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This is the 8th sermon in a series of messages regarding the Sermon on the Mount. This message covers the passage found in Matthew 5:43-48 regarding "loving your enemies."
Written Excerpts:
Introduction:
The passage we will be looking at today is found at the end of Matthew chapter 5. Here is another example of Jesus contrasting His message with the common understanding and beliefs that were present in His day.
The quote that Jesus cites in verse 43 does not come directly out of the OT, except for the 1st half of it, “You shall love your neighbor,” does appear in the OT in Leviticus 19:18. The origin of the second part of the quote is uncertain. It could be a statement taken from the common teachings of prominent rabbis, or it could simply be the standard “view on the street” because of inferences from various scriptures.
For example: in the passage found in Lev. 19:18, the first part of the verse instructs the Israelites to not take vengeance against the “children of your people,” but they were to love their neighbor as themselves. One could draw the inference that the “neighbors” they were supposed to love only applied to their fellow countrymen – Israelites. There were plenty of other references in the OT that restricted Gentiles from being in the Tabernacle or Temple
Consider Psalm 139:21-22, “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
However, loving one’s enemies and doing good to them was not completely foreign to the OT.
In Exodus 23:4-5, the Israelites were commanded to return their enemy’s ox or donkey if they found it going astray. They were also instructed to help the enemy relieve his donkey if it had collapsed under its load.
In Proverbs 25:21-22 we read, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink: For you shall heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward you.”
Transition: The religious Jews in Jesus’ day are not the only ones who have ever distorted the Scriptures to their advantage, or at least misunderstood their message. We certainly have many professing Christians in our world today who are guilty of the same fault. Let us focus our thoughts for the next several minutes on these words of Jesus in order to understand more clearly what He commands His disciples to do.
Proposition: I believe that it is important for us to understand three things in His message here. We must understand the meaning of His command; we must understand the practice of His command; and we must understand the justification for His command.
I. The Meaning of His Command
It surely sounds simple… the command simply says, “… love your enemies.”
“enemy” – Gk. ἐχθρός, hated one, enemy, adversary; adj. hostile, cf. hatred or enmity. Jesus says, “Rather than hate your enemy or adversary, love him.”
What is love? You have probably heard these definitions before, but let us review just for a moment what the Bible means by the word love. There are four Greek words that are translated “love.” Three of them appear in the NT, while the fourth one does not. Let’s talk about the one that does not appear in the NT first.
A. ἐραω (vb.); ἐρός (n.); the love between a man and woman which embraces longing, craving and desire. It includes the idea of beauty and sensual desire. (DNTT, C. Brown)
Greek playwrights knew the irresistible power of Eros, the god of love, which forgot all reason, will and discretion on the way to ecstasy. (Emphasis mine.) (DNTT)
In other words, this is the kind of “love” that makes a person lose their mind! How many know what that’s like?
(Barclay) … it always included the idea of passion and sexual love…. Eventually came to be tinged with the idea of lust rather than love.
Now, this word does not appear in the NT; only in the early classical Greek literature.
B. φιλέω (vb.); φίλος (m.n.); φιλία (f.n.) – to love; a friend; friendship.
This is the most general word for love or regard with affection. It mainly denotes the attraction of people to one another who are close together both inside and outside the family; it includes concern, care and hospitality…. (DNTT)
(Barclay) … [plileo and philia are the] warmest and best Greek words for love describing warm, tender affection.
C. stergō; - less frequent verb, means to love, feel affection, especially of the mutual love of parents and children. (DNTT) However, it also describes the love of a people for their ruler… and even of dogs for their master.
This word only appears in the NT in compound forms with other words that affect the meaning.
For example, in Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:3 it appears with the prefix “a” [meaning anti / against] to indicate people who are “without natural affection.”
In Romans 12:10 it appears with the prefix “philos” (Gk for friend) and it is translated “kindly affectionate.” (DNTT)
D. ἀγάπη (n); ἀγαπάω (vb); - are used in nearly every case in the NT to speak of God’s relationship with man….
This kind of love is emphasized by Paul to describe God’s love as the basis for choosing Israel
(Barclay) “These words indicate unconquerable benevolence, invincible goodwill. If we regard a person with agape, it means that no matter what that person does to us, no matter how he treats us, no matter if he insults us or injures us or grieves us, we will never allow any bitterness against him to invade our hearts, but will regard him with that unconquerable benevolence and goodwill which will seek nothing but his highest good.”
The emphasis of this word is not so much feeling as it is commitment. It focuses on the sacrificial commitment of the one loving rather than on the qualities of the one loved.
(Barclay) This kind of love is not a feeling of the heart… but it is a determination of the mind… it is the power to love those whom we do not like and who may not like us.
In order for a Christian to exhibit this kind of love we must realize that…
1. Loving someone in this way is not the same as having fondness for someone (or liking them).
2. Love is very often an attitude / action before it is a feeling.
3. This kind of love focuses on who the person is, not what he / she has or hasn’t done.
In other words, we love them because they are human beings created in the image of God and even though that image has been severely marred, it is still there.
II. The Practice of His Command
Bless, do good and pray.
These commands stand in stark contrast to the “normal” attitudes of our culture and society. They did in Jesus’ day and they still do today. These commands illustrate exactly what Jesus was saying in the previous paragraph that we looked at last week. Rather than retaliating against the ones who behave as though they are our enemies, we should demonstrate love for them.
Bless – Rather than curse them, like they have done to us, we should pronounce blessings on them.
Do good – means just what it sounds like it means! J It means to treat them better than they deserve to be treated. We do this by following the admonition of Proverbs 25:21-22 that we read earlier and is quoted in Romans 12:20… Give him bread, water, etc. Then in the very next verse Paul says, “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Pray – Various speakers and writers have talked about how hard it is to hate someone that you’re praying for. To sincerely pray for someone else is to identify the needs in his life and sincerely petition God to satisfy every need according to His divine will and purpose. This is hard enough to practice in cases where people have mistreated us in the petty offenses that we often suffer. But, just imagine how hard it would be to practice this command toward those who persecute you.
III. The Justification of the Command
What is the reason behind the command? Why should a disciple of Jesus Christ desire to obey this command? There are 2 reasons.
A. “That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (v. 45a)
By following this command of our Lord, we demonstrate our relationship with Him. We identify ourselves as His children and He is our Father.
How many of us have ever heard the words, “You’re acting just like your father!”?
If we want to be like God, this is what it will look like.
God provides the sun and sends the rain on both the just and the unjust. He bestows benefits and blessings on every one of us regardless of how we have treated Him.
Romans 5:8 “God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loved every one of us while we were His enemies! That’s why we should also love our enemies. If we only love those who love us or act friendly toward those who do the same to us, then we are not like God; we are just acting like everyone else in the secular world without God in their hearts. This kind of attitude and behavior will identify us as the true children of God.
B. Therefore, be perfect because your Father in heaven is perfect. (v. 48)
The word perfect carries the ideas of: fully grown or fully developed; mature; functionally fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. It does not mean “error-free,” “without flaws or mistakes;” but it means that we have fully developed into the kind of disciples that are fulfilling the purpose for which we were created – and that is to imitate the Father.
Jesus seems to be saying that by living out this command we will become perfect like our Father in the sense that we will be living up to or functionally performing up to our created purpose and design. We will act like we have grown up rather than behaving like immature children who must retaliate and get even.
Conclusion:
I want to close this message today with a comment similar to what I made last week. There is no possible way for you or me or anyone to live up to the requirements of this command unless the Spirit of Christ lives in us and the grace of God is working through us. None of us can live up to this standard in our own strength or ability. That’s why I chose the sub-title for this message that I chose: “Divine Love.” This kind of love that Jesus is talking about is the kind of love that only God has.
And, this is the kind of love that only comes from God. It doesn’t originate within the human heart; it originates in the heart of God and is bestowed to us by grace. That means we must humbly admit our need of His grace and we must seek Him to let His love flow into us and through us so we can exhibit it toward others.
We are going to sing a closing hymn about God’s love. As we sing, let us truly open our hearts to allow His Spirit to move upon us as He desires.
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