Today’s topic is about life’s most difficult relationships. Think of the people who haven’t been good to you, who don’t like you, who oppose you and treat you badly. What Jesus says about our response to these difficult people shows how radically different the Jesus Way is from what comes naturally to our hearts.
God never actually said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
Jesus opens this final section with his sixth and final contrast: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:43-44). Jesus quotes the Old Testament law when he says “Love your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:18). But nothing in God’s word ever says, “Hate your enemy.” This is an example of how we are prone to twist the Bible to say what we want it to say. People wanted to love those neighbors they liked, who liked them. But Jesus applies the law to neighbors who don’t like us and may try to harm us. Most of us believe our animosity toward such people is justified, but Jesus says to love them.
This doesn’t mean we have to like mean people. Biblical love isn’t just about affection or good feelings. It’s a decision of the will to choose that person’s good. The most obvious way to do that is to pray for them (Matthew 5:44). The Bible also says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink” (Romans 12:20).
Why would Jesus tell us to treat our enemies this way? Because it’s actually for our good.
The world’s way imprisons us, but the Jesus Way sets us free.
Jesus’ command to love our enemies is so revolutionary that it’s tempting to dismiss it as pure idealism that can’t work in the real world. But when we don’t do that, it takes a practical toll in our lives.
First, when we hate our enemies, we typically end up camouflaging our own sin. Putting so much emotional energy into what others have done to us masks our own bad attitudes and choices. Also, when we hang on to hate, we get stuck in bitterness. Animosity, hatefulness and revenge begin to dominate our soul. That trap is hard to escape. Third, hating someone chains us to them. They are always in our thoughts. Our obsession with them creates an emotional tether that won’t let us escape.
When you love your enemy, you connect yourself to the “yoke” of Jesus.
Jesus makes it clear that loving our enemies sets us apart from most people: “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much” (Matthew 5:46). Loving the people who love us is no big win. Even criminals care about their own families and friends. But when we love our enemies, it shows that we are different.
More than that, loving our enemies actually makes us different. For example, when we love those who sin against us, it’s easier to admit that we also sin. We begin to view those people through a lens of grace and mercy, as we realize that is how Jesus views us. When we choose the best for people who oppose or hurt us, we free ourselves to forgive. The emotional chain that binds us to them is broken.
Finally, when we love those difficult people, we connect ourselves to the yoke of Jesus. Jesus often used word pictures from the agricultural world. In Matthew 11:29-30, he referred to the way oxen work together to pull a cart: “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” When two oxen are yoked together, the stronger ox does the greater work. Jesus is strong while we are weak. We desperately need him. The yoke also ensures that the oxen pull together, not against each other. When we love our enemies, we are pulling in the same direction as Jesus. Only when we are united with him can we overcome the ugliness of sin that stains our relationships. We become free to seek God’s best even for our enemies.
Blessing our enemies is the ultimate expression of the Jesus Way.
Jesus’ command to love our enemies expresses the Jesus Way because it reflects the heart of God. Matthew 5:45 says, “In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunshine to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” God is good even to people who don’t like him. He grants blessings to people who oppose and defy him. When we act the same way, we prove that we are truly God’s children, because we reflect God’s heart for people. Jesus added, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The word “perfect” means “complete” or “mature.” This is not saying that we can ever be infinitely perfect or holy like God. Jesus is simply asking his followers to love in the same way our Father in heaven loves.
Blessing our enemies also expresses the Jesus Way because it mirrors what Jesus himself has done for us. Romans 5:10-11 describes how our friendship with God was restored by the death of Jesus, so that “now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God.” The central theme of the Bible is that Jesus died for us to make us right with God. But verse 10 says – surprisingly – that he did this “while we were still his enemies.” He loved us even though we deserved his condemnation. So when we love our enemies, we’re acting like Jesus did. As long as we keep on hating, we are out of step with the heart and action of Jesus toward us.
We all know by experience that, in our own resources and ability, we can never love our enemies. That’s why it’s good to remember that the Christian life is a supernatural life. It can only be lived by divine resources. Loving our enemies doesn’t happen by gritting our teeth and trying harder to love. It happens as we surrender our broken attitudes and hateful spirit to God, own up to the ways we haven’t chosen the good for others, and call out for his transforming work in our lives. Then, we act in concrete ways to love even the most unlovable people, based on his power at work within.
