Loving our Enemies

Last Week:

SotM:

Kingdom

Oath making

Truth in our speech

Integrity of Character

This Week:

Climax of this section

Murder, Adultery, Deception -> Love your enemies

roman occupation

Be Perfect

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 5:38–48 (CSB)

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Going the Extra Mile

Matthew 5:38 (CSB)

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Exodus 21:23–25 (CSB)

If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.

To limit and restrain vengeance not to encourage it

Jesus’s way - Active Non-retaliation

Matthew 5:39–42 (CSB)

But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

We are called to be people that don’t fight evil with evil

But end the cycle of hatred through love

We all know “Don’t fight fire with fire”

What happens when you fight fire with fire?

More fire, no one wins

The enemy has terrible weapons: domination, oppression, hurt

But we don’t use those same weapons to fight back

Because we become just as bad as the oppressors in the first place

Communist revolutions

We aren’t left defenseless - Pacifism

We find a third way - Active Retaliation in love

Our weapons are: forgiveness, submission, love

It’s not easy but this is the way of Jesus

Jesus doesn’t only teach this - his lives by this

Matthew 27:28–31 (CSB)

They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Not only does he live by his teachings- he dies by them

Paul has the same idea in mind in Romans 12

Romans 12:19–21 (CSB)

Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

Say it: “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good”

We don’t fight evil back with evil

We don’t sit at the side letting evil continue

But we conquer evil with good

So think of these examples:

Turning the other cheek

Shame in this culture

Insult - punished by a fine

Giving your coat also

Exodus 22:26 (CSB)

“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset.

Our idea of clothes vs Biblical times

Going the second mile

Roman centurion pack

Simon of Cyrene

Giving to those who ask

Jesus followers are:

People who don’t retaliate

People who don’t add to the fire

People who don’t feed into the forever cycle of anger

We stop that cycle - We are peacemakers

This is against our culture

My rights!

But laying down our rights for others

Jesus continues

Loving Our Enemies

Matthew 5:43–47 (CSB)

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

Love your neighbor - Jesus quotes

Big debate - who is your neighbor?

Hate your enemy - won’t find it in the bible

Loving our enemies: Why we do it AND What this looks like

Why we do this:

Look at God… Look at the weather (expound)

“Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, ‘I shall offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people?’

Or can you imagine a lamp that holds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could only do that by ceasing to be a lamp.

And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives it shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature---even to the one who seeks to cut it down”

We are called to be people of love

Not just to the people who love us

Not just to the people we are comfortable with

Cliques in High School

Matthew 5:47 (CSB)

And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

But even extending out to those that hate us

And those who want to murder us

Like last week: We are people of integrity - not only with words but our actions

We act the same when people are there or not

We act the same when people hate us or love us

What this looks like:

MLK

Pastor

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

And I still believe that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity.  This method has a way of disarming the opponent.  It exposes his moral defenses, it weakens his morale.  And at the same time it works on his conscience and he just doesn’t know how to handle it.

And certainly when I talk about love at this point I am not talking about emotional bosh.  I am not talking about some sentimental or even some affectionate emotion.  I am talking about something much deeper.  It would be nonsense to urge oppressed people to love their violent oppressors in an affectionate sense.

And so he can rise to the point of being able to look into the face of his most violent opponent and say in substance, do to us what you will and we will still love you.  We will match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering.  We will meet your physical force with soul force.  And do to us what you will, and we will still love you.

But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.  And one day we will win our freedom but we will not only win freedom for ourselves.  We will so appeal to your heart and your conscience, that we will win you in the process.  And our victory will be a double victory.  This is the meaning of the nonviolent creed.  This is the meaning of the nonviolent ethic.

Sandy Hook

On Dec 14th 2012 Scarlett Lewis’s 6-year-old son, Jesse, was killed when gunman Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and shot dead 20 children and six staff before turning the gun on himself. It was the deadliest mass shooting at a school in U.S. history.

"If this program had existed when Adam Lanza was a young child, it would have saved my son's life and it would have saved Adam Lanza's life," Lewis told TODAY Parents.

Lewis said she has forgiven Lanza because as a young child, Lanza "did everything he was supposed to do," she said.

"Adam Lanza was not born a mass murderer," Lewis said. "There were signs all along the way that he needed help. He acted oddly, he wrote and said odd things — that was his child's way of crying out for help. He wasn't given the kindness, caring, and concern that he needed."

Our lives are on display to suffer as Christ as suffered

Innocent

Full of love

Each blow absorbed by Jesus

As Christians we absorb the blows from those who hate us

Refusing to give in to the cycle of hatred and violence

Be Perfect, as your Heavenly Father is Perfect

Jesus ends this section of the SotM with some shocking words:

Matthew 5:48 (CSB)

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Now these words can be taken to the extreme, but I want us to actually see what Jesus is saying here

NOT be blameless and never make mistakes - perfectionist

Try harder

NOT unobtainable standards

You better give up; let go and let God

But Jesus here means what he says- The Greek word is Teleios

Mature

Colossians 1:28 (CSB)

We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

James 1:2–4 (CSB)

Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Hebrews 5:12–14 (CSB)

Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

We don’t expect a baby to behave like a 5 year old

We don’t expect a 5 year old to behave like an 18 year old

This is a process

So with this whole section

Whether it is anger in your heart, lust, dishonesty, etc.

We are called to grow in maturity

Take on the small things

And know its very difficult

but again - life vs lifestyle

Living like Jesus

Jesus lived by these teachings and died for these teachings

This is the gospel - love your enemy

Romans 5:8 (CSB)

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Colossians 2:13–14 (CSB)

And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

He never once retaliated or lashes back

1 John 4:19 (CSB)

We love because he first loved us.

Now we follow after Jesus