We turn this morning to Matthew 5:43-48
In this passage,
Jesus is preaching the passages known as “The Sermon on the Mount”
He is addressing many popular misconceptions of that time-and of this one.
In Matthew 5:21 he says;
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’” (Mt 5:21, ESV)
In Matthew 5:27 he says;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ (Mt 5:27, ESV)
In Matthew 5:31 he says;
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ (Mt 5:31, ESV)
In Matthew 5:33 he says;
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ (Mt 5:33, ESV)
In Matthew 5:38 he says;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ (Mt 5:38, ESV)
In every single one of these misconceptions he answers them with a revolutionary thought.
So it is no different when he says in verse 5:43;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (Mt 5:43, ESV)
So what does he say
v. 44
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Mt 5:44, ESV)
Jesus said “Love your enemies.”
And for a military culture this is a hard pill for us to swallow.
It is hard for us to “love our enemies” as one hand and swear to defend and protect the Constitution of the of the United States on the other.
But the very words of Christ have implications regarding our up holding of the “Rules of Engagement”, and the “Treatment of Prisoners,” and in how we engage the indigenous population of a country in turmoil.
Jesus said, “love your enemies.”
While his command has implications on the military battlefield, it also has implications each day in our interactions with others.
And to be honest-while it does apply to the warrior-the context of the passage is focused on our day to day lives of interacting with the people that we work with, live with, and interact with.
Jesus was talking about how we respond to others.
And he says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
So this morning, I am going to take a short amount of time to examine these arguments that he presents as reasons to “love your enemy.”
1. The first argument he uses is that
“We are to love our enemies because it is demonstrated.”
Look at Matthew 5:44-45
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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.(Mt 5:44-45, ESV)
God demonstrates what it looks like to love our enemies.
He allows his sun to rise.
He sends rain on both the just and the unjust.
Sometimes we think it trite to thank God for good weather, or for rain, or for simply waking up.
I love how the direct quote from Christ here reads, “For he makes His sun rise…”
In this post-modern culture you would expect it to read, “he makes The sun rise.”
But, no, Jesus places ownership to where it belongs, “He makes His sun rise on the just and the unjust.”
The Bible says;
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (Jm 1:17, ESV)
God demonstrates his love for his enemies through giving His sun and rain to them.
And we are to love our enemies in the same way.
The gospel of Luke 10:25-37 recounts a story of Jesus explaining this concept a little further.
Jesus is speaking to a crowd when a lawyer stands up to test him and asks
“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25, ESV)
But then the lawyer persists and asks, “Who is my neighbor?”
“Jesus replied, [in verse30] “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.” Lk 10:30, ESV)
In the story, we see that a Priest walks by and a Levite–and they both passed on the other side.
But ,in Luke 10: 33-37;
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.” (Lk 10:33-37, ESV)
At this time, Jews and Samaritans were enemies.
They were not associated with one another at all–But it was the Samaritan who showed love to the man.
We are to go and do likewise.
God demonstrates how we are to love our enemies, by sending his sun light and rain to the just and unjust.
How can you demonstrate this love to the world around you today?
That is Jesus’ first argument to loving your enemy.
2. The second argument he makes is
“We are to love our enemy because it is rewarded.”
Matthew 5:46
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (Mt 5:46, ESV)
There is nothing special about “loving those who love you.”
We hear celebrities who often say, “I just love my fans.” And we are supposed to fall over and talk about how wonderful they are because we see how much they truly love their fans.
But, of course they love their fans!
It is not a stretch to like a group of people that fall, swoon, and cheer when all that you do is walk into a room.
It is not hard to love someone that pays a high price just to shake your hand.
It is not hard to love someone who treats you as if you are a god.
I remember the quote from the Beatles who once said that “they are bigger than Jesus.”
How can you not love those who love you?
What is truly remarkable is when we love those who hate us. That is where the reward is.
It is nothing to love someone who loves us. And there is no reward for this.
However, what is remarkable is when we love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us.
Are we blessed with riches because we love our enemies? We might be–if God chooses.
Do we receive a financial gain because we love our enemies? Sometimes.
We cannot make the mistake of understanding God as having a list and if you do good things then there are certain rewards that you will be given. That is not God—that is Santa Claus.
But, more specifically, I read the reward here in Matthew 5:46 as more spiritual rewards.
We are rewarded by taking the moral high road.
We are rewarded by knowing that we have done what is right.
We are rewarded by the satisfaction that even in the midst of struggle we have prevailed against sinfulness.
We are to love our enemies…
Because it is demonstrated.
Because it is rewarded.
3. And thirdly, Because it is expected.
Look at Verse 47-48
47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:47-48, ESV)
The argument that Jesus was making here is that as Christians we are to be different.
He asks, “Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
Yes, they do. but we are to represent the Father by being perfect.
My favorite candy is M&Ms. We have a large jar of M&Ms on our counter and I enjoy a small hand full nearly every night.
But wouldn’t I be disappointed if one day I reached into the jar, placed some in my mouth only to find out that they were Skittles?
I would be disappointed because I was expecting M&Ms.
Not Skittles.
Nor Reeces pieces.
.
We are expected to live differently because we are Christian.
People watch us to see if we are truly the real thing—do we truly walk the faith that we claim.
Skittles are colored candies filled with fruit flavors.
Reece’s Pieces are colored candies filled with peanut butter.
But only M&Ms are colored candies filled with chocolate.
We can wear the right clothes and say the right things, but if we do not have love then we are not acting as expected.
While we hear time after time the disappointment of those who do not follow Christ when they see a Christian not following the faith that they proclaim.
The world still expects us to be different.
While the world fights Godliness with tooth and nail, even they know that we are to live differently.
Because it is who we are.
it is ingrained into our lives.
it represents the love of Christ that the world desperately needs.
We are to be perfect, Jesus said in verse 48.
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:48, ESV)
We are to represent his love to the world.
This is who we are.
If we call ourselves to be followers of Christ we are to love our enemies.
We love our enemies because it is demonstrated, it is rewarded, and it is expected.
How are you loving your enemies?
Every week, I speak to people who are confronting enemies.
These enemies could be a family member, a co-worker, or even a spouse.
They all tell me that they are praying that the situation will change. They desperately want whatever animosity between the two people to go away so they pray that it will.
But seldom do I cross the person who is praying for the enemy.
We all want the situation to change, which is easy. But to pray for the enemy–that is hard. That is what God is asking us to do.
That is what God is asking you to do.
We were all once enemies with God.
When God created the heavens and the earth, he put man and woman in the garden and they sinned against God passing that sin down through the generations to us.
We are all sinners in rebellion against God. The Bible tells us that the “wages [or payment] of sin is death.” (Rm 6:23, ESV)
But God loved us even as we were enemies against Him and sent his son to die in our place.
You can accept His payment today and resolve this dispute with Him-you can make peace with God through accepting His Son and placing your faith in Him.
God demonstrates love for enemies that even “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rm 5:8, ESV)
You will be rewarded for doing the same for others and I challenge you today to be who you are expected to be.
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This sermon was preached on 13 February 2011 at Heritage Chapel, Fort Lee, VA. All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007