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"If the Jews, as subjects of Rome, did not comply with a Roman soldier’s requests for anything from a drink of water to handing over personal property, a swift backhand to the right cheek was common. But why would Jesus instruct His followers to offer the left cheek as well?
Paul T. Penley explains in “Turning the Other Cheek’: Jesus’ Peaceful Plan to Challenge Injustice,” “Roman soldiers tended to be right-handed. When they struck an equal with a fist, it came from the right and made contact with the left side of the face.
When they struck an inferior person, they swung with the back of their right hand making contact with the right cheek. In a Mediterranean culture that made clear distinctions between classes, Roman soldiers backhanded their subjects to make a point. Jews were second-class.” The Roman slap was an insult to the Jews’ personal dignity."