Blessed are the Loving

Series: God’s Plan for the Blessed Life

Love Beyond Borders: Praying for Your Enemies

Bible Passage: Matthew 5:43–48

English Standard Version Chapter 5

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (

Transition: Jesus challenges us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. True love, God’s love, reflects God's nature and leads us spiritual maturity.

The Big Idea: Christ calls us to love our enemies and pray daily for those who persecute us so that we may be complete.

1. Christians Challenge the Cultural Norm

Matthew 5:43

Explanation: Jesus addresses the common belief that we are supposed to love neighbor but hate our enemies. This is not a command found in the Bible, but it is common nature for human beings. This challenges our modern mindset in America where divisions are rampant.

Application: Confront your prejudices and love beyond your comfort zone, even to people that mistreat you or rub you the wrong way. Jesus is teaching us to see others through His lens of grace and truth.

2. Christians Commit to Daily Prayer

Matthew 5:44

Explanation: Christ’s radical love and compels us to pray for those who actively oppose us. Pray for their good fortune, asked God to change their hearts, and then asked God to bless them with His salvation.

Application: Prayers of this kind will transform our hearts as well as theirs and open opportunities for divine intercession and the Holy Spirit’s intervention. Prayer is a powerful tool that aligns our wills with God’s, drawing us into His mission of reconciliation.

3. Christians Comply with the Father’s Plan

Matthew 5:45

Explanation: Showing love toward your enemies shows that we are God’s children and citizens in Heaven. God grants His grace and blessings indiscriminately on people through the sun and rain, so we too should show love impartially.

Application: Living in this manner mirrors God’s character, calling for a reassessment of how we see and interact with those we consider adversaries.

4. Christians Confront others with Christ’s Love

Matthew 5:46-47

Explanation: Jesus compares His followers to those worldly people who only love those who love them back. Stretch their love beyond your natural borders into the supernatural realm, and transcend the boundaries of human relationships.

Application: If you do this, you will go against our cultural norms and showcase a higher degree of love that isn't based on reciprocity but on God's love for us.

5. Christians should Cultivate Perfection

Matthew 5:48

Explanation: Jesus ends this chapter with a bombshell. He calls on us to be perfect just as the Father is perfect. The word translated “perfect” can also mean “complete, lacking nothing.” Jesus is referring to spiritual maturity, not moral perfect, a maturing in love and holiness, rather than flawlessness. Jesus embodies this perfection by laying down His life for His enemies.

Application: We must strive towards this divine ideal, empowered by Christ's example and the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion: We need to practice radical love and forgiveness daily. Pray for your enemies. Wish them well, not evil. Break the cycles of hate and retribution and foster genuine spiritual healing and reconciliation in our community.

Teaching: To love your enemies is not just a command but a pathway to reflecting God's character and participating in His redemptive work in the world.

This passage points to Christ: Jesus lived out on the cross everything he taught in the Sermon on the Mount. He loved his enemies, asked God to forgive them, and demonstrated the ultimate act of love by dying so that we have an example for us to follow.