2009-10-24
Explanation
This single-panel comic depicts Jesus speaking to a group of followers, saying: "If your neighbor strikes you, turn the other cheek. Then, your neighbor feels like a total dick." The caption below reads: "Jesus' oft-forgotten sermon on passive-aggression."
The joke reframes one of Jesus's most famous teachings -- "turn the other cheek" from the Sermon on the Mount -- by revealing an entirely different motivation behind it. Rather than being about forgiveness, humility, or non-violence, this version presents it as a calculated passive-aggressive strategy designed to make the attacker feel guilty. The humor comes from the jarring contrast between the sacred biblical setting and the petty, modern interpersonal dynamic being described. It suggests that turning the other cheek is not noble selflessness but rather an ancient guilt trip.
The votey panel continues the theme with Jesus in a modern-looking setting saying "No, no. Let's do what you want again," while someone else says "Listen, if you don't want pizza tonight, just say so." This extends the passive-aggression joke by showing Jesus using the classic passive-aggressive move of pretending to defer to someone else's wishes while clearly communicating displeasure, applied to something as mundane as choosing dinner.