Matthew 5:38-48

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44, NKJV)

Whenever Jesus taught, the people marveled because He taught with authority—not like the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus preached the Word of God, applying it in a living way to the issues of the heart. When He spoke of loving your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18), He addressed a common problem of setting limits. The question in people’s minds was, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) They wanted to justify themselves by lowering the bar to love only lovable people. They rationalized that it was okay for them to hate their enemies. Thus, they limited themselves to only loving neighbors who were neighborly. But when Jesus said, “Love your enemies,” they were shocked! This was truly original teaching. And yet Jesus was only telling them to love as God loves. God loves the people who dishonor Him and disobey His commandments. God so loved the world (the good, the bad, and the abusive) that He gave His only Son to die on the cross to save them. If we want to be like our Father in heaven, then we must aim to love as God loves.

That means we must love our enemies, bless the ones who curse us and say nasty things about us, do good and kind things to the people who hate and reject us, and pray for those who hurt and persecute us. Of these four ways to love, I think the starting point is to pray for the ones who hurt us the most. Usually that is the last thing we feel like doing. If we do pray, then we want to pray one of David’s prayers against his enemies. “Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!” (Psalm 58:6) But that is not the kind of prayer that Jesus is talking about. Jesus gave the example when they were crucifying Him, and He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

If we pray for the hurtful, mean-spirited, and unlovable people in our lives, then God will give us His heart for them. He will pour His perfect love into our hearts. Then our Lord’s command to love our enemies will not be an onerous duty, but the natural response of the heart that is filled with the fullness of God who is love.