In New Testament times there were two major caravan roads crossing Palestine. One came down from the city of Damascus and crossed the Jordan River near the Sea of Galilee. It passed very near Nazareth, then followed the coast south into Egypt. This road was called “The Way of the Sea”, and was one of the most used roads by the Romans.
As a boy Jesus would have probably watched the road in his spare time. He would have seen many colorful caravans traveling to take their goods to many different cities. He would have seen messengers on horseback riding very fast to get letters of importance to Alexandria or other major cities. He would have seen chariots built for wealthy men and women carrying their occupants to important destinations.
The boy Jesus would have also seen many Roman soldiers marching along the road. The soldiers’ swords would have been clanking at their sides as they marched in formation. And Jesus would have seen something that many people did not like.
A Roman soldier could make a Jew carry his heavy pack of belongings. Jesus no doubt saw Jews having to walk bent over under a heavy burden alongside the soldiers. The law stated that the Jew only had to carry it a mile. But the Jews felt very humiliated to have to do this.
When Jesus became an adult, the law still stood. And Jesus could have easily talked about how unfair this law was. He could have told the Jews to no longer carry these burdens for the Romans. He could have told the Romans that the Jews would no longer be “human donkeys.”
But instead, Jesus said something very interesting. In Matthew 5:41 he said, “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Twain means two. Jesus was telling them to carry the burden two miles instead of one. By doing this, they would demonstrate their willingness to get along. They would demonstrate their desire to serve all men. And by doing this, they were showing that they were willing to “go the extra mile.”
The next time you think a rule is not fair, the next time you do not like a rule your parents make, the next time you think you are being treated wrongly, think about Jesus talking about going two miles instead of one. Even adults have a very hard time with this thought. But if you will start as a young person to always make this your rule in life, it will become second nature. You will just always “go the extra mile.”
