Sunday Dive

Ep. 175 - The Six Antitheses: When Jesus Raises the Stakes


Listen Later

Jesus has just settled his followers on a Galilean hillside when he drops a spiritual bombshell: “You have heard it said... but I say to you.” This episode unpacks Jesus’s radical reimagining of righteousness, tracing how he transforms Old Testament laws—about anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love—raising the bar far beyond the letter to the very heart. We’ll get up close with the Greek text, discover what a slap on the right cheek really meant, and find out why even a coat and a cloak aren’t just clothes in Jesus’s new world order. If you’ve ever wondered why Christian love means going the extra mile (literally!), you won’t want to miss this deep dive into the six antitheses that reshaped the moral universe.

Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

  • The jaw-dropping significance of Jesus using an emphatic "I" in Greek, altering the tone and asserting divine authority as he gives the new law [26:23]
  • The miraculous story of the thornless roses in Assisi, grown after St. Francis rolled in the bushes to combat lust, showing how saints took the Sermon on the Mount to heart [33:23]
  • The shocking reality behind why Moses permitted divorce in ancient Israel—and how it originally served to prevent murder [34:43]
  • A behind-the-scenes look at "equivalent retribution," the notorious "eye for an eye" concept, and how Jesus subverts it to command radical generosity and non-retaliation [39:03]
  • Evidence from rabbinic literature on cheek-slapping, revealing that being backhanded on the right cheek was uniquely shameful—and why Jesus's command upends all expectations [41:49]
  • The surprising Jewish distinctions between a tunic and a cloak, and why lending or losing either held profound legal and survival implications [43:44]
  • How Roman law allowed soldiers to conscript civilians for forced labor—and the real-life humiliation Jews endured, transforming Jesus's call to "go the extra mile" into a radical act of discipleship [45:21]
  • And finally, Rabbi Jacob Neusner's provocative conclusion after reading Jesus's words—why he, as a Jew, would not have followed the new law, highlighting just how revolutionary Jesus's teaching was [48:58]

For the full show notes including references and small group discussion questions, visit: kptz.io/6OT-A26

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Sunday DiveBy Katie Patrizio

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

81 ratings


More shows like Sunday Dive

View all
Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies by Bishop Robert Barron

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

5,029 Listeners

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz by Ascension

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

6,235 Listeners

Abiding Together by Heather Khym, Michelle Benzinger, Sr Miriam James Heidland

Abiding Together

4,227 Listeners

The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast by Ascension

The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

7,769 Listeners

The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) by Ascension

The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast)

2,190 Listeners

All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri by Ascension

All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri

1,375 Listeners

Ask Father Josh (Your Catholic Question and Answer Podcast) by Ascension

Ask Father Josh (Your Catholic Question and Answer Podcast)

2,633 Listeners

The Road to Emmaus with Scott Hahn by Scott Hahn

The Road to Emmaus with Scott Hahn

32 Listeners

Godsplaining by Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph

Godsplaining

1,280 Listeners

You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo by ACTS XXIX

You Were Born for This with Fr. John Riccardo

660 Listeners

The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) by Ascension

The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

62,685 Listeners

Saints Alive Podcast by Saints Alive

Saints Alive Podcast

1,297 Listeners

Catholic Bible Study by Augustine Institute

Catholic Bible Study

786 Listeners

The LOOPcast by CatholicVote

The LOOPcast

752 Listeners

The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) by Ascension

The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

11,494 Listeners