Hating our Enemies
Matthew 5:43-48
For the past few months we have been engaged in a verse-by-verse study of the Sermon on the Mount.
Today, we are coming to the end of the Matthew 5, and the sermon will continue on for another two chapters.
But it is important to note that with this end to chapter 5 also comes the end of the first major thrust of Jesus’s sermon.
His focus up until this point has been CHRISTIAN ETHICS.
He has been demonstrating that the Law of Moses had been frequently misinterpreted and misapplied by the Jewish leaders.
And He has reestablished the proper principles upon which a Christian should base his/her behavior.
Jesus shows that Christian Ethics are more than simply an adherence to the bare letter of the Law, but also an adherence to the spirit of the Law as well.
As we come to the end of this part of His sermon, Jesus provides us with a final correction regarding the Law of God, and pulls everything He has said so far about Christian Ethics together in the final exhortation of this section.
READ: Matthew 5:43-48
It is vitally important to remember, especially in today’s message, that the Sermon on the Mount is intended to CORRECT wrong teachings about the Law and INSTRUCT on the subject of genuine righteousness.
It is NOT intended to provide us with the way of salvation.
The Bible is clear that salvation is found in the work of Christ alone.
Seeking to find salvation in our own adherence to the Law is futile and will ultimately lead to frustration and despair.
Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
A proper understanding of the Law shows us our desperate condition and our need for a Savior.
The Law is impotent to save us; only Christ can save us.
Understanding this truth allows us to have an appropriate understanding of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Pharisees believed that they were law keepers, because they had interpreted the law to suit their pleasures.
But Jesus demonstrates that their interpretations were actually misinterpretations, and that the law actually condemned them.
Jesus is challenging those who say they have kept the law by demonstrating that they have not.
They have not even properly understood the law they espouse.
The sermon on the mount is meant to correct the false teachings of the Jews, and to instruct the proper understanding of the Law for Gods people.
QUESTION: Why do we need to properly understand the law if it doesn't save us?
Because it does provide the foundation for what it means to live a godly life.
Believers are not supposed to be like the world; we are supposed to be different.
The sermon on the mount enunciates the ways we are supposed to be different.
Never is our differences more pronounced than in today's passage.
We have seen Jesus decry personal retaliation over the past few weeks, when He said we are not to return evil with evil.
But today we will see He also tells us we must LOVE those who hate us, which is one of the most difficult of principles within the Christian Ethic.
Rather than giving an outline today, I am going to use the text itself as our outline and simply preach straight through giving interpretation and application as we go.
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Here we have Jesus following His already established corrective pattern of saying, “You have heard it said... but I tell you...”
But this one is unique in that this is not a direct quote - or even a paraphrase of any passage in the Old Testament.
There is no command to “hate our enemies” anywhere in the Bible.
This was a misapplication from the Pharisees of a passage in Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
The Pharisees had interpreted the word “neighbor” as “your own people” which are mentioned in this passage.
As such, they did not believe that they had any obligation to love people who were not Jews.
They even went a step further and said that since you only were obligated to love your own people, it was perfectly acceptable to hate your enemies.
It is important to understand that Jesus is addressing a false teaching here.
That is what He has been doing throughout this entire portion of this sermon.
Jesus has in no way denounced God’s Law - He has only corrected the misinterpretation of it.
And nowhere is this MISINTERPRETATION SO BLATANT as in this teaching that we are to “hate our enemies”.
That is NOT taught anywhere in the Bible.
NOTE: Someone may ask, “What about the Imprecatory Psalms?”
The imprecatory psalms are those psalms wherein we see prayers of judgment against the enemies of Israel.
Someone might say, here is an example of hatred against one’s enemies in the Old Testament.
But these are not examples of personal hatred.
These are prayers for justice in regard to the perpetually impenitent.
They are not about personal vendettas or individual hatred, but rather a love for God and a desire His justice to prevail.
Someone might also claim that the Destruction of the Cannanites was an act of hatred.
But again, this was not an act of individual hatred or retaliation.
The Israelites were God’s tool to bring about His divine judgment on the very wicked Cannanites.
There were no personal vendettas being fulfilled or scores being settled. The Cannanites had done what was abominable in His sight, and He demanded justice in regard to their sin.
Nowhere in the bible, even in the old testament, is there a command to “hate our enemies”, yet this improper interpretation was being taught by the Jews.
So, Jesus moves on with His corrective statement...
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
This is another one of those times where it sounds like Jesus is radically “adding” something to the Law, when really He is not.
Exodus 23:4-5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”
Proverbs 25:21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”
Where most people have trouble with the words of Jesus is that He actually tells us to “love” those who hate us, and that doesn’t seem possible.
The problem is that people MISUNDERSTAND what LOVE is.
Love is NOT an EMOTION or FEELING in this sense, it is an action.
It involves what we do in regard to those who hate and mistreat us.
Illustration: “Liking Vs. Loving” A few years ago I had an epiphany about loving and liking. I don’t really control what I like.
Like is a natural disposition which involves a lot of factors over which I have no control.
I like chocolate, I don’t like coffee (unless it has chocolate in it).
I like people who have pleasant dispositions and tend to not like those who are mean and hateful.
Like is not really something we control.
Love, however, is something we control.
We are commanded to love people (even those who are mean and hateful) because love is an action.
It might not be possible to LIKE them, but it is possible to LOVE them - because love is an action.
We are to love our enemies by doing good to them.
What does it look like to truly “love” someone?
The love Jesus is talking about is demonstrated in the Parable of Jesus about The Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:30-37 “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.””
I imagine most of us are familiar with this story.
What we might not be familiar with is the context.
This entire parable was in regard to a conversation that Jesus was asked by an expert in Jewish Law.
Luke 10:25-29 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
You see, the problem is that the Jewish leaders had misread the Law to mean that “neighbor” only meant those within their own community (i.e. other Jews).
Those outside, the gentiles, were evil and not worthy of love; they were the enemies.
Jesus chose the most hated enemy, the Samaritan, to make the hero of this story.
Who is the “neighbor” that we are supposed to love like ourselves?
All people, including our enemies. These are our neighbors.
I believe it is safe to say that this is BY FAR the most difficult responsibility of all in regard to the Christian Ethic.
But just because it is difficult doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
This is the foundational of all ethics - it established the demarcation which is supposed to separate the Christian from the world.
The world hates and despises its enemies; it hopes for their destruction.
The Christian loves his enemies, and prays for their salvation.
The Pharisees say, “Love your neighbors, hate your enemies.”
Jesus says, “Love everyone, including your enemies.”
And then He goes on to show why that is an imperative...
Matthew 5:45a “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
There is an interesting linguistic note which we should make on this section.
QUOTE: William Barclay “Hebrew is not rich in adjectives;; and for that reason Hebrew often uses son of...with an abstract noun, where we would use an adjective. For instance a son of peace is a peaceful man, a son of consolation is a consoling man. So, then, a son of God is a godlike man.”
In that sense, “sons of your Father” is indicating that by loving people who do not love us back, we are exhibiting godliness.
When we behave in a benevolent way toward those who love us, we are demonstration the most powerful form of godliness.
WHY IS THIS THE HIGHEST FORM OF GODLINESS? >>>
BECAUSE GOD SHOWS HIS LOVE TO THOSE WHO HATE HIM.
THE WORLD IS AT ENMITY WITH GOD - MEN NATURALLY HATE GOD’S COMMANDS AND HIS HOLY NATURE.
YET GOD LOVES THEM.
This is why the passage goes on to show how God demonstrates love to those who do not love Him in return; through a process we call “Common Grace”.
Matthew 5:45b “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
This passage established an important doctrine called “Common Grace”.
Common grace is the belief and teaching that though God has chosen to give salvific grace to His elect, He does not deny His goodness to those who will ultimately be objects of His wrath.
Simply stated: Even the unsaved benefit from the goodness of God.
Now, it may sound strange to call grace “common” because it is always extraordinary.
But what we mean when we say “common grace” is that it is the grace of God which EVERYONE enjoys.
Not everyone enjoys saving grace from God.
Not everyone receives the grace of adoption from God, or the grace of election.
But all people share in His goodness through what we call “common grace”.
It is this “Common Grace” which establishes the foundation for how we are supposed to behave.
God doesn’t allow His sun only to shine on His followers, but causes it to shine on all.
Interesting Note: Jesus says, “His sun” to indicate God is the owner of the sun, because He created it.
He doesn’t just send rain on His followers, but on all people indiscriminately as a demonstration of His love and compassion.
So, too, should we be indiscriminate in our demonstration of love and grace to people, if we really are seeking to live godly lives.
At this point, Jesus challenges the Pharisaical teaching directly and demonstrates its true deficiency...
Matthew 5:46-47 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
The Pharisees taught that you were supposed to love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But Jesus challenges them by asking, “How would that make you different from the world?”
The world already loves its friends and hates its enemies; how would that make the godly any different?
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jesus’s comparison would have infuriated the Pharisees, since they were the ones who said to “hate your enemy”.
He demonstrates through this example that their teaching is no different than that of the Tax Collectors, who they would have despised!
The Tax Collectors were traitors to Israel, working for the Roman government.
And Jesus is saying that the ethic of the Pharisees is NO BETTER than that of their worst enemy!
This is the most powerful thing about being a Christian: We are supposed to do more than the world in regard to love, patience, and goodness.
The world loves in an ordinary way.
We are supposed to love in an extraordinary way.
Our love is supposed to look massively different than what the world normally understands as love.
Paul describes this extraordinary love in the First letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.”
Notice that this love is not an emotional exchange.
It is a series of actions... or verbs... of behaviors which is supposed to mark our behavior... even to those who hate us.
This is what is means to LOVE LIKE GOD LOVES.
CONCLUSION: Finally, Jesus extends to us the most powerful ending to this series on Christian Ethics imaginable... He extends a call to moral perfection.
Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
This is potentially the most frightening passage in Scripture; but not at all unique.
This phrase (or variations thereof) is all over the Bible.
Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness is an attribute that only God possesses; it regards His essential nature.
He is separate from any sin and is completely undefiled.
And He calls His people to also be separate form sin.
Peter quotes this in His first epistle.
1 Peter 1:16 “Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
This is essentially the same thing as Jesus is saying... “be holy” and “be perfect” are synonymous.
Three issues concerning this verse:
(1) It does not fit the context to say Jesus is referring to “Imputed Righteousness” here, though some have tried to read that into the text.
(2) The bible does not teach the doctrine of sinless perfection; though some have claimed that it does.
(3) This verse demonstrates that God’s standard is not lowered simply because we are incapable reach it.
So why does God not relax His standard?
Just because we cannot reach a standard does not mean it should be lowered.
The beauty is that Jesus did meet the standard.
