Love Your Enemies
Notes
Transcript
Open your bible with me to Luke 6:27-36
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian woman whose family helped hide Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. Motivated by their deep Christian faith, the TenBoom family turned their home into a refuge for those fleeing persecution. Eventually, they were discovered, arrested, and sent to concentration camps.
Corrie and her sister Betsie were imprisoned at Ravensbrück, a brutal women's labor camp in Germany. Corrie survived, but her sister Bestie died in captivity.
Corrie Ten Boom tells a story later in her life of a man who approached her in Berlin. And the man came to her and said, “Ah, Miss Ten Boom, I’m glad to see you. Don’t you know me?”....then suddenly she recognized the man. He was her enemy. He was to her the vilest and most hateful guard of the concentration camp. She recognized him as “THAT MAN!”
And THAT MAN said, “I am now a Christian. I have found the Lord Jesus. I read my bible, and I know there is forgiveness for the whole world, and also for my sins. And I have forgiveness for the cruelties I have done. But I have also asked God, in His grace, that I might have the opportunity to ask one of my victims for forgiveness. So, Fraulein Ten Boom, once and you're forgiven, will you forgive me?”
And Corrie Ten Boom recalls in her pain, I could not! She said, I remembered the suffering of my dying sister (Betsie) through him. But I was not able. I could not. I could only hate him!
And then she says, “I took on these beautiful texts. One of the boundless resources from God’s word. Romans 5:5 The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
And I said, “Thank you, Jesus, that you have brought into my heart God’s love through the Holy Spirit who is given to me. And thank you, Father, that your love is stronger than my hatred and unforgiveness.”
And it was in that same moment that I was freed, and I could say, Brother, give me your hand, and shook hands with him. And it was as if I felt God’s love streaming through my arms. "You've never touched the ocean of God's love as when you forgive your enemies."
Sermon Summary: The Love of the Christian is the love of Christ extended to them in Christ.
In this portion of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls His followers to a love that is unnatural, uncomfortable, and even radical. It’s not based on what others deserve. It is based on what we’ve received in Christ. This kind of love isn’t weak or sentimental. It’s strong, sacrificial, and rooted in the very character of God.
Jesus is not giving us a spiritual suggestion here. He is commanding kingdom citizens—those born from above—to display the mercy of the Father in how we treat even those who mistreat us. The love of the Christian is the overflow of divine mercy—God's own love, extended to us in Christ, and now extended through us to others.
So let’s consider this radical, generous, gospel-shaped love as we walk through the text:
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
This is God’s word. Let’s pray.
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I. Radical Love Commanded (v.27-28)
I. Radical Love Commanded (v.27-28)
Here in this passage, we have some 12 imperatives, 12 commands that Jesus gives to His followers. It comes in the Sermon on the Plain, on the heels of Jesus speaking of the way of the blessing, life lived with eternal perspective. And giving woes to those who live for the here and now. Jesus now shows His disciples that the blessed life and the way of the Kingdom is the way of Love. And the love demonstrated in the very character of God.
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
There was a way of teaching among the religious leaders and elites that love was only to be extended to those who reciprocated love, and enemies were to be hated. Matthew 5:43-44
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,
Yet, Jesus tells us we are to love even our enemies. We are to extend that love not just in feeling but in action. Do good to those who hate us. We are to bless for those who curse us. And pray for those who abuse us.
This is not natural for us. It’s not natural for the human heart. That seeks to preserve, protect, and defend. Yet, Jesus calls and demands His followers to live another way. To display and model the way of love. Love that extends to those who don’t deserve it. Love toward those who work against you. Those who speak evil against you, even those who seek your harm. Jesus says, seek their good.
That is not to say that we tolerate abuse or don’t stand up to abuse. Or to be unconcerned with injustice, wrongdoing, or abuse. There is actually a good and right desire for justice when a wrong has been committed. And that God might bring the sword of the civil magistrate to right that type of corruption. So it’s not that Jesus is advocating tolerance or get comfortable with injustice.
Instead, Jesus is aiming at the heart. The heart of his people is willing to wrestle and pursue love and forgiveness even when it feels costly. When it is abundantly clear, it’s not deserved. Jesus sees a progression and way of love within this text - that Love doesn’t remain something we think or feel, but we do! And it continued to the heart and mind, to even bless those who curse us. And affects us to the core, that we willfully pray for those who abuse us.
That our hearts haven’t turned cold or indignant, even toward those whom we would count enemies. But instead, we would extend the grace and compassion that we’ve been given through Christ to them. That our hearts have been comforted in the love of God, to the degree that even discomfort from others, phases us very little. That we instead, retreat to our acceptance in Jesus.
We see this commanded through the bible and the New Testament.
14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
And this is the way of love, that Jesus says to his disciples – I say to you….love in this way. It is a love that has been affected by the love of Christ and is extended to others. It is a love that changes us. Affects us, and compels us to love others, when they’ve done nothing to deserve. Even more, have done everything to degrade it. Jesus says, “LOVE THEM in this way.” Because Jesus assumes that the heart of the Christian has been so moved by the grace they’ve received, it will transform the grace they extended to others.
This is deep love. It’s a love that’s moving. It’s a love that you can’t just speak. It’s love that acts. And love that is affecting the deepest part of us, that we are moved even to bless and to pray for those who count us enemies. It is a love that Jesus commands us to have.
To which, I think we can at least say, as we read this passage. And seek application. To just admit in our heart and in our practice. This isn’t often us. This isn’t the way we typically respond first in the flesh. Man, we want to go the opposite way. That’s the way of the flesh, that’s the way, that maybe feels natural. But it’s not the way of Jesus. If what Jesus means in the preceding verses is that the Kingdom turns the world upside down, that the poor in Christ are blessed, the sorrow will laugh….then what Jesus is showing his followers here - Is that the Kingdom turns us upside down, and changes us from the inside out, in how we love others
He continues that this love isn’t just benevolent but is overtly generous.
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II. Generous Love Encouraged (v.29-31)
II. Generous Love Encouraged (v.29-31)
You know, when you step back, the number four, kind of dominates this passage. Jesus gives 4 blessings in v.20-22, and He gives 4 woes in v.23-26. He gives 4 ways of love in v. 27-28 (love, do, bless, pray), and he gives 4 ways to show love in v.29-30. And I would submit to you that the way of love looks like generosity.
29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
Now, these are all pretty straightforward.
Even when it is intentionally insulting.– Luke 6:2929 To one who strikes you on the cheek (this was a slap of the back of the hand, intended to insult a person), offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
Jesus encourages us to adopt a generous spirit— This reflects a heart of compassion that holds things loosely and focuses instead on loving others. If someone strikes you, to insult you. Don’t seek revenge or vengeance.
In His example, a cloak was like an outer coat, while a tunic was an inner garment, similar to a shirt. He teaches that if someone is in such dire need that they take your coat, you should be willing to give them your shirt as well. We prioritize the needs of others over the protection of our own belongings.
If someone begs of you….or they literally ask of you. GIVE to them! Even if someone steals from you, don’t demand it back.
Man, you think about it in all these situations. You just feel so violated. Someone physically puts their hands on you to cause offense. Someone takes your outer garment from you, someone begs of you, invades your spaces, requesting something from you. To steal from you, man, I know of little more violating than to come and steal something that doesn’t belong to you from someone. And in all these instances, there could be a tendency to do what, vindicate. Make it right, dot an eye, take a tooth! Vindicate, seek vengeance, and Jesus calls us back…and say, you don’t have to do that. You don’t have to seek revenge; you can instead rest in God’s grace and provision in your life, and know He’s calling you to live another way. To live in love and in generosity. And rather than living in the way that feels right to you… Well, you can live in the way of Christ, and you can trust in the way of Christ, and live in that way He has commanded you to live instead.
And then Jesus gives us the Golden Rule
31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
This teaching—known as the Golden Rule—is not just a call to basic decency, but a radical invitation to proactive generosity and love. It echoes the heart of the Old Testament law, particularly Leviticus 19:18, which says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
However, by Jesus’ time, many religious teachers had reduced the law to a system of rules and rituals, forgetting its deeper purpose: to shape a people marked by love, justice, and mercy. They focused on external obedience while neglecting the inward transformation that the law was meant to produce.
Jesus re-centers the law’s true intent by summarizing it in a single, generous principle—treat others as you want to be treated. Unlike similar sayings found in other traditions that emphasize avoiding harm, - “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you”—Jesus urges His followers to take initiative in doing good. Jesus calls for active love and self-giving. It calls believers to initiate kindness, extend forgiveness, give without expecting return, and love even those who are difficult to love. In doing so, Jesus reveals that the fulfillment of the law is not in strict rule-keeping, but in sacrificial love—a truth echoed later by Paul in Romans 13:10, “Love is the fulfilling of the law.”
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Practically, this means we must resist the temptation to treat generosity as optional or limited to those who “deserve” it. Instead, we are called to examine our own hearts and ask, “If I were in their position, how would I hope to be treated?” This transforms the way we give, forgive, and serve others. Whether it’s giving financially to someone in need, showing patience with someone difficult, or offering encouragement when no one else notices, we live out the law's purpose when we let love—not legalism—lead. In this way, the Golden Rule isn’t just a moral ideal—it’s a lived reflection of God's generous love through us.
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III.Radical Love Exemplified (v.32-34)
III.Radical Love Exemplified (v.32-34)
When I first read and outlined this passage, my initial reading wanted to see Jesus as expounding on various topics beyond loving, doing good, and lending. But the more I looked, it became clear that Jesus is expanding and explaining his teaching from verses 27-30, and expounding on living out the GOLDEN RULE.
In the same way, he has given four blessings, four woes, four ways of love, and four examples. Now, He gives us three practical outworkings of this principle and teaching.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
Jesus is showing us that the golden rule isn’t just relevant, but a radical way of life. You might ask, “What do I mean by that?”
Well, here’s what I mean:
We all find it reasonable to extend kindness, especially when it aligns with our own deep desire to be loved and treated kindly.
In fact, almost no one argues against the goodness of showing love and charity — at least to those who are kind and reasonable toward us.
But where it becomes difficult, even seemingly impossible, is when we’re treated unfairly.
That’s when we feel the pull to match energy, to match tone — to show people that we can come back just as hard. And in doing so, we often feel justified.
But here’s the problem: when we do that, we become hypocrites — not because our feelings aren’t valid, but because we abandon the very principle we want others to live by.
Instead of treating others how we want to be treated, we treat them how they treated us. And the truth is, we didn’t like that treatment in the first place.
So why pass it on?
And Jesus makes that clear with two repeated phrases. He’s intending to make a point – the first statement is what benefit is that to you? And the second phrase is “for even sinners do the same.”
When Jesus says, “What benefit is that to you?” He’s confronting us with a hard truth. He’s saying, in effect, “If you only love the people who love you back, if you only do good to those who do good to you, what makes you any different? What’s the reward in that?”
It’s a rhetorical question — He’s not really asking for an answer. He’s revealing that this kind of love, the transactional kind, isn’t radical at all. It’s easy. It’s instinctual. It’s human nature.
But then He follows it with the second phrase: “Even sinners do the same.”
And this is where it cuts a little deeper. Because what He’s doing is drawing a line — not between “us” and “them,” but between a life that reflects God’s kingdom and a life that just blends in with the world. He’s saying, “Look — if your love doesn’t go beyond what the world already expects, then what difference are you really making? What difference has God made in your life? Even people who have no regard for God know how to love people who love them. That’s not kingdom living. That’s just natural reciprocity.”
So Jesus is challenging us to rise above the norm. He’s not calling us to natural love — He’s calling us to supernatural love. A love that reflects the heart of the Father. A love that’s not based on what we get in return, but on who we’re called to be as followers of Jesus.
And that’s hard because it means loving the people who ignore us. It means forgiving the people who wronged us. It means showing kindness to the people who may never return it. It feels like losing. It feels unfair.
But Jesus is flipping the script — He’s showing us that this kind of radical love is the win. It’s not just morally good, it reveals spiritual transformation. It breaks cycles. It reflects heaven. And when we live that way, then there’s real benefit — not just to others, but to our own souls. Because we’re stepping into the way of Jesus. And it’s living in a way that doesn’t look for credit in the eyes of men, or for credit in the way of this world. Jesus is showing us that the Kingdom of God not only turns the world upside down, it turns our lives around, and shifts our perspective from worldly status to a heavenly one! And that’s what Jesus shows us in verses 35-36.
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IV. Generous Love Embodied (v.35-36)
IV. Generous Love Embodied (v.35-36)
Here, Jesus shifts our focus. And he ties this teaching together in a sequential fashion. With 3 contrasting examples he has just given. BUT you love your enemies, contrast now v.27/32. If you do good, contrast v. 28/33, and if you lend, excepting nothing in return, contrast v.29/34.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, (and man, you want to talk about a blessed life in the Kingdom of God) – v.20-26), and you will be sons of the Most High,
(Oh man, that you belong to King, not because you’ve earned this status, but have freely been declared as SONS, and are revealed to belong to the Most High God….This is love that lives in gratitude! ……
for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
And that you, of all people, should know you are evil. You, too, were once ungrateful of the kindness and mercy that God extended. And you, of all people, once treated him as an enemy.
But you, who were once enemies of God, have been declared righteous by God. You, though his enemy, have been called friends….And love for you, a sinner, wicked, ungrateful, and evil sinner, isn’t based on your merit or treatment of HIM, but His own mercy, love, and KINDNESS towards you. THIS IS GRACE.
FOR HE IS KIND – This is God’s character. Of God who is (literally – GRACIOUS), He is gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love!
And Jesus groundsHis argument there. You love because God has loved you. You be kind to even your enemies, because God has been kind to you when you were His enemy.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
You be merciful! Because God is merciful! That the character of God should embody the way we live now. We live in light of Him now. In the same way, Israel was to be Holy as God is Holy– Lev 19:2. Jesus is saying you imitate the Father. You be imitators not of the world, but imitators of God. Be imitators of Christ. Of Christ, who will give His life to save them. Of Christ, who is one with the Father. And shares a divine relationship with the Father, as MY FATHER. Jesus invites us who delight in Him to delight in God as our Father. And this is really where it all comes together, isn’t it?
It's almost like when you step back from this passage and really consider what Jesus is saying. It’s this: You have enemies, people who hate you. You have people who abuse you. Who will strike you, and steal from you, and mean harm to you. You have many who will insult, and seek to bring you harm, and will curse you. You may have foes, and you may even have enemies. But I want you to know, my disciple…..more than that, you have a FATHER in heaven, who has been exceedingly merciful to you. Has been abundantly gracious to you. And that you might display His love to your enemies, for you were once His enemy, and He loves, even a sinner like you!
What is it that grounds the Golden Rule? What is it that grounds Jesus' teaching here? It’s the love of God. And the love of God, and the grace of God that’s been freely given to us, in the gospel of His Son. You see, Jesus shows us that the ground for mercy is the mercy and grace we’ve been given by God. And God shows us mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love when we beholdHim in the face of Jesus Christ.
Because loving our enemies takes us right to the heart of the gospel, doesn’t it? God has most clearly demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die for those who opposed Him and lived in rebellion. Salvation flows from God’s heart—a heart that loves even His enemies—and He brings sinners, real sinners, back into relationship with Himself. As Scripture declares, For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10).
And it’s Jesus who would embody this very love. In that He was hated. He was hated by His own people. He was hated by the Pharisees, He was hated by Judas, and the crowds who demanded His crucifixion. Jesus was cursed, cursed by the false witnesses who testified against Him, and the soldiers who mocked Him, and the governor who sentenced him. Jesus suffered abuse and injustice. As He was whipped by the priest, and hung by soldiers on a cross, and as people hurled unjust threats against Him, while suffering in death on the cross. He was stuck, and bruised, His body beaten, humiliated, and His very identity as the Son of God was insulted and mocked. And they took away His cloak, and they stripped Him of His tunic, as He was strung up naked to die on Calvary’s Hill. They stripped Him of every ounce of dignity.
And it wasn’t just them….It wasn’t just the crowd!
Our sins placedHim there (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 4:25). It was the will of the Lord to crush Him (Isaiah 53:10), and He bore the punishment that brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5). Even more, His death was part of God’s sovereign plan—"this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men" (Acts 2:23). The guilt belongs to all, and yet the grace HE gives is for all who believe (Romans 3:23–24; 1 Peter 2:24).
And it was Jesus who embodied this type of great love for even His enemies, as Jesus gives His life to save the very enemies who put Him to death. Jesus was doing the ultimate good to those who hated Him. He suffered the punishment they deserved for their sin. He was blessing those who cursed Him. And offering salvation to the thief, the rebel, and the sinner, who would look to Him in repentance and faith!
And there from the cross– cries to His Father – Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”
This is the heart of the gospel: that Jesus gave His life to save sinners—even those who stood against Him. And this same grace is offered to you today. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, if you turn from your sin and trust in Jesus—believing that He died for you and rose again—you will be forgiven, made new, and reconciled to God.
Look to Christ. Trust Him. And receive the mercy He freely gives.
This is where we are to learn this great truth. This is where we are to find this great love, in which we love our enemies because Jesus loved us when we were HIS enemies! And so, Jesus says to His followers, This is why you should love this way, and this is how you are to love this way, because I have loved you in this way!
We look to the cross. We remember that while we were still sinners—enemies of God—Christ loved us, and gave Himself up for us (Romans 5:8–10). He didn’t just tell us to love our enemies—He showed us how, by dying for those who mocked Him, rejectedHim, and nailed Him to that tree.
And if He has loved us like that—how can we not show that same love to others?
Corrie Ten Boom knew this. Years after surviving a Nazi concentration camp, she came face to face with one of the cruelest guards who had tormented her and her sister. And when he asked her for forgiveness, she said—"I couldn’t. I could only hate him."
But then, she remembered the promise of God: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).
And in that moment, she said, God’s love overcame her hatred, and she was able to forgive.
“You never touch the ocean of God’s love,” she said, “as when you forgive your enemies.”
Church, this is the love we are called to. Not a love that comes from within us, but a love that flows from Christ through us. A love that forgives, that heals, that blesses—and a love that displays to the world the mercy of our Father in heaven.
So go and love—not just the lovable, but the unlovable. Not just your friends, but your enemies.
And when you feel like you can’t, fall on your knees and ask God to pour His love into your heart again. As you consider the cross of His suffering and the power of His resurrection!
Because when we love like Jesus, we show the world what grace really is.
Sermon Summary: The Love of the Christian is the love of Christ extended to them in Christ.
