff you won.” He said, “Yes, I was the first to breach the wall and engage the enemy!”
“Please tell me all about it, sir, I am eager to hear your story,” the soldier began to tell about the battle and also began to relax his guard, as he told a story of heroism in battle.
When they reached the boy’s mile marker, the man told him to drop the pack. But, the young boy said, “Please sir, I am enjoying being with you and listening to you so much; may I carry it another mile?”
The stunned man said, “Ok, but let me help you.” As he slipped his arm around the heavy pack.
The boy asked him about his family and home in Italy and the soldier’s eyes moistened as his described his family. He spoke of having a son the Jewish boy’s age. As he walked and talked, he lifted more and more of the load until he was practically carrying the pack and the lad!
When the reached the second mile marker, the soldier said,“Son, you must go home. It will be dark soon and these roads are not safe.”
The lad told him he would, but only if he promised to let him carry his pack if he came back his way. The man was mystified… he asked “Son, what happened to you since I passed this way earlier?”
The boy replied, “Sir, after you came, I walked this road with a man named Jesus. He forgave my sins and taught me to forgive others who have hurt me,
He told me if a man makes me walk a mile as a duty, then I should walk the second mile as a desire. A desire to demonstrate love, a desire to give grace to another, and the desire to demonstrate Christ-likeness to help another find salvation in Him.”
The soldier said that he had heard of the man, Jesus, in Jerusalem.
Then he said, If He can do in my life what He has done inyours, I want to walk with Him also!”
When you get past the mile of duty and begin to walk the mile of desire transformation happens !
He taught me to love my enemies. To pray for them, to feed them if they are hungry, and to love others as I loved myself. Sir, He taught me that all men were created by God and love is to be the essence of all our relationships with each other!
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