Loving our enemy today
Luke 6v27-36
INTRODUCTION
In Luke 6:22 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, insult you, and reject you because of the Son of Man.” Most of us don’t like this. We don’t like it when people hate us, exclude us, insult us, and reject us for our faith. In Luke 6:27-28, however, Jesus follows this with a greater challenge. He says, “Love your enemies… do good to those who hate you… bless those who curse you… pray for those who mistreat you.” Jesus does not say we should resist our enemy. He doesn’t say we should ignore our enemy. Jesus didn’t say we should put up with our enemy or be patient with them. He didn’t say we should persevere with our enemy. Jesus said, “Love your enemy.” This is the proposal…
LOVING OUR ENEMY — THE PROPOSAL
The context of the proposal
In Luke’s gospel so far, we have noticed that Jesus has a growing number of enemies. This opposition would have affected his followers. In this context, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Love… your enemy
The most important word in this proposal is love. This is not romantic love, friendship love, or natural affection. It would be difficult to show this kind of love to our enemies. To our enemies, we are to show the love of God that reached out to us in mercy and grace. Romans 5:10 says, “While we were enemies, God reconciled us to himself through the death of his Son.”
Jesus gives an extreme example of loving our enemy in v29. He says, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt.” It is interesting that at his trial, Jesus was struck in the face and his tunic was taken from him. At this point, however, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” He knew how to love his enemies.
Looking for someone to love
Jesus did not say we should avoid our enemy. He said we should look out for them and love them. We are to do more than show passive restraint to our enemy. We are to reach out to them in love, mercy, and grace. We are to do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. Notice that we are not asked to like our enemies; we are to love them. Verse 32 says most people love those who love them, but to love those who hate us requires something special. This leads to a further point…
LOVING OUR ENEMY — THE PROBLEM
No retaliation
In v30, Jesus takes this idea of love for our enemy a step further when he says, “Give to everyone who asks, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” What Jesus is saying here is that we should not respond to people in the same way they do. It is God who determines our behaviour—not others. Our immediate reaction is to give as we have received, but this is not the way of Jesus or his disciples.
Ignoring, hating, or loving
Our enemies can move us towards an ungodly reaction or to a more godly response. We can choose to ignore our enemy, hate our enemy, or love them. Remember, however, that when we retaliate, we do not resist aggression—we submit to evil.
Jesus gives another extreme example in v30 when he says, “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” Our immediate response is to say if we apply this, there will be lots of skiving sinners and starving saints—and neither of them will last very long. Again, love is the key. Giving to needy people without thought is not love. If an addict asks for money, true love says, “No… but I’ll try to help!” The way to do this is in v31 when Jesus says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Responding to hate with love
When we love our enemies, some will abuse our love, but others will respond positively. We have to decide if it’s worth the cost. Jesus said in vs.34-35 that if we lend to those from whom we expect repayment, what credit is that to us. Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. If we give to people only with a view to receiving something back (even if it’s a thank you note or a pat on the back), we haven’t really loved. When we respond to love with love, some may notice. When we respond to hate with hate, people stand back in horror. When we respond to hate with love, however, people are amazed. This leads to a further point…
LOVING OUR ENEMY — THE PROSPECT
Behaving as God’s children
Our greatest fear in loving our enemy is that we will lose. But what is the most we can lose? Jesus said in v35 that if we love our enemy, our reward will be great. We will be children of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked.
Reward for loving our enemy
The word reward in v35 means payment for service. The same word is used in 1 Timothy 5:18 when it says, “Workers deserve their wages.” Translating the word in this way, v35 could now read like this, “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then God will pay you in full.” In the light of this, Jesus makes a final appeal in v36. He says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” In application, Ephesians 4:31-5:2 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger… along with every form of malice. Be kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example as dearly loved children and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us.” This is what it means to love our enemy; this is why we love our enemy; this is how we love our enemy.
Responding positively today
To effectively apply this message, we should now be determined to love our enemies. We should do good to those who hate us. We should bless those who curse us. We should pray for those who mistreat us. Proverbs 25:21-22 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give them food to eat; if they are thirsty, give them water to drink. In doing this, we will heap burning coals on their head, and the Lord will reward us.” When we love our enemy, we heap burning coals on their heads—we light up the conscience. We then help them put out the fire.
Conclusion
If political leaders loved their enemies, the world would be a better place. If people at work loved their enemies, everyone would be happier. If our neighbours loved their enemy, it would be more peaceful. If the church responded positively to this message, many would take note. Imagine if everyone responded positively to this message… we would have no enemies… one day, this may actually happen!
Bernard Cartledge