Cheeks

I was listening to the radio today and it jokingly mentioned something about getting hit in the head. I don’t know why, but it made me think about a chapter in a book I read about a year ago. Unfortunately I cannot remember what book it was. However, I do remember that it had an interesting take on the “turn the other cheek” concept by Jesus. Instead of the “allow them to hit you in the face again” imagery that we were all taught as a child, it hypothesized that it is more of a “stand your ground” concept that we have misinterpreted. The way this concept was explained was that when you get hit, it is for the hitter to show dominance over you. This would be physical but it would also be transferable to their ideas versus your ideas. In standing your ground, it shows that the hitter cannot “break” your resolve and willpower. This in turn demonstrates the power and calm quality of your position. This idea was reinforced by the example that Jesus stood his ground and always did what he knew was right in the face if whatever danger might have been there. Every time Jesus was confronted he stood there and said what he needed to say. He confronted his enemies. The book stated he never ran or appeared weak. I had a two part problem with this theory at the time. While I like the idea that we are to stand firm and not use violence but not cower in a corner either, I believe that those two specific issues must be addressed.
One was, I thought that Jesus being hung on a cross and beaten showed submissiveness that flew in the face of this theory. However, now I do not believe Jesus appeared weak or submissive when he was beaten and dying on the cross. If anything I believe it takes some sort of amazing strength to voluntarily go through that.
Two, Jesus did actually run away one time. When he was preaching in his own village, the locals were surrounding Jesus and trying to throw him down a cliff (bible uses “down” not “off”) and he was able to just walk right through them and leave with no harm to himself. One could interpret this as running away but I guess, now that I think about it, it is more of a sign by Jesus to say, “Okay, you guys are not listening. I am out of here.”
I believe I am going to start teaching this story this way, both the “turn the other cheek” quote and the story of Jesus walking right through the crowd. If Jesus only wanted us to represent him with a strong resolve not a shrinking away and take the beating ideal, does this change the position of Christian stubbornness? If anything we should be as stubborn as humanly possible without being overbearing or offensive. I know that is a thin line, but it is one of the many lines I believe Christ called us to walk. Anyway, thoughts?