Teachings of Jesus (Part 7) Love Your Enemies
Luke 6:27-36
How do you like to be treated by others? With respect, courtesy, honor and kindness. When people speak like the truth, & words of encouragement…. What about how you treat others, do you treat them this way, the way you want to be treated? In today’s lesson from Jesus we will see how he addresses this subject. In Matthew 22:39 NIV, Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:19 saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself” which is very similar to what he says in our text from text today seen in Luke 6:31 which says “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Perhaps you never thought of loving yourself as being good, but it is a reality. When speaking to husbands in Ephesians 5:28 Paul explains to husbands that they should love their wives as they love their own bodies. We all take pretty good care of ourselves, don’t we? Paul further states in verse 29 that no one ever hated his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it. We do take care of ourselves don’t we? Granted, some of us may not like our body in the sense of wishing it looked better or was shaped differently, but from my perspective looking out at you I can see that we all try our best to make sure we look good and don’t neglect ourselves.
Now, back to Matthew 22:39 NIV, Jesus has just stated ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ and then what we have in Luke where Jesus said ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you;’ think with me now, how do you want other folks to treat you? How do you want folks to talk to you? How do you want folks to talk ABOUT you? How do you want others to treat you even those that don’t like you?
What Jesus is teaching here in Luke and Matthew is not so much about how we want others to treat us, rather it’s about how we are to treat others. I believe that Jesus spent time teaching these things because He knew that many of us need an attitude adjustment when it comes to this subject.
Many aren’t even very nice to family members and those in their own home, not to mention how they treat strangers who look at them funny or how they treat people that they know don’t like them. People had some bad attitudes back then, and some also have some pretty bad attitudes today. People can be argumentative, mean, vindictive, arrogant, spite filled, even vicious at times, and that’s in our households. And if you think that a person doesn’t like you, or are opposed to you, or if they are your enemy.. Well then watch our!
That’s why Jesus had something to say about this subject, because some of us definitely need an attitude adjustment. It’s amazing how some of us can be so sweet at times. We visit some friends or come here to church and put a smile on and say such nice and encouraging things, but watch out if someone pulls out in front of them on the way home, or if your spouse crosses you in some way.
I want you to take note of the context that Jesus uses to teach us this principal. Read Luke 6 27-36
“7 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
So why should we act like this? Why do good to those who dislike us and want to take advantage of us? To begin with, #1, as a Christian and as a followers of the Prince of Peace Jesus lets us know that such a positive behavior will make you different than others who would just instinctively put up a fierce fight. Your reactions and behavior is meant to make a positive impression on others; not only our enemy but also everyone else that is watching how we handle the situation. Jesus continued on in the context by saying,
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
#2 Another good reason why we should listen to the advice that Jesus gives here is for our own peace of mind. If someone treats you badly and you are not able to forgive them and decide to retaliate in some manner it will not promote peace in your own heart. Many time we think that if we retaliate and get some kind of revenge on those who hurt us we will feel better; but not so if you are a genuine disciple of Christ. You know that’s not what He wants you to do. So you wind up feeling guilty, or even sorry. I read a couple of good stories that illustrate this, here’s one…
Leonardo Da Vinci once had a terrible falling out with a fellow artist just before he began work on the “Last Supper.” The story is told that he determined to paint his enemy as Judas. It was a perfect likeness. But last of all, he set to work painting the likeness of Jesus. No matter how he tried, nothing seemed to please him. Finally, he realized that he could not paint the portrait of Jesus as long as his enemy had been painted into Judas’s place. Once that was corrected, then the face of Jesus came easily. Neither can we paint the face of Jesus in our lives as long as we hold bitterness in our hearts.
Illus. #2 Another story I heard was of a man who embezzled $27,000 from a partnership he had with a Christian couple. The Christians became embittered. They couldn’t sleep well at night and were so troubled that they approached their minister asking what they should do. Their preacher advised that they find a way to “invest” in their former partner. After prayer and discussion, they decided that they would find a financial need that he had and meet it. Learning that he had to move and needed $3000 to do so, they gave that sum to him. Almost immediately, the wife began to sleep better and the bitterness left them. And they also went on to say that they believe that God had begun to compensate them financially for their loss because of their faithfulness in this.
You can either live a life filled with bitterness because of how others treat you, or you can simply choose to turn the situation over to God and trust Him for your deliverance. Trust me when I say that if you learn to turn it over to our Lord and believe that He will take care of you in the end you are going to sleep a whole lot better, and you may even be able to go around felling a whole lot better during your waking hours.
#3. Another reason for choosing to love your enemies and treat them as well as everyone else or the way you would like to be treated is the fact that your positive attitude may actually change them.
A woman wrote to “Pulpit Helps” to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. This is what she wrote. “During one of their family Bible readings as New Christians, they ran across the verse, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” (Romans 12:20 RSV). Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, were especially puzzled. “Why should you feed your enemy?” they wondered. My husband and I wondered too, but the only answer John could think of to give the boys was, “We’re supposed to because God says so.” It never occurred to us that we would soon learn why. Day after day John Jr. came home from school complaining about a classmate who sat behind him in 5th grade. “Bob keeps jabbing me when Miss Smith isn’t looking. One of these days, when we’re out on the play ground, I’m going to jab him back.
I was ready to go down to the school and jab Bob myself. Obviously the boy was a brat. Besides, why wasn’t Miss Smith doing a better job with her kids? I’d better give her an oral jab, too, at the same time!” I was still fuming over this injustice to John Jr. when his 7 year old brother spoke up: “Maybe he should feed his enemy.” The 3 of us were startled. None of us was sure about this “enemy” business. It didn’t seem that an enemy would be in the 5th grade. An enemy was someone who was way off… well, somewhere.
We all looked at John. Since he was the head of the family , he should come up with the solution. But the only answer he could offer was the same one he had give before: “I guess we should because God said so.” “Well,” I asked John Jr., “do you know what Bob likes to eat? If you’re going to feed him, you may as well get something he likes.” “Jelly beans,” he almost shouted, “Bob just loves jelly beans.”
So we bought a bag of jelly beans for him to take to school the next day, and decided that the next time Bob jabbed John Jr., John was simply to turn around and deposit the bag on his “enemy’s” desk. We would see whether or not this enemy feeding worked.
The next afternoon, the boys rushed home from the school bus and John Jr. called ahead, “It worked, Mom! It worked.” I wanted the details: “What did Bob do? What did he say?” “He was so surprised he didn’t say anything – he just took the jelly beans. But he didn’t jab me the rest of the day!” In time, John Jr. and Bob became the best of friends – all because of a little bag of Jelly Beans.
Both of our sons subsequently because missionaries on foreign fields. Their way of showing friendship with any “enemies” of the faith was to invite the inhabitants of those countries into their own homes to share food with them around their own tables. It seems “enemies” are always hungry. Maybe that’s why God said to feed them.”
Even though we may not fully understand the why Jesus taught some of these things, He taught them for a reason. We live in an imperfect world and we have been taught many improper habits and behaviors like fighting and revenge. I believe Jesus wants us to die to many of the world’s ways and experience a few attitude adjustments. By doing so you just may change the world around you and glorify your Lord at the same time. If not, at least we have the promises of God, that we will be His children and He will eventually reward us.
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