John Calvin Commentary Matthew 5:40

"And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also." — Matthew 5:40 (ASV)

And to him who wishes to enter into a lawsuit with you. Christ now considers another kind of annoyance: when wicked men torment us with lawsuits. He commands us, even on such an occasion, to be so patient and submissive that, when our coat has been taken away, we shall be prepared to give up our cloak also.

No one but a fool will insist on the literal words to maintain that we must yield to our opponents what they demand before coming into a court of law. Such compliance would more strongly inflame the minds of wicked men to robbery and extortion, and we know that nothing was further from the design of Christ.

What then is meant by giving the cloak to him who endeavors, on the ground of a legal claim,⁴¹⁶ to take away our coat? If a man, oppressed by an unjust decision, loses what is his own, and yet is prepared, when it shall be found necessary, to part with the remainder, he deserves no less to be commended for patience than the man who allows himself to be twice robbed before coming into court. In short, when Christians meet with someone who endeavors to wrench from them a part of their property, they ought to be prepared to lose the whole.

Therefore, we conclude that Christians are not entirely prohibited from engaging in lawsuits, provided they have a just defense to offer. Though they do not surrender their goods as prey, they do not depart from this doctrine of Christ, which exhorts us to bear patiently the spoiling of our goods (Hebrews 10:34). It is, no doubt, rare to find a man who proceeds with mild and proper feelings to plead in court. However, as it is possible for a man to defend a just cause with a view to the public advantage, we have no right to condemn the act itself merely because it sometimes appears to be motivated by improper feelings.

The different modes of expression used by Matthew and Luke make no alteration in the meaning. A cloak is usually of more value than a coat; accordingly, when Matthew says that we ought to give a cloak to him who takes away a coat, he means that, after having sustained a smaller loss, we ought to be prepared to endure a greater. What is stated by Luke agrees with the ancient proverb, “The coat is nearer than the cloak.”⁴¹⁷

⁴¹⁶ “Sous couleur de proceder par voye de justice;” — “under pretense of proceeding by way of justice.”;” — “under pretense of proceeding by way of justice.”

⁴¹⁷ “Que le saye est plus pres de la chair que le manteau.” — “That the coat is nearer the flesh than the cloak.”.” — “That the coat is nearer the flesh than the cloak.”