Kingdom Love Looks Like the Father Part 2- Week 13

Love That Looks Like the Father — Part 2

Text: Matthew 5:43–48 Focus: Matthew 5:45–48 Series: Sermon on the Mount Big Idea: Kingdom love reflects the Father’s mercy and points people back to Him.

Introduction: “You Look Just Like…”

Church, one of the funniest things about family is how resemblance shows up when you least expect it.

Somebody will say, “You look just like your momma.”

Same eyes. Same smile. Same expression.

Then somebody else says, “You act just like your daddy.”

And depending on the day, you may not know whether that was a compliment or a warning.

Sometimes resemblance is in the mannerisms.

Same laugh. Same walk. Same way of standing with your hands on your hips when you are about to make a point.

And sometimes resemblance shows up in the things we wish nobody noticed.

You ever hear yourself say something your parents used to say and it scares you?

You say, “When I was your age…” and halfway through the sentence you realize, “Oh no. It has happened. I have become my father.”

Or you tell your children, “We have food at home.”

And suddenly your dad has taken over your body.

There are family resemblances we inherit naturally.

But in the Christian life, Jesus teaches us there is also a spiritual family resemblance.

The people of God ought to reflect the heart of their Father.

Not perfectly. Not without struggle. Not without needing repentance.

But more and more, the family resemblance should begin to show.

Last time, we began this message from Matthew 5:43–48. Jesus called us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us.

We looked at two truths.

First, Jesus exposes the love we limit.

We are all tempted to draw circles around the people we think deserve our love. But Jesus does not let us shrink God’s command to fit the size of our compassion.

Second, Jesus commands the love we cannot manufacture.

This kind of love does not come from personality, politeness, or Southern manners. It comes from the grace of God changing the heart.

Today we pick up with the reason Jesus gives for this kind of love.

Why love like this?

Why bless when cursed?

Why pray for someone who hurt you?

Why do good when someone has not done good to you?

Jesus says it has everything to do with our Father.

So today we finish with points three and four.

Jesus Reveals the Father We Are Called to Resemble

Jesus Forms a Love That Points Back to Him

Let’s read our text.

Read the Text

Matthew 5:43–48 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

3. Jesus Reveals the Father We Are Called to Resemble

Matthew 5:45 NKJV

that you may be sons of your Father 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.

Jesus says this kind of love shows that we are sons of our Father in heaven.

Now we need to understand that carefully.

Jesus is not saying that loving your enemy earns you a place in God’s family.

We do not become children of God by being kind enough, forgiving enough, merciful enough, or loving enough.

We become children of God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 1:12 Ephesians 2:8–9 Galatians 3:26

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Jesus is describing what the family resemblance looks like once grace has brought us in.

That is very important.

Because if we read this passage wrongly, it will crush us.

You will hear “love your enemies” and think, “I cannot do that. I have failed too many times. I must not belong to God.”

But Jesus is not holding up a ladder and saying, “Climb.”

He is saying, “Let Me change what you see and how you react.”

The Christian life is not God saying, “Work hard enough and maybe I will become your Father.”

The Christian life is God saying, “Because I am your Father, let Me teach you how to love like I love My children.”

That takes the pressure off self-righteousness and puts our eyes back on grace.

Now watch the picture Jesus gives.

He says the Father makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

What a picture.

The sun does not rise only over church houses.

The rain does not fall only on believers’ gardens.

The atheist enjoys God’s sunrise. The rebel breathes air God supplies. The unthankful person wakes up to mercies he never recognizes. The person who ignores God still lives in a world held together by God.

That is what theologians often call common grace.

Common grace is the kindness God shows broadly in the world.

Every sunrise is mercy. Every meal is mercy. Every breath is mercy. Every heartbeat is mercy. Every day that judgment is delayed is mercy.

God is generous to people who do not thank Him.

God is patient with people who defy Him.

God provides daily kindness to people who may never bow their heads and acknowledge Him.

And Jesus says, “That is your Father.”

Church, that should humble us.

Because if the Father is patient, His children should be slow to cruelty.

If the Father is merciful, His children should be careful with vengeance.

If the Father gives kindness to the undeserving, His children cannot build their whole lives around giving people only what they deserve.

Now let me be clear. God does not overlook sin.

God is holy. Judgment is real. Justice is real. Repentance is necessary. Hell is real. The cross was necessary because sin is serious.

But until the final day, every sunrise tells the world that God is patient.

Every new morning preaches, “There is still mercy available.”

Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

And here is where this gets personal.

Before we spend too much time thinking about the enemies we struggle to love, we need to remember that we were once enemies God chose to love.

Romans 5:6–10 NKJV

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

That is the gospel heartbeat of this passage.

God did not love us after we became easy to love.

God did not wait until we got our lives cleaned up.

God did not say, “Once they prove themselves, I will show mercy.”

When we were ungodly, Christ died for us.

When we were enemies, God moved toward us in grace.

That truth removes arrogance from the sermon.

We cannot stand here and say, “I cannot believe God would ask me to love someone like that,” without remembering that God loved us when we were not lovely.

We cannot say, “They do not deserve mercy,” without remembering how much mercy we have received.

The ground at the foot of the cross is level.

That does not mean every sin has the same earthly consequence. It means every sinner needs the same Savior.

And when I remember how patient God has been with me, it becomes harder to defend a heart that has no patience for anyone else.

When I remember how much God has forgiven me, it becomes harder to justify holding someone else in emotional debt forever.

When I remember how often the Father has blessed me in spite of me, it becomes harder to only bless people who make it easy.

Jesus reveals the Father we are called to resemble.

And the fullest picture of the Father is found in the Son.

John 14:9 Colossians 1:15

If you want to know what the Father’s heart looks like in human flesh, look at Jesus.

Look at Jesus being rejected and still moving toward sinners.

Look at Jesus being misunderstood and still teaching.

Look at Jesus being betrayed and still washing feet.

Look at Jesus being arrested and still healing a servant’s ear.

Look at Jesus being mocked and still enduring.

Look at Jesus being crucified and still praying.

Luke 23:34

At Calvary, Jesus did not merely preach enemy-love; He purchased enemies with His blood.

That is the glory of the gospel.

Jesus came into our brokenness.

He stepped into a world that would reject Him.

He lived among sinners.

He endured betrayal.

He bore false accusations.

He carried the cross.

And He died for sinners.

That is love that looks like the Father.

So when Jesus commands us to love our enemies, He is calling us to reflect the very mercy that saved us.

Here is the memorable truth for this point:

The command to love enemies is rooted in how gracious the Father has been to us.

We are loving from mercy received.

We are not saying, “Look how good I am.”

We are saying, “Look how gracious my Father has been.”

That is why this passage should not make us arrogant.

It should make us worship.

Because the more I see the Father’s mercy toward me, the less comfortable I become with a merciless spirit toward others.

Now, let’s bring this down to where we live.

Some of us are not struggling with an enemy overseas or an enemy in a courtroom.

Some of us are struggling with someone across the table.

A family member.

A former friend.

A church member.

A coworker.

Someone who disappointed us.

Someone who misrepresented us.

Someone who wounded us and never apologized.

And Jesus says, “Remember your Father.”

Before you answer, remember your Father.

Before you post, remember your Father.

Before you repeat the story, remember your Father.

Before you write them off forever, remember your Father.

The family resemblance matters.

Not because we always get it right.

But because the grace that saved us is also the grace that shapes us.

Jesus reveals the Father we are called to resemble.

4. Jesus Forms a Love That Points Back to Him

Matthew 5:46–48 NKJV

For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Now Jesus asks a searching question.

If you love those who love you, what reward have you?

Then He talks about tax collectors and those who greet only their own people.

We need to hear His tone correctly.

Jesus is not inviting His disciples to look down on everybody else.

He is calling His disciples to examine the reach of their own love.

That is a big difference.

Pride reads this and says, “We are better than them.”

Humility reads this and says, “Lord, my love still has room to grow.”

Jesus is asking, “Has grace changed the way you love?”

Anybody can love people who love them back.

Anybody can greet people who greet them first.

Anybody can be kind to people who make life pleasant.

That kind of love may be real, but it is incomplete.

Jesus is forming something deeper in His people.

He is forming a love that points back to Him.

The world knows how to love friends.

Jesus teaches His people how to love with the Father’s heart.

Now verse 48 is one of those verses that can feel heavy.

Matthew 5:48

Jesus says to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.

The word translated “perfect” carries the idea of maturity, completeness, being brought to the intended goal.

The Greek word is teleios.

It is the idea of something being complete, whole, grown up, brought to its proper purpose- the sense of being complete (ὁλόκληροι, holoklēroi) and lacking in nothing. 

In this context, Jesus is talking about a love that has grown up.

Immature love says, “I will love you as long as you love me.”

Mature love says, “My obedience to God is not controlled by your behavior toward me.”

Immature love says, “I will be kind when it benefits me.”

Mature love says, “I want my response to honor my Father.”

Immature love says, “I will pray for people I like.”

Mature love says, “Lord, help me pray for the person I would rather avoid.”

Mature love does not ask, “Who deserves my love?”

Mature love asks, “How can I reflect my Father?”

Now, let’s make that practical.

This kind of love has to show up at home.

Some of us can be patient in public and sharp in private.

We can smile at strangers and snap at family.

We can be gracious to someone in the checkout line and impatient with our spouse.

We can speak respectfully to people at work and then come home and give our leftovers emotionally to the people closest to us.

Jesus is forming a love that reaches into the living room, the kitchen, the car ride, the text message, and the tone of voice.

Family is often where love gets tested first because family sees the unedited version of us.

Your family knows whether the amen you spoke at a sermon made it home.

They know whether your Sunday worship showed up on Monday morning.

They know whether your theology has touched your tone.

That may step on our toes, but it will help us.

Kingdom love must be more than public manners.

It must become private mercy.

This kind of love also has to show up in the church.

The church is a family.

And family life is beautiful, but it is not always easy.

Sometimes people say things wrong.

Sometimes decisions disappoint us.

Sometimes feelings get hurt.

Sometimes somebody fails to notice what we did.

Sometimes somebody gets credit and we feel overlooked.

Sometimes someone says something in a way that lands harder than they intended.

And sometimes, if we are honest, we are the ones who said it wrong.

We are the ones who were impatient.

We are the ones who misunderstood.

We are the ones who needed grace.

That is why the church must be a place where truth and grace walk together.

Ephesians 4:31–32 Colossians 3:12–14

There are times to have hard conversations.

There are times to confront sin.

There are times to bring clarity.

But even hard conversations should be carried by people who know they have received mercy too.

A mature church is not a church where nobody ever gets hurt.

A mature church is a church where people know how to seek forgiveness, grant forgiveness, speak truth, pursue peace, and keep moving toward Christ together.

That kind of love points back to Jesus.

This kind of love must also shape how we deal with people outside our circle.

I’m sick of this climate we live in today- a world full of outrage.

If someone disagrees, they become an enemy.

If someone thinks differently, they must be destroyed.

If someone fails, people gather around to celebrate the downfall.

The world has learned how to turn contempt into entertainment.

But the people of God cannot be discipled by outrage.

We have to be discipled by Jesus.

That does not mean we soften biblical truth.

We must stand where Scripture stands.

We must call sin what God calls sin.

We must contend for the faith.

We must refuse to bend the Word of God to fit the spirit of the age.

But if our conviction loses compassion, something is wrong in us.

Jesus was full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

He could look at sinners with holiness and compassion at the same time.

He could tell the truth and still draw broken people near.

He could rebuke sin and still weep over a city.

He could stand firm and still be tender.

That is what we need.

There is a way to be right and still not look like Jesus.

There is a way to win an argument and lose a witness.

There is a way to defend truth with a spirit that does not reflect the Savior.

Jesus is forming a love that points back to Him.

So before I respond, I need to ask:

Does this look like my Father?

Before I speak, does this look like my Father?

Before I post, does this look like my Father?

Before I repeat what I heard, does this look like my Father?

Before I let my heart get hard, does this look like my Father?

Here is the memorable truth for this point:

Kingdom love is love that proves grace is real.

Grace can make a bitter heart tender.

Grace can make a wounded heart prayerful.

Grace can make a proud mouth gentle.

Grace can make a revengeful spirit surrender.

Grace can make children look like their Father.

Now, some may say, “Pastor, this is hard.”

Yes, it is.

If it were easy, Jesus would not have needed to preach it.

If it came naturally, we would not need the Spirit.

This kind of love is impossible for the flesh, but the fruit of the Spirit is real.

Galatians 5:22–23

God can grow in us what we cannot produce on our own.

Some of us came in today with names we have been carrying too long.

Old hurt.

Old resentment.

Old conversations.

What they said.

What they did.

What they never apologized for.

Jesus is not minimizing the pain.

He is inviting us to bring the pain under His lordship.

He is saying, “Let Me teach you how to love with a heart that has been healed by grace.”

Conclusion: The Family Resemblance

Church, let’s come back to where we started.

Family resemblance.

People should be able to look at the people of God and say, “I can tell who their Father is.”

Not because we are flawless.

Not because we never struggle.

But because grace is making us different.

Jesus is forming a people whose love points higher.

A people who can bless when cursed.

A people who can pray when wounded.

A people who can speak truth without cruelty.

A people who can stand firm without hatred.

A people who can set boundaries without bitterness.

A people who can look at the cross and remember, “I have received mercy.”

And that is where this message must land.

At the cross.

Because Jesus is the perfect picture of love that looks like the Father.

He loved His enemies.

He prayed for His persecutors.

He died for sinners.

He bore our sin.

He took our judgment.

He rose again in victory.

And now He saves all who come to Him by faith.

If you do not know Jesus today, the invitation is simple: come to Christ.

Do not simply admire His love.

Receive His love.

Be reconciled to God through the Savior who loved sinners enough to die and rise again.

Romans 10:9–13 John 14:6

And if you are a believer today, the invitation may be just as direct.

Bring the name to the Father.

That name you avoid.

That name that tightens your chest.

That name that brings back the story.

That name that still hurts.

Bring the name to the Father.

You do not have to pretend it did not happen.

You do not have to say it was okay.

You do not have to remove wisdom or boundaries.

But you can say, “Lord, I do not want bitterness to make me less like Jesus.”

You can say, “Lord, teach me to pray.”

You can say, “Lord, help me bless.”

You can say, “Lord, make me look like my Father.”

Because the command to love enemies is rooted in how gracious the Father has been to us.

And kingdom love is love that proves grace is real.

So may the Lord make us a people who carry the family resemblance.

May people see mercy in us and trace it back to the Father.

May people see grace in us and know it came from Jesus.

May people see love in us that cannot be explained apart from the gospel.

And may God use that love to point sinners to the Savior.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for loving us when we were sinners. We thank You for showing mercy when we did not deserve it. We thank You for sending Jesus, who loved His enemies all the way to the cross.

Lord, help us resemble You. Teach us to love with maturity, mercy, truth, and grace. Guard us from bitterness. Free us from resentment. Heal what has been wounded in us, and do not let our pain make us less like Jesus.

For those who need to be saved, draw them to Christ today. For those carrying names, wounds, and old hurts, give them grace to bring those things before You.

Make us look like our Father.

In Jesus’ name, amen.