Love Your Enemies

INTRODUCTION:

Why would someone be your enemy? Anyone have any enemies in the room?

Maybe someone has hurt you with harsh words. What about cliques excluding you. Maybe you’ve been physically bullied at school. Maybe someone has taken advantage of you.

There are many reasons someone might end up on our enemy list. Maybe you don’t consider them as your mortal enemy. They’re just on your strongly dislike list, or someone you can’t stand to be around.

What are some ways you wish you could react towards someone like this? Revenge, retaliation, gossip, slander, exclusion, etc.

But first, can you think of examples in the Bible that would fit this relationship? David and Saul, Jacob and Esau, Mordecai and Haman, etc.

This is something that we’ll be talking through tonight. Remember, the last couple of sections have been dealing explicitly with how we view others.

How we view one another matters!

Look with me at Matthew 5:38

Matthew 5:38 KJV 1900

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

LETTER OF THE LAW (Matt. 5:38)

By now we should be familiar with the strategy by which Jesus is teaching his disciples.

Exodus 21:24 contains for us the referenced moral law of Moses.

Exodus 21:24 KJV 1900

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Deuteronomy 19:21 KJV 1900

21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Letter of the law — Legal Retribution: punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.

This law was instituted to condemn revenge. What’s the difference between revenge and retribution? Revenge is the formal exaction of an overly severe punishment that does not fit the crime against.

*explain how the Pharisees used this in petty squabbles instead of legal rulings. / give a silly illustration

But again we must remember Jesus’ strategy by which he taught his disciples. Jesus formally abrogates an Old Testament command in order to intensify and internalize its application.

SPIRIT OF THE LAW (Matt. 5:39-42)

Matthew 5:39–42 KJV 1900

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Spirit of the law — Disciples of Christ must reject all behavior motivated by a desire for retaliation, and must also positively work for the good of those with whom they would otherwise be at odds.

What do you think “that ye resist not evil…” means? Do not resist an evil person. Our interactions with others are the very platform by which we display we belong to Christ.

How might someone act when others harm them that is not retaliation but is also not Christlike? bitterness, ignorance, etc.

How we view one another matters. How we treat one another matters!

Each of these commands requires Jesus’ followers to act more generously than what the letter of the law demanded.

*illustration about CFA and second-mile service creating raving fans (come more often, pay full price, and tell others about CFA

We want to be second-mile servants to those we interact with in order to create other Christ-followers.

LETTER OF THE LAW (Matt. 5:43)

Matthew 5:43 KJV 1900

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Coming from Leviticus 19:18

Leviticus 19:18 KJV 1900

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

While the “and hate thine enemy” part is not found in the Old Testament, we can deduce that this was an attitude prevalent in Jesus’ time. Can you think of a people group whom the Jews may have hated? Can you think of instances where hate may have been justified? Rome? Samaritans, etc.

Letter of the law — Love towards neighbors is commanded. Hatred towards enemies is permissible.

SPIRIT OF THE LAW (Matt. 5:44-47)

Matthew 5:44–47 KJV 1900

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Spirit of the law — Christians are to love their enemies.

The true test of genuine Christianity is how believers treat those whom they are naturally inclined to hate or who mistreat or persecute them.

Luke 10:25-37

Who is your neighbor? Illustration of the Good Samaritan.

Notice. Love is active.

Bless -> Do good -> Pray

You are not loving if there is no action.

Anyone can love their neighbors. Christians love their enemies.

John 13:35 KJV 1900

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

How we view one another matters. How we treat one another matters. How we love one another matters.

Is loving those who curse you natural? Is loving those who hate you natural? Is loving those who take advantage of you natural? Is loving those who persecute you natural? NO!

Here’s where Jesus leaves us this week. Some call this the most important verse in the whole Sermon on the Mount.

STANDARD OF THE LAW (Matt. 5:48)

Matthew 5:48 KJV 1900

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

What is Jesus asking of us? What is Jesus telling us?

There are two principles for us to consider.

You cannot be perfect. Why? You are not God.

We’ve been challenged by the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe we’ve even been frustrated by the commands of Jesus. But this is all intentional.

The Sermon on the Mount exposes that we cannot live a Christian life apart from God. Living a “Christian” life apart from God is mere religion. And Jesus has exposed what he thinks about those people already in the sermon.

Jesus wants us to feel despair but not hopelessness. Why?

You can be perfect. Why? Because you are filled with God.

Perfection only comes from God.

Matthew 2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

J. Walvoord rightly observes, “While sinless perfection is impossible, godliness, in its biblical concept, is attainable.”

This is the Christian life. It is a constant recognition that we need God in order to live for God. Thank God that we don’t live this life alone.

“Loving your enemies isn’t natural, but it shows the world you belong to Jesus and reminds you that you need God’s power every day.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

When someone wrongs you, what is your natural reaction? How does Jesus’ command to “turn the other cheek” challenge that instinct?

Jesus tells us to actively love, bless, do good, and pray for our enemies. What might that look like in your school, friendships, or family?

Why do you think Jesus ends this section by saying, “Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect”? How does that statement push us toward dependence on God?

PRAYER PROMPTS

Pray for the strength to resist the desire for revenge and instead respond with Christlike love.

Pray for specific people in your life who may be difficult to love or who have hurt you—that God would help you forgive and bless them.

Pray for God’s Spirit to transform your heart so that His love flows through you, even toward those you would naturally want to avoid or dislike.