Love Your Enemies
The greatest act of love coincided with a great act of injustice, treachery, and hate! And yet, the victim of this heinous atrocity uttered words which confront, convict, and jar — all the while poignantly and powerfully demonstrating the incredible love of God.
Jesus, while hanging on the cross, mustered the energy and was motivated by His great love for humanity, to speak these words in Luke 23:34:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
This prayer, on behalf of His tormentors, was demonstrably answered, as the fruit of that prayer began when three-thousand people were saved at Pentecost and continues today during the age of grace, the church age!
People – the focus of God’s redemptive plan, have been and continue to be set free from the power of sin and death through faith in Jesus — who died, not for righteous people or good people, but for the very enemies of God.
As the Apostle Paul strongly elucidated in Romans 5:6-11:
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. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
I’m eternally grateful that the Lord reconciled me to Himself and forgiving me, His enemy, of my sins, in 1987.
It is in this context, then, that we, as His people, grapple with one of the most challenging teachings of our LORD — love your enemy.
During Jesus’ first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He said,
“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” (Matthew 5:43–48).
Initially, we must delineate our human enemies from our spiritual enemies. Satan, and his minions, are our spiritual enemy. They must be opposed, for they oppose everything God and His people are for. Here in Matthew 5, Jesus can not be referring to our spiritual enemy. Rather, He is speaking of enemies in the flesh, namely human beings.
What does loving our enemy entail? Jesus elaborates, noting words of blessing, good works and even prayer!
He says, “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
All of these expressions of love Jesus demonstrated on the cross!
This teaching of Christ certainly penetrated the early church and manifested itself in the life of God’s people.
For example, after Stephen preaches a scathing sermon to the Jewish religious leadership in Acts 7, note his incredible final words as he is martyred for Christ:
“Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:57-60).
Paul, who condoned the murder, would after being saved, refer to himself as the “chief of sinners!” This same Paul, after he established the church in Rome, exhorted believers there to also love their enemies:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14, 17-21).
As you read these words in 2024, our present world is raging. Not only are the haters gonna hate, they are hating. Christian persecution is on the rise, both abroad and at here in America.
In light of our present ministry context, how do we live out and practice this challenging teaching of our Lord Jesus?
Only by His grace and in the power of His Spirit!
We need to understand that our human enemies, even persecutors, are our mission field! Perhaps forgiveness is a starting place for some. You see, I’m certainly not going to pray for, do good to, bless, and evangelize someone I haven’t forgiven.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In truth, if they knew the Lord, they would not be a slave to sin. They would be brethren, reconciled to God, and would not be our enemy.
The evangelistic component of this teaching of Jesus to love our enemy cannot be overstated. In our present day, when, as believers we may be tempted to adhere to a bunker mentality or maintain an attitude of self-preservation, we must continue to reach out to the lost – living out the gospel and proclaiming salvation in Jesus’ name!
For people need the Lord.