"Love Your Enemies"
Matthew 5:43–48 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [a]be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore [b]you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Today we come to the final message in our series on biblical love. Over the past several weeks, we have explored what it means to love God, love one another, love our families, and love our neighbors. But now we come to perhaps the most difficult expression of love that Jesus ever commanded: loving our enemies. During World War I, on Christmas Eve of 1914, something remarkable happened along portions of the Western Front. British, French, and German soldiers, who had been trying to kill one another just hours earlier, began singing Christmas carols from their trenches. As the night progressed, they cautiously emerged into "no man's land," exchanged gifts, shared food, buried their dead, and even played soccer together. For one brief night, the hatred of war gave way to the peace proclaimed by the Prince of Peace. Sadly, the truce ended, and the fighting resumed, but it remains a powerful reminder that even bitter enemies can be transformed when hearts are changed. Jesus calls His followers to something even greater than a temporary ceasefire. He commands us to demonstrate a supernatural love toward those who oppose, mistreat, and even persecute us because such love reflects the very character of our heavenly Father, displays the transforming power of the gospel, overcomes evil with good, and points others to Christ. This morning, we will examine the radical command to love our enemies, consider what that love looks like, identify who our enemies are, discover why we must love them, explore how we are to love them, clarify what loving our enemies does not mean, and finally I want to conclude this series on love by talking about the last kind of love; loving the world. My prayer is that, by the end of this message, we will see that loving our enemies is not merely an impossible ideal but the supernatural evidence that Christ is truly at work within His people.
prayer
I. The Radical Command: Love Your Enemies
As I approached this last kind of love that Christians are commanded, I thought this truly is a radical command. I mean most of us would nod in agreement when I say that children should parents and parents children. We would agree that spouses should love each other. We would also usually agree that brothers and sisters in Christ should love each other. And so, so far, all these, “our neighbors” we would commonly hold that we should love each other. And most Christians, I believe do put in some effort to love all of these people. So, really, we are good up to this point. But then Jesus said something radical. He didn’t stop with “love you neighbor.” He went on to say, “love your enemies.” So let’s jump into the first part of this message by looking at this radical command.
A. Jesus Corrects a Popular Misunderstanding
Now, I say this was a radical command for a couple of reasons. The first reason that it is radical is because this is the complete opposite to how the world regards enemies. The attitude of the world is that we hate our enemies. We do not seek for what is good to come to our enemies, we want everything bad to come to them. We want them destroyed, we want them vanquished. But it was also radical in Jesus day because it directly contradicted the common understanding of what God’s Word said. If you don’t remember, Jesus said these words in the Sermon on the Mount.
And this is what He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy'" (Matthew 5:43). Let’s stop there. Let’s look at that first phrase, "You have heard that it was said. When Jesus says that, He is not saying, “You’ve hears from Old Testament Scripture, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” He is not correcting the Old Testament—He was correcting the religious traditions that had distorted it.
You see, that phrase, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy'" is not found in the Old Testament. It sounds like something from the Old Testament, but it is distorted. Let me show you what Scripture actually says
Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not keep your anger against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.
Those words were given to Moses to give to Israel as God’s law. But, by the time of Jesus, fifteen hundred years later, God's Law had been read, reinterpreted, commented on, elaborated on, expanded, supplemented, qualified, debated, codified, systematized, categorized, dissected, refined, complicated, obscured, burdened, fenced, ritualized, traditionalized, and, in many ways, convoluted." Notice what it says there in Leviticus 19. It does say, “You shall love your neighbor.” But notice what happened. And by the way this is what Satan always does with the Word of God. He uses two mathematical operations; subtraction and addition.
First is subtraction. Jesus said, “You have heard that it has been said, “Love your neighbor…” You tell me, what did they leave out? “As yourself.” You are to love the person in need around you, you are to care for their needs in the same way, to the same level as though you were caring for your own needs.”
How do people love themselves and care for themselves? With all their hearts and minds. Tell me something, how quickly do you respond to your own pain? Immediately. I hurt myself, I’ve got to get this taken care of now, post haste. If you have a want. I’m thirsty. How quickly to you react. Immediately. And so the Old Testament command wasn’t just “love your neighbor.” If that had been all it said, we could kind of say, “well, I love them, a little.” No, He said, “love them as you love yourself.”
So the first thing Satan does is he subtracts from God’s Word. Then, he adds to God’s Word. Jesus says, “You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” The Jewish traditions had added, “and hate your enemy.” That is not in the Old Testament. God never commands His people to hate their enemies.
So, where did they get that? Well, over time, many Jewish leaders had narrowed the definition of "neighbor" to mean only fellow Israelites or those worthy of their affection. So, as they narrowly defined neighbor, they are then left with the question, “So what about my enemies? They assumed that enemies were to be despised.
But, we want to be entirely open and honest in our study here. It is understandable how some reached that conclusion. There are a couple of reasons why they may have come to that wrong conclusion. First, Israel had fought many God-ordained wars, and on certain occasions God commanded the complete destruction (the ban) of particularly wicked nations as an act of divine judgment. They were commanded to wipe out the nations that occupied the Promised land. So, they might have concluded that since God wanted these people dead, that they were right to hate them.
Secondly, the punishment for violating God’s Old Testament commands was often what? Death. If you murder, put to death, commit adultery, put to death, witchcraft, put to death, worship another god, put to death, blasphemy, put to death. So, again, it would seem to be a natural extension from that that the people who committed those acts were to be hated. So, how do we explain that?
Well, we must remember that these unique acts of judgment, whether against a nation, or against a criminal were never intended to become a general rule for personal relationships. God used Israel as His instrument of judgement against Canaan. Secondly, God set a standard of behavior in the law. Israel was to remove evil, and deter crime with punishment, and often death. But in neither of those cases was it intended for that to be the standard for personal relationships. But that’s what the Jews had done. The law said that if you poked out your brothers eye, your punishment was to have your eye poked out. But they took it to a personal level. By golly, if you hurt me in any way, I’m going to make sure I get you back.
I heard a story about a tribe in Polynesia that had a fascinating—and heartbreaking—custom. Around the inside edge of every family's hut, hanging from the rafters, were small objects and tokens. A visitor asked, "What are all those things hanging from your roof?" The answer was chilling. "They're reminders." "Reminders of what?" "Reminders of every injury we've ever suffered."
Whenever someone insulted them, cheated them, stole from them, dishonored the family, or inflicted some personal wrong, they would hang another token from the roof. Every morning they woke up beneath those reminders. Every evening they went to bed looking at them. Every meal was eaten under a ceiling filled with memories of offenses. And no token was ever removed until vengeance had been taken for that particular act.
Chiiling, but we often do the very same thing. We may not hang tokens from our ceilings, but we hang them in our hearts. We keep a mental inventory of every insult, every betrayal, every harsh word, every broken promise, every act of unfairness. We replay conversations. We relive the hurt. We rehearse what we wish we had said. We quietly wait for the day when they'll get what they deserve.
So, Jesus addresses this same practice among the Jews by saying, “you have heard that it has been said, love your neighbors and hate your enemies, but I tell you, love your enemies.” He flips their system on its head. I think this was probably one of the more shocking things that Jesus ever said to the people of Israel.
But it shouldn’t have been. Why? Because God never told Israel to hate their enemies. In fact, He told them repeatedly to love their enemies.
Let me show you some verses demonstrating the foundation of love that had been laid in the Old Testament
Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not keep your anger against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.
But that says neighbor preacher.
Exodus 23:4–5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away,
What would you do? I see that something bad is happening to someone who has done evil to me, someone who does bad things, or has been unkind to me, what do I think? “good” they are getting what they deserve. But what are you supposed to do?
you shall surely return it to him. 5 “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.[a]
Proverbs 24:17–18 When your enemy falls, do not be glad, And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;
Proverbs 25:21–22 If [a]your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
Let me give you a couple of examples from the Old Testament. This is David talking about how he treated those who did evil to him.
Psalm 35:11–14 (ESV) 11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. 13 But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. 14 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
Here’s another one that shows that the standard of love for enemies was there in the Old Testament. This comes out of the book of Job. Remember that Job is defending himself against the accusation that he is suffering because of his sin. He is recounting how he has sought to do what is right.
Job 31:29–30 (NKJV) If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him 30 (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);
Job recognizes that it was a sin to curse, hate, or rejoice at the destruction of even an enemy.
One of the best Old Testament examples goes back to David. Remember that Saul was king, and in his rage and jealousy he was trying to hunt down David. David had been told by God that he was to be king, and that there would come a day when Saul be presented to him, be under his power to do with him whatever he chose.
1 Samuel 24: Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to [a]relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. 4 Then the men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good in your eyes.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. 5 And it happened afterward that David’s heart struck him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. 6 So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of Yahweh that I should do this thing to my lord, the anointed of Yahweh, to send forth my hand against him, since he is the anointed of Yahweh.” 7 And David tore his men to pieces with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, [b]left the cave, and went on his way.
8 Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his [c]face to the ground and prostrated himself.
All these passages, and more, demonstrate that it was never intended that God’s people would treat their enemies with hatred. Instead Jesus says that they are to love their enemies.
II. What Does "Love" Look like?
The Greek word Jesus uses for "love" is agapē, a word that describes a deliberate, selfless commitment to seek another person's good rather than a mere feeling or emotion. This kind of love is not based on affection, approval, or trust, nor does it depend on whether the other person deserves it or returns it. Instead, agapē chooses to act with kindness, willingly sacrifices for the good of others, extends forgiveness instead of revenge, and sincerely hopes for the other person's repentance and restoration. It is a love of the will that reflects the very character of God and is demonstrated through actions rather than simply feelings.
Think of the one person that you absolutely cannot stand. It could be personal, or a famous person. If you can't think of someone that you don’t like, think of someone that doesn't like you. Think of meeting them personally. Now, as you think of them, I want you to consider what 1st Corinthians 13 says about your attitude toward them, how you treat them, how you talk about them.
1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (Expanded Application to Loving Your Enemies)
Love is patient (It refuses to retaliate when mistreated. It bears insults without demanding immediate justice. It gives an enemy time to repent instead of insisting on revenge.)
Love is kind (It responds to harshness with gentleness. It speaks graciously instead of sarcastically. It looks for practical ways to do good, even to someone who has done us harm.)
Love is not jealous (It does not resent an enemy's success, promotions, blessings, or happiness. It does not wish that good things would be taken away from them.)
Love does not brag (It does not boast when we are proven right or when an enemy is humbled. It does not say, "I told you so," or seek to make them feel inferior.)
Love is not puffed up (It does not look down on an enemy with pride or self-righteousness. It remembers that apart from God's grace, we too are sinners in need of mercy.)
It does not act unbecomingly (It refuses to mock, insult, slander, ridicule, or embarrass an enemy. It behaves with dignity and Christlike character even when others do not.)
It does not seek its own (It is willing to sacrifice personal comfort, reputation, or convenience for another's good. It asks, "What would glorify God and benefit this person?" rather than, "What's best for me?")
It is not provoked (It is not easily offended or controlled by another person's insults, criticism, or mistreatment. It chooses self-control instead of anger.)
It does not take into account a wrong suffered (It does not keep a mental record of every offense. It refuses to rehearse past hurts or build a case for bitterness. It chooses forgiveness instead of keeping score.)
It does not rejoice in unrighteousness (It does not celebrate when an enemy falls into sin, suffers disgrace, loses a job, experiences failure, or faces calamity. It does not delight in their pain or say, "They finally got what they deserved.")
But rejoices with the truth (It rejoices when an enemy repents, is restored, comes to Christ, grows in righteousness, or experiences God's transforming grace. It wants truth and redemption more than vindication.)
It bears all things (It patiently endures mistreatment without returning evil for evil. It carries the burden of being wronged without becoming bitter or vindictive.)
It believes all things (It gives others the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. It refuses to assume the worst motives and remains open to the possibility that God can change even the hardest heart.)
It hopes all things (It never gives up praying for an enemy's repentance, reconciliation, and salvation. It trusts that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace.)
It endures all things (It continues to love faithfully even when kindness is rejected, forgiveness is unappreciated, and hostility continues. It perseveres because its confidence is in Christ, not in the response of the other person.)
Love never fails. (Love never abandons God's standard because it is difficult. It never ceases to reflect the character of Christ, who loved His enemies, prayed for those who crucified Him, and calls His followers to do the same.)
I have several times read the story of George Wishart, who was a martyr in the early years for his faith in Christ. He was to die, because he loved Jesus and wouldn’t deny Him, and so he was taken to the place of execution. The executioner prepared to take his life, but he had known of his life and testimony, and he was so burdened with the guilt of his role as executioner that he hesitated in reluctance in taking his life. And the biographer says at the point where he hesitated, Wishart looked up and saw the hesitation, and so he stood up, put his arms around him, embraced his executioner, planted a kiss on his cheek, and said to him, “Sir, may that be a token that I forgive you.” That’s loving your enemies.
Well, next time we are going to pick up with the next question; Who are my enemies?
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your Word and for this challenging command to love our enemies. We confess that this does not come naturally to us. Too often we hold on to hurt, keep a record of wrongs, and desire revenge instead of forgiveness.
Thank You that while we were still Your enemies, You loved us and sent Your Son to die for us. Because of Your mercy, help us to extend mercy to others.
Lord, search our hearts. Reveal any bitterness, resentment, or unforgiveness that remains. Give us the heart of Christ, who prayed for those who crucified Him. Help us to bless those who curse us, pray for those who persecute us, and overcome evil with good.
If there is someone we need to forgive, pray for, or show kindness to, give us the grace and courage to obey. May our lives reflect the love of our heavenly Father and point others to the transforming power of the gospel.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, who loved His enemies and made us His friends.
Amen.