A slap to the face either verbally or physically does not take a third shot. Hit me once, hit me twice, the third times a charm!

Cop it on the chin like a man.

I believe that He meant that we should forgive those who have hurt us. Not to turn around and hurt them just because they hurt us. Of course, only my opinion. God Bless, <:))))<><

don't seek revenge but justice

He meant that people should not seek revenge on those who wrong them.

Let somebody slap you up both sides of the head for good measure and maybe to restore equilibrium

You have to consider the context. In essence, he was telling those gathered there to hear his sermon on the mount that Christians are not to respond to religious persecutors as though they were common criminals, because someone who attacks you because of your Christianity does not know what he's doing.

It means that when someone does something bad or wrong towards you that you should not do something bad or wrong back to them. If someone "slaps you on the cheek", so to speak, it is better to turn and offer them your other cheek than to retaliate. **This is my interpretation of it. Of course if someone is literally hitting you, you do have the right to defend yourself against such abuse. Jesus meant more in the sense of for example if someone calls you a name to ignore it rather than call that person a name back. I think even Jesus would say if someone was trying to attack you and do major harm that you have the right to defend yourself.

He meant that people should simply let insults and/or disparaging personal remarks go. In a broader sense, not only should we allow negativity to pass, we should also allow our detractors the opportunity for another shot. Although it sounds like He advised people to be doormats, that's not what He meant, in my humble opinion. It's all about responding to hatred (negativity) with love (positive). You don't have to agree with the person who's giving you a hard time, not at all. Just don't respond in kind, and like several of the other answers have said, forgive that person. We need to recognize that people who come down on us are people in pain. They're angry and hurting and we only antagonize their inner demons when we challenge them. Pain and fear are at the heart of all negativity. "Perfect love casts out fear." If you can show your detractor that his antagonism will not faze you, you prove to him, at least on some level, that love is stronger than hate.

The most powerful message I have ever read or heard was at the core of this text. It is, also, the message that we seem to, as Christians, to have the most trouble with, and that is the call to the ultimate humility. We hate to think that he would ever ask us to do as He did every day of His life in the flesh. Jesus was trying to teach us that we should love all people. If I love you, will I hit you, revile you, curse you or throw you in prison. The whole world is watching, believers. Many of whom are even waiting in anticipation for us to fall on our faces and prove once and for all that we are no different. We want to be stones in the hands of our enemies so that we cannot be crushed, while the call of our Lord is to be butterflies, and, if we are crushed, we have a God who is the ONLY righteous judge, that will not be idle in our defense. What’s more important is that the world that watches will see the true change that God has wrought in those of us that are faithful. They will see a people that are an example of the amazing mercy, longsuffering and compassion of Christ. Jesus was once asked how often one should forgive, “7 times?” the disciple asked. Jesus told him that we should forgive 70 times that many. So, how often do we let someone strike us on the cheek? This wasn’t an allegory that meant something less. It was a statement that was purposely harsh to illustrate EXACTLY what He meant. That we are to ALWAYS love, even our enemies. We are to bless those that curse us, and pray for those that despitefully use and abuse us. Our commandment that is above all other commandments, more than even the defense of our possessions, our person or even our families, is to love.