Love Your Enemies

A. Then Jesus described how his disciples were to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. Unlike many preachers, Jesus did not soft-peddle his message.

B. He did not try to sugar coat what he was about to say.

C. He did not ease into his message with a funny story aimed to set his disciples at ease. No.

D. Jesus immediately gave his disciples what commentator Philip Graham Ryken calls “The Hardest Commandment.”

E. All of us find some people easy to love and others more difficult to love. And, if we probed deep enough, we would discover that there are some people we really don’t like at all. In fact, some of us might even admit to hating them.

F. In his outstanding commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Philip Ryken tells the story of Ernest Gordon who wrestled with the question of loving our enemies.

1) Ernest Gordon was a prisoner of war in the infamous Japanese work camp on the River Kwai during World War II. Extremely harsh conditions brought Gordon to the verge of death. Finally, Gordon writes,

i. I was headed for the Death House. I was so ill that I didn’t much care. But I was hardly prepared for what I found there. The Death House had been built at one of the lowest points of the camp. The monsoon was on, and, as a result, the floor of the hut was a sea of mud. And there were the smells: tropical ulcers eating into flesh and bone; latrines overflowed; unwashed men, untended men, sick men, humanity gone sour, humanity rotting . . . . The last shreds of my numbed sensibilities rebelled against my surroundings – against the bed bugs, the lice, the stenches, the blood-mucous-excrement-stained sleeping platforms, the dying and the dead bedmates, the victory of corruption. This was the lowest level of life.

2) In the providence of God, and through the compassion of some of his army friends, Gordon did not die, but survived. More than that, he and many of the men in his camp came to faith in Jesus Christ. They learned to love each other.

3) Yet they still found it impossible to love their enemies. As Gordon writes,

i. We had learned from the gospels that Jesus had his enemies just as we had ours. But there was a difference: he loved his enemies. He prayed for them. Even as the nails were being hammered through his hands and feet, he cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We hated our enemies. We could see how wonderful it was that Jesus forgave in this way. Yet for us to do the same seemed beyond our attainment.

G. Whether it seems beyond attainment or not, Jesus commands all his disciples to love their enemies.

H. If you are a Christian here today, if you are a disciple of Jesus, then today’s message is aimed directly at you and me.

I. And if you are not yet a Christian, then I have good news for you. Today, you also will learn how to love your enemies

J. The context for this commandment is significant. Jesus had just called twelve men to be his apostles.

1) These were the divinely appointed ambassadors who would preach his gospel to the world.

2) But no sooner had he called them than he began to teach them what it would mean to follow him.

3) Jesus pronounced four blessings on his apostles, and on everyone who would suffer for his sake.

4) They would have to endure poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution, but in their suffering they would know his blessing. (Luke 6:20-23)

5) Jesus also pronounced four woes against self-satisfied people who were living for the pleasures of the moment and thought they could do without God. (Luke 6:24-26)

6) According to Jesus, therefore, there are two kinds of people: people who suffer for his sake and have his blessing, and people who live for themselves and will come to an unhappy end.

7) But how should the first group relate to the second group? In other words, how should the true disciples of Jesus Christ respond to people who persecute them?[1]

II. The Command about Loving Our Enemies

Luke 6:27 27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

A. Four Commands to Loving our Enemies (6:27b-28)

1) Love your Enemies

i. This was counter to the culture of the day and today

ii. Jesus’ disciples must have been taken aback. What? Love our enemies? How in the world do we love our enemies?

iii. This is where knowledge of Greek is helpful. In English we have one word for love. But, as Leon Morris notes,

a) There are several words for love in Greek. Jesus was not asking for storge, natural affection, nor for eros, romantic love, nor for philia, the love of friendship.

b) He was speaking of agape, which means love even of the unworthy, love which is not drawn out by merit in the beloved but which proceeds from the fact that the lover chooses to be a loving person.

iv. Agape is different from all other loves. It is not a love based on natural affection, romantic love, or friendship. It is a love based on a deliberate, willful choice toward another and empowered by God.

v. As Phil Ryken says, “Jesus called his disciples to show a deliberate affection that was not based on what people deserved, but on the grace of God.”

vi. Deuteronomy 32:35 35 Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”

vii. Proverbs 25:21 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

viii. Romans 12:17-21 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. 20 But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

ix. What about enemies? Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” Who are the enemies we are to love?

a) The Greek word for enemies (echthros) “denotes the inner disposition from which hostility arises, i.e., hatred.”

b) In other words, an enemy could anyone “that is antagonistic to another.”

c) An enemy could be a demeaning boss, an abusive family member, a divorced spouse, an angry neighbor, or even a friend who has grown distant because of a disagreement.

d) So, who is your enemy? That is an important question for you as a Christian to answer, because whoever is your enemy, Jesus commands you to love that person.

2) Do go to those that Hate You

i. We love our enemies by our actions.

ii. Jesus said in Luke 6:27b, “. . . do good to those who hate you.”

iii. Think of someone who hates you. Then think of something good that you can do for that person. And then do it! It is just that simple.

iv. The problem is that we do everything we can to avoid the person who hates us. We don’t want to have anything to do with that person. But Jesus said, “. . . do good to those who hate you.”

3) Bless those that Curse You

i. We love our enemies by our words.

ii. Jesus said in Luke 6:28a, “. . . bless those who curse you.”

iii. Again, think of the person who curses you. Do not respond in kind. Instead, respond with heartfelt blessing!

4) Pray for those who Mistreat you

i. We love our enemies by our prayers.

ii. Jesus said in Luke 6:28b, “. . . pray for those who abuse you.”

iii. Has someone abused you? Or, as some translations put it, has someone mistreated you, or spitefully used you?

iv. You may be deeply wounded and hurt. Again, you may want to have nothing to do with such a person. But Jesus said, “. . . pray for those who abuse you.”

v. It is almost impossible to pray for someone and hate him or her at the same time. What do you pray for?

vi. You may pray that God’s grace will overwhelm that person, and that he or she will see God as utterly holy and himself or herself as completely sinful and desperately in need of the grace of God.

vii. When you pray that way, you will love your enemy.

viii. Now, you may be thinking how radically different and difficult it is to love our enemy.

B. The Illustrations about Loving Our Enemies (6:29-30)

1) Luke 6:29-30 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back.

i. We Love Our Enemies by Enduring Insults (6:29a)

a) Some scholars say that Jesus is referring to an insult here and not to being struck on the jaw.

b) Matthew 5:38-39 38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

c) In the ancient world if a person wanted to insult someone, he slapped the other person with the back of his hand on the opposite cheek. So, a right-handed person would slap another person on the right cheek when he wanted to insult him.

ii. We Love Our Enemies by Suffering Loss (6:29b)

a) Jesus calls his disciples to be willing to suffer loss because we are more concerned about the needs of other people.

b) He was saying that if someone was desperate enough to take our cloak (or coat), let him have the shirt off your back too.

iii. We Love Our Enemies by Sharing Generously (6:30a)

a) The Greek word for beg (aiteo) is better rendered as “ask.” Jesus was not talking about giving to panhandlers, or to people who will use what is given for evil purposes, but about giving to those who have legitimate material needs.

iv. We Love Our Enemies by Abandoning Payback (6:30b)

a) Jesus is not talking here about people stealing but rather about people borrowing and not returning what is borrowed. Jesus said that we should not harass them for our goods.

b) So, in order to implement Jesus’ illustration about loving our enemies by abandoning payback I am no longer demanding that you who have borrowed my books return them! But, that only applies if you are my enemy! If you are my friend, I still want my books returned!

c) We are often called to make difficult decisions. We must decide that we love others – especially our enemies – by giving them what they truly need. We must not hold on to what we have but be willing to give it away as an expression of love.

III. The Rule for Loving Our Enemies (6:31-34)

Luke 6:31-34 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 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 be repaid in full.

A. Golden Rule

B. “The Reciprocal Rule.”

1) In each case, help is offered on the assumption of reciprocity. Almost anyone can offer this kind of love, because it is based on self-preservation.

2) The love that Jesus commands his disciples to demonstrate is radical. It is love not only for friends, but it is also for enemies.

3) It is not limited to those who love you, help you, and repay you, but it extends even to people who hate you, curse you, and abuse you. And disciples can love like this because God enables and empowers you to do so.

4) The love that Jesus commands his disciples to demonstrate is radical. It is love not only for friends, but it is also for enemies.

5) It is not limited to those who love you, help you, and repay you, but it extends even to people who hate you, curse you, and abuse you. And disciples can love like this because God enables and empowers you to do so.

IV. The Reward for Loving Our Enemies (6:35-36)

Luke 6:35-36 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

A. The Reward for Loving Our Enemies Will Be Great (6:35a)

1) Jesus encourages his disciples to keep in mind that if they love their enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, their reward will be great.

B. The Reward for Loving Our Enemies Reflects Our Relationship to God (6:35b-36)

1) Disciples who love their enemies demonstrate that they are in fact sons of the Most High God.

V. Conclusion

Christians must love our enemies.

Jesus was hated. He was hated by Judas, by the Pharisees, and by all the people who demanded his crucifixion.

Jesus was cursed. He was cursed by the false witnesses who testified against him, the soldiers who mocked him, and the governor who sentenced him to die a God-forsaken death.

Jesus was abused. He was abused by the priests who whipped him, the soldiers who hung him to die, and all the people who swore at him while he was dying on the cross.

His enemies struck him on the cheek, and struck him again, insulting his true identity as the Son of God. They took away both his cloak and his tunic, leaving him to die naked. They stripped him of everything he had, down to his dignity.

How did Jesus respond to his enemies? He responded by loving them and giving his life to pay the penalty for their sins. As he was dying on the cross, suffering at the hands of his enemies, Jesus was showing them his love – the very kind of love he called his disciples to demonstrate to their enemies.

Jesus was doing good to those who hated him, suffering the punishment they deserved for their sins.

Jesus was blessing those who cursed him, offering salvation to the thief on the cross.

He was praying for those who abused him, saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

This is where we learn to love our enemies: at the cross, where we see that love demonstrated to the “ungodly,” the “sinners,” and the “enemies” of God, as Paul said in Romans 5:

Romans 5:6 6 For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:8 8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

Romans 5:10 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!

If you are a disciple of Jesus, if you are a Christian, you know that loving your enemies is impossible. That is why you and I must stay close to the cross of Jesus. It is at the cross of Jesus where we see the power of God’s love that enabled Jesus to love his enemies. And it is at the cross of Jesus where we find the power of God’s love to enable us to love our enemies.

If you are not yet a Christian, you will never love your enemies until you first come to Jesus for salvation. Believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, and then turn from, that is, repent of, your sin. Then, and only then, will God’s power, the same power that enabled Jesus, enable you to love your enemies as Jesus loved his enemies.

Let me finish the story of Ernest Gordon. Eventually, Ernest Gordon learned how to love his enemies, the Japanese, as Jesus commands. After the war ended, Gordon and other POWs from the River Kwai made their long, slow way back to Britain, traveling through Asia by train. Along the way, they ended up in a rail yard next to a train full of wounded Japanese soldiers. Gordon describes their miserable condition:

They were in a shocking state; I have never seen men filthier. Their uniforms were encrusted with mud, blood, and excrement. Their wounds, sorely inflamed and full of pus, crawled with maggots. . . . The wounded men looked at us forlornly as they sat with their heads resting against the carriages waiting fatalistically for death. They were the refuse of war; there was nowhere to go and no one to care for them. These were the enemy.

Gordon tells how he and some other soldiers responded:

Without a word, most of the officers in my section unbuckled their packs, took out part of their ration and a rag or two, and, with water canteens in their hands went over to the Japanese train to help them. . . . We. . . knelt by the side of the enemy to give them food and water, to clean and bind up their wounds, to smile and say a kind word.

But not everyone was pleased with this remarkable display of compassion. One Allied officer said, “What bloody fools you all are! Don’t you realize that those are the enemy?”

Of course, Gordon and the other officers realized it: that was exactly the point! The dying soldiers were the enemy, and for that very reason, Gordon and his friends were called to love them and do good to them.

They learned to give this kind of love from the same place where we can learn to give it: at the cross of Jesus. Jesus died for us and now calls us to give his love to others, including people who hate us.

Who are the enemies that God is calling you to love?

Do good to them. Bless them. Pray for them. Show them the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

[1] Ryken, P. G. (2009). Luke. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (Vol. 1, pp. 268–269). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

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