Love? Yes! Even Your Enemies

Introduction: As we have considered so far in , Jesus is contrasting the hypocritical righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees with the genuine righteousness of God. begins with the beatitudes which throws a stark contrast between the ethic of the religious leaders of the day and what God has actually called us to: which is to live as lights so that all the world may see that our Father in heaven is a glorious Father and that this is a truth that cannot be hidden. Followers of Jesus are called to be different, to be salty in a bland world, and in calling us to be different Jesus continually points to the scribes and the Pharisees and admonishes us, “Do not be like them.” Do not be like them in the way they view murder, do not be like them in the way they view adultery, do not be like them in the way they view divorce, do not be like them in the way they practice oaths, and do not be like them in the way they retaliate against others. Now as we approach this passage of Scripture we approach a passage that hands to us a powerful gospel tool. A gospel tool that the scribes and Pharisees had rejected. A tool that declares, like no other tool, that truly this person is a son of our Heavenly Father. It is available for us to use and it has been used by God since the fall of man. In fact, it so powerful that it is not only a tool it is the very law and commandment of God, and it is not only law and commandment but it is the very character of God Himself. Tonight, Jesus points to the scribes and the Pharisees and says, “do not be like them in the way that they love.”

Read Matthew 5:43-48

The Teachings of Men

The Teachings of Men

Love Your Neighbor

Now wait a minute, the Bible, specifically the Old Testament that the scribes and Pharisees would have cited, does teach that we ought to love our neighbor doesn’t it? Why then in Jesus’ listing of ways that we should not be like them does He insert: do not be like them in loving your neighbor? Loving your neighbor is a clear teaching of the Old Testament that the religious of the day would have been very familiar with. After all the law did say in :

Leviticus 19:18 NKJV

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

And there it is! Subtle and deceptive isn’t it? Deception is always easiest when mixed with truth. The popular teaching of the day was to love your neighbor, but the kind of love that the law calls us to is to love our neighbor as we love our own selves. This is not something that would have slipped by the scribes and Pharisees either. This is something that they knew well was in the law. Not just to love but to love our neighbors just as we love ourselves. Their omission was intentional, and we know it was intentional.

The scribes and Pharisees were obsessive preservers and interpreters of the law. We read in of the scribe who asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these,” to which the scribe replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Mark 12:30–33 NKJV

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

At a different time, Jesus asked a lawyer, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?,” to which he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

So the question then is: if the law was known then why the omission? Why would the Scripture be fully known and yet only partially taught? Many times, as we will soon see, the traditions of men would leave out and even directly contradicted the teachings of Scripture. How could this happen?

Luke 10:26–27 NKJV

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Well, as Jesus often pointed out, it was the practice of the scribes and Pharisees to reduce the law of God down to what they believed could be accomplished by human effort. Perhaps they were aware of how much they loved themselves. They loved to be honored sounding trumpets before themselves as they did charitable deeds, praying as they stood in the synagogues and on street corners thanking God that they were unlike other men, and disfiguring their faces as they fasted to be seen of men. They loved themselves supremely, and they knew it. “Surely,” they must have thought, “no one can love others as much as they love themselves. Therefore, let us redefine what kind of love God demands and make a righteousness for ourselves that is all our own.”

This was typical behavior from the religious leaders of the day, but before we get too judgmental on them we would do well to remember that this is also the typical behavior of all men throughout history who have not experienced the saving work of Christ. Jesus Christ came to literally set us free from the destructive love of our own selves. Most men spend their time doing what is most beneficial for themselves - seeking safety, comfort, income, pleasure, health, hobbies, and etc . . . Godly love is such a powerful gospel tool because the kind of love that God calls us to is not one that can be accomplished naturally but only supernaturally - to love our neighbors even as we love our own selves.

Matthew 6:2 NKJV

Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:5 NKJV

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Hate Your Enemy

Not only did Rabbinic teaching omit that one ought to love their own neighbor as they love their own selves, but it also added something to it: hate your enemy. The addition was even worse than the omission since it went directly against the law.

Matthew 6:12 NKJV

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:16 NKJV

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Leviticus 19:20 NKJV

‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

Exodus 23:4–5 NKJV

“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

Interestingly, this is exactly how they were commanded to help their own neighbors.

Deuteronomy 22:1–4 NKJV

“You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself. “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.

So, for the religious leaders of the day it seemed that there were two categories of people: neighbor and enemy. The law, however, clearly answered the question “Who is my neighbor?” with the response, “Even enemies are neighbors, and you ought to love them even as you love your own self.”

So, for the religious leaders of the day it seemed that there were two categories of people.

This sentiment is echoed Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan.

Priest did not love the man

Levite did not love the man

The Samaritan loved him

Who treated the man as a neighbor? The Samaritan loved his neighbor even though he would have been the natural enemy of that Jewish man.

In justifying their behavior towards those they hated, the religious leaders had already narrowed the category of neighbor to a subset of their own countrymen. Categories of people that the religious leaders allowed themselves to hate obviously included the Gentiles. One saying of the Pharisees went like this, “If a Jew sees a Gentile fallen into the sea, let him by no means lift him out, for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor,’ but this man is not thy neighbor.” Another category included tax collectors. Tax collectors were viewed as Jewish sell-outs to the Roman oppressors who accumulated wealth for themselves by extorting their own countrymen. The category of enemy also included “sinners” such as criminals, prostitutes, and adulterers. In fact, one of the things that these leaders found the most repugnant about Jesus was His willingness to associate with such “sinners.”

If a Jew sees a Gentile fallen into the sea, let him by no means lift him out, for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor,’ but this man is not thy neighbor.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 341). Chicago: Moody Press.but also included tax collectors. Tax collectors were viewed as Jewish sell-outs to the Roman oppressors who accumulated wealth for themselves by extorting their own countrymen. The category of enemy also included “sinners” such as criminals, prostitutes, and adulterers. In fact, one of the things that these leaders found the most repugnant about Jesus was His willingness to associate with such “sinners.”

It appears, however, that even that definition of neighbor was not nearly narrow enough. The religious leaders also despised the common people. Referring to those who believed in Jesus they said, “Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” The scribes and Pharisees had given themselves permission to look down on and despise those who did not agree with them but instead followed Jesus. So, it seems that the scribes’ and Pharisees’ definition of neighbor was narrowed to include only those who were like them and agreed with them. Everyone else fell into the category of enemy whom they were, according to the tradition of men, free to hate.

John 7:48–49 NKJV

Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

Again, before we get too judgmental on them we would do well to remember that their addition to the law was likely based on a twisted view of Scripture. They excused their actions based on God’s command to completely wipe out the inhabitants of Canaan, but what they failed to see was that God called the Israelites to wipe out their wickedness but had not called them to hate the people. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that “[these wars] were the only ‘holy wars’ in history, for they were the wars of God against the world of idols.” Israel was called to deal with the Canaanites as God’s instrument of judgment on the wickedness of perverse civilizations. The idea that Gentiles and sinners were to be personally hated is never found in God’s dealing with the people of the Old Testament.

Have you ever found yourself misappropriating Scripture in order to justify your own behavior?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

were the only ‘holy wars’ in history, for they were the wars of God against the world of idols.

Example: We find ways to despise others for adultery, homosexuality, or murder all the while finding ways to live with our own respectable sins.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 342). Chicago: Moody Press.

The Teachings of Christ

Love Your Enemies

Here we find the most powerful definition of love in all of Scripture. The kind of love that God expects of His people is so powerful that it even extends towards enemies.

Which brings us to an important question: Do I have enemies? I mean, we are Christians! We are nice people right?! Who would want to be our enemies?

Well, the reality is we all know the answer to that question. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:25 NKJV

It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

It is a given that those who live a godly life will be persecuted.

Luke 6:26 NKJV

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

So yes, there will be those who hate us and align themselves against us and classify themselves as our enemies, and it is a given that this will happen. It is not a surprising thing when this happens, and it will happen more and more as our society collapses and Christians continue to rightfully choose Biblical standards over the standards of this age. And when people identify themselves as our enemies we are called to love them.

Example: The substitute teacher in New Jersey is called to love those who suspended him for giving a student a Bible.

The football coach in Washington is called to love those who placed him on leave for saying a prayer on the field at the end of the game.

The fire chief in Atlanta is called to love those who fired him for self-publishing a book defending Christianity.

The marine is called to love those who court-martialed her for pasting a Bible verse above her desk.

You are called to love those who label you a “bigot” or “hater” for holding Biblical beliefs about marriage.

You are called to love those who accuse you of “waging a war on women” for holding Biblical beliefs about abortion.

More than that, there will also be those who align themselves as our enemies personally as we become the victim of their human weakness to resist sin.

Example: The wife is called to love the husband who continually gives himself over to pornography.

The husband is called to love the wife who is never satisfied with what he provides.

The boy in school is called to love those who bully him.

Parents are called to love the babysitter who abused their little child.

The patient is called to love the doctor whose malpractice caused irreparable injury.

The employee is called to love the employer who refuses to keep their promises.

Louis Zamperini

The human tendency is to base our level of love on the desirability of the object of our love. It is easy to love those who are like us and agree with us, but the love we are called to display is the love of God.

Ephesians 5:1–2 NKJV

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

1 John 4:7–10 NKJV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

What kind of love does God display?

Romans 5:10 NKJV

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.

The richest display of love is to love your enemies, and that is exactly the love that God displayed for us in offering His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of His enemies.

How Can I Begin Loving My Enemies?

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Since all of us are assured that we do and will have enemies, praying for our enemies is a command that all believers will have the opportunity to obey.

Jesus gives the command to pray for those who persecute us because He knows that none of us has the capacity to love our enemies, and so we must bring them and ourselves before the throne of grace. We cannot love them for what they have done, but we can love them because of who they are. They are broken sinners created in the image of God and desperately in need of grace. In other words, our enemies are exactly like us, and only by God’s mercy we are saved.

Matthew: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Pray for Your Persecutors

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who was eventually killed in Nazi Germany, wrote, “This is the supreme demand. Through the medium of prayer we go to our enemy, stand by his side, and plead for him to God.”

Why should I love my enemies?

This is the supreme demand. Through the medium of prayer we go to our enemy, stand by his side, and plead for him to God.”

When we love our enemies we are showing that we are sons. “God is love” and the greatest evidence that we are His sons is by our love.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 347). Chicago: Moody Press.

1 John 4:16 NKJV

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Loving as the Father loves does not earn for us a position of sonship but rather it gives evidence that we are His children. When our lives reflect the very nature and character of God it proves that His life is now our life.

John 13:35 NKJV

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love is the most powerful witnessing tool. Even a person who has never heard of Christ instinctively knows that there is supernatural power behind someone’s ability to love even their enemies, for God Himself distributes the blessings of sunshine and rain on the evil as well as the good and on the just as well as the unjust.

Psalm 145:15–16 NKJV

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

There is nothing good that does not come from God. So, if God does that for everyone then the sons of God should express that same generosity.

The Teachings of Men and Christ Contrasted

If the religious leaders of the day were certain of anything they were certain that they we far better than everyone else, but Jesus, once again, throws what they actually did against the stark contrast of what God had actually commanded. There was nothing supernatural about the way that they loved.

As a matter of fact, the kind of love that they exhibited was nothing like the Father’s love, but was instead identical to the kind of love exhibited by tax collectors and Gentiles. The love of the scribes and the Pharisees was no better than the love of those whom they despised and labeled as enemies. There is nothing supernatural about loving those who love you, and, therefore, there is no reward for that kind of love. There is nothing spectacular, there is nothing above-and-beyond about loving those who look like you and share your opinions so they were not loving in a way that was any different than the Gentiles.

In verses 46-47 Jesus drives home the point, “The scribes and Pharisees think they are over and above everyone else. Truth is, the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is no better than the righteousness of tax collectors and Gentiles.”

Jesus wanted to make abundantly clear to his disciples that they were called to be the salt of the earth, not like the scribes and Pharisees who had no flavor; and they were called to be the light of the world, not be seen of men, but to glorify the Father. Sadly, the scribes and the Pharisees were just like everyone else. They were not sons of the heavenly Father.

Conclusion: Because of this, we ought to be perfect just as our Father in heaven is perfect. God is the ultimate standard of love and perfection and His righteousness is impossible for man to achieve, and, although it is impossible to achieve, the righteousness of God can be received by the obedience of faith in Jesus Christ. Through the obedience of faith, the perfection of God is given to imperfect sinners, and that has been Jesus’ point all along. Considering the righteousness of God, we are overwhelmed by our own spiritual bankruptcy and our own inability to manufacture a righteousness that is our own. We need a Savior and we need the Enabler that He alone provides to empower us to meet God’s perfect standard.