[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:18) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.
Our topic is: "Do I Really Have to Love My Enemies?" Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.
[Rick] (0:19 - 0:29) Welcome, everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us.
Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?
[Jonathan] (0:30 - 0:40) Luke 6:27-28: "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
[Rick] (0:40 - 1:30) Loving the people we know and appreciate can be hard work in general, never mind loving our enemies. There is so much emotion involved in loving others, and let's face it, sometimes even those we appreciate can act in ways that can cause us aggravation! When it comes to how we are to treat ALL of those around us, whether we like them or not, Jesus taught us a very high standard to live by.
Luke's account of his words from the Sermon on the Mount clearly lays out the way we should be striving to live, especially in relation to those who stand against us. If we give it a chance, focusing on what Jesus said and working at practically applying it to our everyday lives can fundamentally change the way we see and treat everyone around us.
JONATHAN:
While we will use the Luke account as our basis for learning, we will add important details from Matthew 5 to enhance our understanding.
In Matthew 5, Jesus repeatedly compares what his Jewish audience had been taught with what he was teaching.
Matthew 5:43: "You have heard that it was said, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy."
[Julie] (1:52 - 2:22) Jesus here is quoting from Leviticus 19:18 that says "love your neighbor as yourself," but nowhere did the Law say to hate your enemy. Reading from James Burton Coffman Commentary on the Bible: "THAT was an addition to God's word by the scribes and Pharisees. Thus, the people of Jesus' day had fallen into the old and vicious habit of linking a sublime truth with a ridiculous error..."
Rick, by the time it filtered down to the people, the popular belief was truth mixed with error. Sound familiar?
[Jonathan] (2:23 - 2:47) Continuing with Matthew 5:44: "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." The word for "love" here is the unselfish "agape" kind of love, which means giving without expecting anything in return.
[Rick] (2:48 - 3:31) That one small point will play an enormous role in understanding this whole subject. Let's remember what loving your enemies is--it's that agape benevolent kind of love. Loving our enemies includes recognizing the evil that they do, but not with retaliation in mind.
It's okay to recognize, but Jesus is essentially saying it's not okay to retaliate. Let's understand how to do this. The Luke account makes this point and it breaks it into four very specific subpoints.
Let's take a look at Luke 6:27-28:
[Jonathan] (3:31 - 3:41) "But I say to you who hear...
JULIE: (1) love your enemies,
JONATHAN: (2) do good to those who hate you,
JULIE: (3) bless those who curse you,
JONATHAN: (4) pray for those who mistreat you."
[Rick] (3:42 - 4:15) Jesus gives us four different approaches. We always say, yes, Jesus taught us to love our enemies, but what else did he say? He talks about doing good to those who hate you, blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who mistreat you.
There's four different aspects of this, and by making it into four pieces, Jesus is saying, listen carefully. This is important, there's a lot to this. Jesus continues in Luke by giving details on how to live this specific kind of love. Let's look at Luke 6:29-30:
[Jonathan] (4:15 - 4:37) "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back."
It sounds like he's stopping the evil by not responding in the expected way. "Here, you must need this shirt more than I do!"
[Julie] (4:37 - 4:43) When someone's in an argumentative mood and you don't argue back, as difficult as that may be, it loses its fire.
[Rick] (4:44 - 6:10) It does. Jesus is telling us a very contrarian way to approach these things. But what he's saying sounds like it's going too far.
It sounds like, wait a minute, what do you mean? Just give things away? Come on.
Isn't there any kind of standard, any kind of justice that we're supposed to be living by? The question is: What does Jesus mean by all this? Here's the point;
he was teaching his disciples about the heart attitude that they would be challenged to develop as his followers. This is about what goes on inside your heart. That's what he's focusing on.
It sounded impossible. Later in his ministry, Jesus would actually show them exactly what this looked like. He would live what he taught.
One--there's several examples of this--but one example that we want to focus on today is the example of Judas, the man who became the enemy and betrayer of Jesus. Remember, he was one of the twelve apostles. Now look, we may argue that Judas really did not expect the conspiracy against Jesus by the Pharisees to unfold, and that he knew that Jesus had the power to overcome any enemy at any time.
We can argue, yeah, he could do that because he had done that so many times. Well, whatever it was, whatever he knew, Judas still betrayed his friend for a bag of money. Let's not forget that important piece.
[Julie] (6:10 - 6:35) Days before the crucifixion, we get a glimpse of the dark heart of Judas at the home of his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha in the town of Bethany. After dinner, Mary took a pound of costly perfume, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. This was a beautiful act of service, symbolizing preparing for his burial.
We'll pick up the account in John 12:4-6:
[Jonathan] (6:35 - 6:45) "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was intending to betray him, said, Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"
[Julie] (6:45 - 6:50) It's thought that three hundred denarii was about a year's worth of wages. This was a lot of money.
[Jonathan] (6:50 - 7:11) "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it." During the week before his crucifixion, Jesus had been saying he would die.
Instead of learning from and caring for Jesus in his last days, Judas was thinking about money.
[Julie] (7:12 - 7:25) The sentence says he used to "pilfer what was put into" this money box. That means to steal something, typically of a small value. Apparently Judas was in the habit of taking a little bit here and a little bit there just for himself.
No one would notice.
[Jonathan] (7:25 - 7:39) Judas' selfish heart was revealed. From his perspective, this was money being wasted, as his heart was set on personally profiting from the wisdom, kindness, and power that Jesus displayed.
[Rick] (7:39 - 8:30) You think about what happened in Jesus' ministry up to this point. He would go places and he would do miracles and he would preach and he would teach and people would be drawn to him. Because he's this itinerant preacher, because he's got no place to live, people would contribute and say, just keep doing your good work, keep doing your good work. Judas had found a way to just skim off the top, a little here, a little here...nobody will notice because he's the bookkeeper.
You look at this and you realize the craftiness and the darkness that was within Judas, profiting off of selflessness, off of God's will being done, off of miracles. We contrast that dark heart, with Jesus' own tender and understanding heart, because his (Jesus') heart would also be revealed in this experience. Let's look at John 12:7-8.
[Jonathan] (8:30 - 8:46) This is from the New Living Translation: "Jesus replied, Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
[Julie] (8:46 - 8:54) Jesus pronounced Mary's actions as honorable and appropriate. Jesus knew Judas' scolding that the money should be going to the poor-- yeah, that wasn't real. That was coming from a greedy heart.
[Rick] (8:54 - 10:01) You can see that Jesus honored this woman for taking the time to be respectful and to do something that was very costly to her, and to take that costliness and pour it out as a memorial for Jesus in his death. The contrast is dramatic! Jesus recognized the beauty of Mary's sacrifice.
You notice that all he says is, just let her be. He doesn't go any further than that; just no, you're not stopping this. He doesn't address Judas' underlying motivations.
He just says, let it be as it is. We can see in leading up to--now this isn't even the betrayal yet, okay--but in leading up to this, we can see the differences in the approach and how Judas is walking in a pathway of darkness that's going to lead him to become an enemy of the man that he would call Master and Rabbi. We look at this, and we have to understand that we are being spoken to by Jesus to Live a Love Includes our Enemies:
[Jonathan] (10:02 - 10:20) As we unfold the events that led up to Judas betraying Jesus, let us remember that Jesus knew what was in Judas' heart long before his actions revealed it. In spite of this, Jesus displayed love for his enemy by treating him with the same respect as the rest of the disciples.
[Rick] (10:21 - 10:54) That is such an important point. You can see that the context of "loving your enemies"--and remember Jesus could read the heart of others; we can't, he could--but you see him treat him (Judas) the same way. There is an equality there, and there's a dramatic, dramatic lesson for us if we're willing to open our eyes and see it.
By loving Judas all along the way, Jesus was revealing the fundamental principle of humble acquiescence to God's will. We need to take note!
[Jonathan] (10:54 - 11:02) The plot to betray Jesus would unfold quickly. How would Jesus respond to its development each step of the way?
[Rick] (11:02 - 11:22) What Jesus would do as this heartbreaking plot unfolded showed us in graphic detail just what it means to love our enemies. As we shall see, Jesus would be a shining example of all that he taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
[Julie] (11:23 - 11:31) He taught us: love your enemies.
JONATHAN: Do good to those who hate you.
JULIE: Bless those who curse you.
JONATHAN: Pray for those who mistreat you.
[Rick] (11:32 - 12:12) Those four points; he taught us that in the way that he would treat Judas. Now we're going to get into that, but before we do that, before we highlight what loving our enemies should look like, let's just take a moment and look at what the heart of an enemy can look like.
This is a hard thing to do, but we need to do this so that we can understand what crossing that bridge to loving our enemies truly, truly means. Let's go back to Judas a little bit and understand some of the underlying things that are happening here. Let's look at Matthew 26:14-16:
[Jonathan] (12:13 - 12:28) "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went into the chief priests and said unto them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."
[Julie] (12:29 - 12:37) Incidentally, thirty pieces of silver was the price to ransom a slave. The irony is how little Jesus was valued.
[Rick] (12:38 - 13:39) Well, and I think part of that is Judas was used to skimming off the top here and there and he figured, I've got to get what I know I can get. It's interesting,
you look at this and you say, this is dark. Judas' question spoke volumes. "What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you."
There is no negotiation. There is no, hey, what do you think about this? I'll deliver him, pay me.
It's stark and it's deeply, deeply disturbing. It's interesting that the only recorded words of Judas to Jesus after this bargaining with the Pharisees were two very, very simple sentences, and we'll highlight them as we go. The first sentence would show his cowardice and the second would actually betray Jesus.
Let's unfold this. Again, remember, why are we going through the pain of looking at all of this? Because we want to understand what it means to love our enemies.
We contrast this with Jesus interacting with the twelve in the upper room. This is the night before his crucifixion. He already knew who would betray him.
[Julie] (13:40 - 13:48) Knowing this, Jesus would demonstrate that "bless those who curse you" by blessing Judas, the one who put his death in motion.
[Jonathan] (13:48 - 14:18) We read in John 13:2-5: "During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside his garments; and taking a towel, he girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded."
[Julie] (14:18 - 14:49) In Jesus's time, people wore sandals. The streets were dusty. When you visited someone, your host would have their servant wash your feet.
You'd feel clean. You'd feel refreshed. This was a lowly job.
But for the night of the Passover supper, since Jesus and his twelve apostles were only using the upper room, there's no official host. Surprisingly, no one thought to do this for him or each other. They ate their meal with dirty feet.
It seems that none of them were willing to take on this servant's position, this lowliest of positions; but Jesus was.
[Rick] (14:50 - 15:21) It's interesting. The Scripture started out by saying during "supper." In other words, Jesus allowed it to unfold, and he saw that nobody stepped forward. Then he said, okay, there's a lesson that needs to be taught.
He would wash the feet of the twelve, which meant he would wash his would-be betrayer's feet, just like everyone else. Jesus blessed Judas by humbly serving him, treated him like everyone else.
[Jonathan] (15:22 - 15:40) Shortly after this, Jesus would show them how to "do good to those who hate you." John 13:21-27: "When Jesus had said this, he became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray me."
[Julie] (15:40 - 15:56) That "troubled in spirit"... There's Bible commentary by David Guzik that says: "Judas' betrayal of Jesus troubled him. Jesus was not unfeeling or emotionally detached from the events...
He loved Judas and was troubled for Judas' sake, much more than his own."
[Jonathan] (15:57 - 16:13) Continuing with John 13:22-26: "The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one he was speaking." We read further when John asked, "Lord, who is it? Jesus then answered, That is the one from whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him... "
[Julie] (16:14 - 16:18) What hypocrisy, knowing that this plan of betrayal was already in motion!
[Jonathan] (16:18 - 16:36) Matthew 26:25: "And Judas, who was betraying him, said, Surely it is not I, Rabbi? Jesus said to him, you have said it yourself." Now back to the John account, John 13:26-27: "... So when he had dipped the morsel, he took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly."
[Julie] (16:37 - 16:45) Judas knew Jesus knew what was going on, but it goes on to say that the other apostles didn't know what Jesus meant, or obviously they would have stopped Judas from leaving.
[Rick] (16:45 - 17:46) There's a confusion amongst the average individual at the table, but Judas knows what he's doing, and Jesus knows what he's doing. Jesus basically said, you've put yourself in a place of admitting. Here, go do what you set out to do.
Jesus puts it out there. Now we're talking about loving our enemies. Now, what did he just do?
The words of Jesus exposed the betrayer. He exposed them. He didn't hold back.
He said, you said it yourself. He said, what you do, go do quickly. He exposed him.
Yet, the way he exposed him was, he shared food with him. That is an absolute sign, especially in those days of close friendship, when you give your food to somebody else. As he exposes him, he feeds him.
What he's doing is he's showing how to do what he taught in Luke 6. "Do good to those who hate you." He's showing us how to do that.
[Jonathan] (17:46 - 17:59) Jesus didn't beg or plead for Judas to reconsider. He didn't stare Judas down or stand in his way. Instead, he allowed Judas to follow what Judas had already decided to do.
[Rick] (17:59 - 18:24) Finally after that, Judas leaves, and then they end up going out, and now we're in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus is spending significant time praying. Let's drop in on this event. Now remember, Judas is gone to do what he was going to do.
Jesus is going where he would go, and the betrayal is coming up. Jesus is praying. Let's look at John 17:12:
[Jonathan] (18:25 - 18:36) "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled."
[Rick] (18:37 - 19:07) This is important. Jesus said "I was keeping them in Your name." What did he mean by that?
He protected his apostles. He prayed for--regularly prayed for--his apostles. They were under his protection, his guidance, his direction.
They would do what he said, and he did everything to show them the way. Judas was included in that, and so we need to just understand, "I was keeping them in Your name." That included Judas all along the way.
[Jonathan] (19:08 - 19:14) That's a huge point, Rick. Jesus had always prayed for Judas. He showed us how to "pray for those who mistreat you."
[Julie] (19:15 - 19:38) To hear this betrayal unfold in the Garden of Gethsemane, we're going to combine the Matthew 26, Mark 15, and Luke 22 accounts, reading them as one narrative. We'll add these citations to this week's CQ Rewind show notes on our website and our app for your own study. Jesus asks Peter, James, and John to stay awake while Jesus stepped away to pray.
He returns, finds them sleeping. This happens twice.
[Jonathan] (19:39 - 19:59) Starting with Mark 14:41-42: "And he came the third time, and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come;
behold, the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going;
behold, the one who betrays me is at hand!"
[Rick] (19:59 - 20:27) Jesus, in the middle of the weight that he was carrying and the overwhelming burden, his heart still has room enough, not only to warn those who followed, get up, my betrayer's at hand, we've got to move now. Now, look, he's announcing that betrayal is coming. He not only warned those who followed, but he would also, next event, warn his betrayer.
Let's continue with Mark 14:43-44:
[Jonathan] (20:27 - 20:47) "Immediately while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now he who was betraying him had given them a signal, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one; seize him and lead him away under guard."
[Julie] (20:47 - 20:58) It's interesting because the word for "kiss" here is the Greek "phileo," the same translated elsewhere as "brotherly love." A kiss is this common greeting among friends. That's going to be the signal.
[Jonathan] (20:59 - 21:06) Continuing with Matthew 26:49: "Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, Hail, Rabbi! and kissed him."
[Julie] (21:07 - 21:45) This "kiss" is a different Greek word; "kataphileo." "Kata" modifies the verb, makes it more intense. This means what he did was he kissed tenderly again and again with strong emotion.
This isn't just a peck on the cheek. This is the same kind of kiss in Luke 7:38, where a different woman had anointed Jesus in a Pharisee's house and cried and kissed his feet. This was betrayal disguised as affection and respect, calling him a Rabbi.
It reminds me of Proverbs 27:6: "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."
[Jonathan] (21:46 - 22:00) Luke 22:48: "But Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?" In other words, are you going to inflict such pain on the one you claimed to love?
[Julie] (22:00 - 22:12) This is profound. This is heartbreaking, because this kiss that's typically a gesture of love or friendship, this is now the signal of treachery.
[Rick] (22:12 - 22:35) It is the signal, and you can imagine the grief with which Jesus spoke those words. "Are you betraying the son of man with a kiss?" Are you showing me affection so you can turn me over to the enemy?
Is that what you're doing here? His final warning was very simple, and he goes further. He goes further than just this question.
Let's look at Matthew 26:50:
[Jonathan] (22:36 - 22:43) "And Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you have come for. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized him."
[Rick] (22:44 - 24:28) Jesus finishes and the last thing he says is, he calls him "friend." Jesus doesn't lie. Judas was his friend, had been his friend.
He had protected and guided Judas during his ministry, and now Judas had turned on him. But Jesus didn't turn on Judas, and that's the point. Judas betrays him with a sense of affection, with this display of strong love for his brother, and Jesus doesn't turn on him.
That is loving your enemy. He allowed the sin and the darkness to unfold, but that helps us to see how all of this works. Living a Love that Includes our Enemies;
what does that mean? "Love your enemies." Jesus began his walk toward Calvary by doing this very thing. In this one experience with Judas,
we see that the recipe for loving our enemies contains generous portions of compassion, and yet it is clear to label what's real. It's clear to label the motivation and all of the details, but there's this great compassion as the label is revealed. This recipe for loving our enemies contains generosity, even though such giving will be unappreciated.
That didn't stop Jesus from giving it. Finally, the recipe has wisdom. What wisdom? To put all things into the mighty hands of God Himself.
That's how Jesus showed us how to love our enemies. Focusing on such powerful examples of Jesus loving his enemies in action is both inspirational and, face it, it's a little scary. There is so much for us to learn.
[Jonathan] (24:29 - 24:38) We need to get practical. How do we apply the lofty examples of Jesus handling those who stood against him in our everyday lives?
[Rick] (24:38 - 25:08) There certainly is much to learn here. Our practical application of loving our enemies really needs to begin with the answer to a simple question. Here's the question:
Do I truly want to walk in Jesus's footsteps and live as a daily example of his wisdom, his love, and his grace? Do I really want that? Answering yes and meaning it opens the door to elevating the way we behave towards others.
[Julie] (25:09 - 25:11) What's that? That's to: "Love your enemies."
[Jonathan] (25:11 - 25:13) "Do good to those who hate you."
[Julie] (25:13 - 25:15) "Bless those who curse you."
[Jonathan] (25:15 - 25:17) "Pray for those who mistreat you."
[Julie] (25:17 - 26:09) Rick, you asked this as a simple question. You said, do I want to walk in Jesus's footsteps? Of course we want to.
We're Christians. But there's a lot of situations where self-protection and boundaries are absolutely necessary for our physical or mental health. If we are loving someone who's hurt or wronged us, we could be in a vulnerable state.
We could be further harmed by them. Sometimes, people commit actions that are simply unjust or so harmful that it feels wrong to show love or compassion when this person's not even sorry for their actions. This can be the case when the enemy's actions have serious harm like abuse, betrayal, violence.
Let's take it to an extreme case. We all agree that child abuse is heinous. Once the child becomes of age, how would they actively bless their abuser?
How could they? How would they?
[Rick] (26:09 - 26:11) You're not mincing any words here, are you?
[Julie] (26:12 - 26:13) This is what we want to know.
[Rick] (26:14 - 27:26) You're right. This is a really, really, really hard circumstance. My thought about--gut reaction--and putting the two together, trying to think it through and say, what would Jesus do?
I truly believe that in a circumstance like this, to bless such a person is not to overlook what's been done. It's not to pretend nothing happened. That's not blessing anybody.
When we bless someone, what do we want to do for them? We want to do what's good for them. What would be good for such a criminal is to turn them in, is to bring them to a place where they can recognize the darkness of the evil that they've committed, and they can make good for it.
To me, that's the way you bless somebody in that circumstance. You bring them to where they can be put back together, where they can understand the indescribable pain and suffering. That, to me, is a blessing.
We'll start with that. We'll expand a few other things as we go. Here, Jesus continues teaching in Luke by reasoning through the differences between how most people act and how he was teaching his followers to act.
There's going to be a dramatic comparison in these next verses.
[Jonathan] (27:26 - 28:10) Luke 6:31-34; this is known as the Golden Rule: "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?
For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount."
This is all about rising above our natural reactions--the baseline of normal human standards--and learning to instead act based upon spiritually driven responses.
[Julie] (28:10 - 29:07) We've all heard this Golden Rule. It shows up in a lot of cultures and a lot of different people wrote about it. But one difference is the Christian Golden Rule that Jesus expressed is positive;
we are to do to others what we would have them do to us. The other writers, these other cultures, it's in a negative sense. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
What is hateful to you, do not do to another, for example. Bible Commentary from William Barclay says: "It is not unduly difficult to keep yourself from such action, but it is a very different thing to go out of your way to do to others what you would want them to do to you. The very essence of Christian conduct is that it consists, not in refraining from bad things, but in actively doing good things."
To love others and mean it, we need to give ourselves over to Christ and the will of God as fully as possible.
[Jonathan] (29:08 - 29:48) Let's look at Philippians 1:19-21: "For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
My takeaway is that the Apostle Paul was committed to glorify God exactly like Jesus did. The question is: how do we live with that same determination?
[Rick] (29:49 - 30:37) Well, what the Apostle Paul said in this verse is that "Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." That's how. What does that mean?
What that means is that the essence of who Jesus is should shine through us. It should flow through us. It should be exalted in our human form.
When people see us, we want them to ideally see a reflection of Christlikeness. Paul is saying, whether by living or by dying, if I can be that reflection, there it is. That's how I can turn myself over to be like Christ as fully as possible;
to love others and mean it, like you said, Julie, giving ourselves over to Christ as best as we possibly can. What's next?
[Julie] (30:38 - 30:43) To love others and mean it, we need not to be afraid to share in and feel their experiences.
[Jonathan] (30:44 - 31:05) We see this example in Romans 12:14-16: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.
Do not be wise in your own estimation."
[Julie] (31:06 - 31:30) It's easy to rejoice with the ones that you really like-- true love and forgiveness that has mutual respect, it has understanding. If your enemy is not open to reconciliation or they've got no intention of changing their harmful ways, loving them, people would say, is not going to be realistic or even healthy for you.
I'm probably not going to rejoice with my enemies, so what's the principle here?
[Rick] (31:31 - 31:39) Well, first of all, this is a principle that we need to look at and try to understand. How is it that you're not going to rejoice with your enemy because your enemy is out to hurt you?
[Julie] (31:39 - 31:40) Right.
[Rick] (31:40 - 33:03) First of all, it says "bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." Then it goes on to more of a positive set of thoughts.
Now the rejoicing in principle would come in along the lines, again, of wanting to be a blessing to an enemy. How would you want to do that if they're a bad person? You treat them with human respect.
See, typically when we become enemies with others, we throw everything out the window. Everything. There's no courtesy.
There's no kindness. There's no respect. Jesus didn't do that.
He never did that, so what makes me think I should act that way? Not if Jesus didn't do those things.
The point here is rather than retaliate, have that blessed attitude about yourself. Again, this scripture, the Romans 12:14-16, really is more along the lines of dealing with people that you have commonality with. Verse 12:17 is going to get back to the enemy thing.
In this commonality, the principle is to enter into others' realities, whether they're happy or sad. Enter into where they are. Don't play favorites.
Don't be proud. Instead, be humble. Put yourself in a position where you can relate to others.
That principle also does apply to our enemies. Now this sets the table for appropriately dealing with those with whom we have problems. Now we get to Romans 12:17, and this is a big scripture:
[Jonathan] (33:03 - 33:10) "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men."
[Julie] (33:10 - 33:34) Okay, I don't mean to be negative, but this is a big issue. When someone wrongs us, we want justice.
Some people feel that showing love to their enemies might prevent them from seeking justice or standing up for what's right. That could be really important when the actions of the enemy have hurt others, those that we love, and not just ourselves. We're standing up for someone else.
[Jonathan] (33:34 - 33:39) We have to remember that love doesn't mean accepting or excusing harmful behavior.
[Rick] (33:40 - 34:18) That really is the core point. The kind of love we're talking about here is not the, hey buddy, how are you? You and me, we've got a lot in common.
It's the benevolent love that says (John 3:16): "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son..." It's that love that gives to all equally without condition. It's that love that is not, I take care of you and you take care of me.
It is, I care about you as a human being. That's the kind of love that we want to have. In that Romans 12:17, let's go back over that scripture:
Occasionally, only when it's really appropriate, pay back evil for evil. Is that the one?
[Jonathan] (34:19 - 34:19) No, no.
[Rick] (34:20 - 34:20) What did it say?
[Julie] (34:21 - 34:24) I think it says when the person's really bad, you could pay back evil.
[Jonathan] (34:25 - 34:26) No, no, no.
[Rick] (34:26 - 34:37) It says "never." It says "never."
It says "never." If we want to be Christ-like, we always apply the "never."
[Julie] (34:38 - 34:46) I really appreciate what you said before, that that doesn't mean if it's a serious issue that you don't pursue justice through the legal system.
[Rick] (34:46 - 34:49) Of course, of course. You do what's appropriate.
[Julie] (34:49 - 34:51) You are still standing up for what is right.
[Rick] (34:51 - 35:01) Do what's above board and you don't bend any of it to make you feel better. You keep in those things. We need to recognize evil for what it is.
No question about it. No question about it.
[Julie] (35:02 - 35:08) Okay. To love others and mean it, we need to be peaceable with all, leaving all revenge in the hands of God. That's difficult.
[Jonathan] (35:09 - 35:38) Let's look at Romans 12:18-19: "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY, says the Lord." This takes the responsibility off our shoulders and gives it to God,
even if the consequences for them are in this life or in God's future kingdom.
[Julie] (35:39 - 36:01) Yes. Okay, but when you think of someone who hurt you or someone you love not getting major consequences until after they're resurrected, that can be pretty unsatisfying.
Some people would say that if you love your enemy, that might condone or even enable bad behavior because you're not even standing up for moral or ethical principles. What are you going to do with that one, Rick?
[Rick] (36:02 - 37:04) I'm going to love my enemy in the appropriate way. I'm going to love with that benevolence, not with that phileo, not with that brotherly love. That's not what it's telling us to do.
If I truly love someone, I want what's best for them. What's best for someone who is continually doing things that are hurtful to other people is to learn the lesson. That's what's best for them.
We want them to learn the lesson in the appropriate way. Again, using this system as best as we can and being above board with all of that. We need to absolutely recognize that how I feel about it is not what should dictate my loving my enemy.
It's what is right about it. What are appropriate consequences and how do I appropriately seek them, not vengefully, not with vengeance, but with a sense of being clear in my own heart and mind so that I can help them. If they don't get the help now, by God's grace, they can get the help later.
Don't we ultimately want what's best for every human being forever? We do. You better practice what you preach.
[Julie] (37:05 - 37:10) Yeah. That may include getting away from this person and not interacting with them for your own health.
[Rick] (37:11 - 37:19) Of course. Sure. Sure. There's nothing wrong with that, but be above the fray. Don't stay in it.
That's the important thing here.
[Julie] (37:19 - 37:26) To love others and mean it, we also need to exercise self-control and become positive contributors in all of our interactions.
[Jonathan] (37:27 - 37:31) Ephesians 4:26-27; 29-32: "BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."
[Rick] (37:50 - 38:39) Let's pause there for a second. "Be angry" and "do not sin." It's okay to be angry.
We're not suggesting for a moment that you take your anger and you stuff it, you don't think about it, and you don't work with it. But it says, "do not let the sun go down on your anger." What that's saying is your anger should not control you, because that gives the devil an opportunity.
Don't let unwholesome words proceed from your mouth, but only that which is good, because we want to "give grace to those who hear." When did Jesus ever not "give grace to those who hear?" Even when he was harsh with the Pharisees,
he told them what, and he told them why. He was justified, he was righteous, and he was clear, and he was honest, and it wasn't about vengeance. It was about teaching.
Let's continue, Jonathan, with Ephesians 4:30:
[Jonathan] (38:40 - 38:57) "Do not grieve the holy spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
[Rick] (38:57 - 39:15) Grieving God's spirit is essentially saying that God's influence working within us, we want to follow it, we don't want to ignore it, because it's there to guide us. When we don't follow God's influence in us, when we don't follow His providence, what He is showing us, and we go our own way, we're not living up to that dedication that we said that we would give to God, and God is not going to be overjoyed and happy at that.
So, what do we need to do? Let's continue with Ephesians 4:31:
[Jonathan] (39:15 - 39:26) "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."
[Rick] (39:26 - 40:01) Put these things away. This is how we're taught to love our enemies. Bitterness, put it aside. Wrath, anger, clamor, slander, all gone.
Malice, nope. Learn to live above those. Now, does that mean people get away with everything?
No! What it means is we love them with that Jesus kind of love, that benevolent kind of love that rises above and wants what's best for them. If you truly want what's best for someone, you can take your emotions and put them aside.
Can we do that? If we can't, we have to work on wanting what's best for them. Then, Jonathan, Ephesians 4:32:
[Jonathan] (40:02 - 40:09) "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
[Rick] (40:09 - 40:17) That's the point; "just as God in Christ has forgiven you." You've received, now you freely give.
[Julie] (40:18 - 40:44) You read, "let all bitterness and wrath and anger...be put away from you and "do not let the sun go down on your anger." That doesn't mean that we don't address our anger, that we don't address our feelings, our resentment. We don't repress all these feelings.
The feelings aren't bad. We have to process these so that it's good for our mental well-being. I think we can be angry--there are things to be angry about--but we can be angry and not sin.
[Rick] (40:45 - 41:09) The point is, you want to allow yourself to be angry, but you don't want that anger to be stagnant and be festering and be growing. You need to treat it with the Christ-likeness that we've been talking about. It's okay to be there, but it's not okay to live there.
Let's understand. We have to visit, we have to deal with it, but the point of being a Christian is rising above.
[Julie] (41:09 - 41:10) That's hard.
[Rick] (41:10 - 41:15) It is, but that's what Jesus did. That's what he taught us. Living a Love that Includes our Enemies:
[Jonathan] (41:15 - 41:35) As imperfect human beings, our elevation to Christlikeness depends first on God's grace and spirit being present within us. It then depends upon our making the step-by-step changes in our thoughts, words, and deeds so we can actually live our daily lives in a God-honoring way.
[Rick] (41:35 - 41:55) Step-by-step changes; take small steps and grow as a result of taking a step and then working to build on that step with the next small step. We've seen how Jesus did it. Now we can see what we need to do to follow his example.
Get ready, because there is work to be done!
[Jonathan] (41:56 - 42:03) Where does all of this bring us? In this world, working at loving our enemies generally doesn't change anything. Now what?
[Rick] (42:03 - 42:31) You're right. It generally doesn't change anything.
Now what? Well, now we need to look at this whole concept of loving our enemies from the perspective of the big picture. Jesus loved his enemies, and he was crucified anyway.
To some, that shows failure. However, from the perspective of God's plan and from eternity, Jesus could not have been more successful! You've got to see it from the big picture.
[Jonathan] (42:32 - 42:43) Even to the apostles at the crucifixion, his mission seemed like a failure. It wasn't until his post-resurrection appearances that they understood the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice.
[Rick] (42:43 - 42:53) Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's get back to Luke 6.
Jesus continues to show us what loving our enemies looks like. Now we're going to go to Luke 6:35-36:
[Jonathan] (42:54 - 43:09) "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
[Julie] (43:10 - 43:43) Barclay's Commentary brings out another great point on this. He said: "The Christian ethic is based on the extra thing. Jesus described the common ways of sensible conduct and then dismissed them with the question, 'What special grace is in that?'
So often people claim to be just as good as their neighbors. Very likely they are. But the question of Jesus is, 'How much better are you than the ordinary person?'
It is not our neighbor with whom we're comparing ourselves...it's God with whom we must compare ourselves, and in that comparison we are all in default."
[Rick] (43:44 - 44:21) What we want to do is understand, what's our example? Well Jesus says, "be merciful"-- okay, good--
"just as your Father is merciful." That's the key. Be merciful in that godly, higher sense.
God sent Jesus to die for everyone. There is no greater mercy shown in all of the universe and in all of history than that. Then to create a process of reconciliation, that is mercy! That is what we are to be about.
The message is clear. It's not about what we get from others in this life, it's about what we give to others in this life.
[Jonathan] (44:22 - 44:27) You're saying, it's not about evening the score or converting them into our way of thinking?
[Rick] (44:28 - 44:35) No sir. Not at all, not ever. What we need to do is be an example that rises above the circumstances.
[Julie] (44:36 - 44:47) To love others and mean it, we need to be focused on God's plans and purposes and not our own plans and purposes. We focus on what's higher instead of what I want and what I think.
[Rick] (45:27 - 47:24) There's the point. We have to go through difficult things and say, you know what, if you're suffering unjustly, this is something that God looks upon and we can be blessed for that. Look, maybe the circumstance never works out in the way we would like, but if our going through injustice and difficulty gives us blessing from God, I ask you, which is more valuable; getting it to work out the way you wanted it to, or being blessed by God, the Creator of all things?
Think about which is the most important answer. Here's the point. We're to stand for serving with dignity and respect.
Serving with dignity and respect, even if dignity and respect are not shown to us. That's what Jesus did; that's what our calling is. This is loving those who act as enemies in an everyday environment.
Why do we do this? Why do we love? Now we already know the answer, but rhetorically we're asking it again.
Let's go to 1 Peter 2:21-23:
JONATHAN:
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth; and while being reviled, he did not revile in return; while suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to Him who judges righteously..." RICK:
You see the example of Jesus all over again; "committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth." He was reviled, but "he did not revile in turn."
He didn't utter threats. He didn't do anything, any of those earthly things that we would do when we get into those circumstances. He rose above it all.
We do this because Jesus gave us those specific steps to follow. He didn't just say it, he lived it. You can't argue when somebody absolutely over and over again lives that which they preach.
That's what Jesus was all about. Let's finish this up with 1 Peter 2:24-25:
[Jonathan] (47:25 - 47:40) And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by his wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls."
[Rick] (47:41 - 48:08) This is how we stand for Christ. This is how we put away our previous lives of sin. By his wounds we are healed.
Do we deserve it? No. Did we get it anyway?
Yes. That's how we love our enemies. That's how we do it.
That's what we look at. We look at the fact that we are undeserving and yet we're blessed. Therefore, let us live what we have been given.
[Julie] (48:08 - 48:21) We've got one last to love others and mean it: To love others and mean it, we need to, wherever possible-- this is the hard one--
bless those who do evil. Let's go back to Romans 12:20-21:
[Jonathan] (48:22 - 48:35) "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
[Julie] (48:35 - 49:07) How is that blessing someone? That's a weird statement. The thought of heaping coals of fire on the head of an enemy.
It's a direct quote from Proverbs 25:21-22. It said if your enemy is hungry, give him bread; if he's thirsty, give him water;
for you will heap coals of fire upon his head, "and the LORD shall reward thee." It's generally thought that this referred to the practice of lending coals from your fire to help your neighbor quickly start their own fire. This blessing, this act of kindness, would make an enemy ashamed of their conduct towards you.
[Rick] (49:07 - 50:08) When we see that, what it's saying is, bless, don't curse, bless, don't wish evil, bless. That's the message that the scriptures teach. Now let's look at this difficult blessing part.
We're supposed to do it. Well, when circumstances—and we're not talking about excuses here—circumstances make it so we can't bless those who stand against us here and now in this life-- let me pause there.
You say, oh, well, I just couldn't get around to being a blessing to that person. Well, did you try? Did you try to apply Christ-likeness, or did you say, ah, let them rot?
I mean, let's be serious. Do we make an excuse and rationalize and say, well, I couldn't, or are we putting the effort in? If we can't legitimately bless those who stand against us here and now in this life, we have the marvelous hope of doing so in the future.
If my heart is in line with Christlikeness, I want to be looking forward to that. That's explained to us in Romans 8:18-22:
[Jonathan] (50:08 - 50:53) "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." Love our enemies. We need to have compassion for their brokenness.
That does not mean we excuse their evil toward us.
[Rick] (50:53 - 51:24) No. It also means though that God sees it and had Jesus come for them in spite of themselves, just like he came for us in spite of ourselves. That's the point. Jesus died for them the way he died for us.
This is this wonderful hope that the world has; to get "into the freedom of the glory of the children of God," those who've been called by Jesus here and now. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 as our final scripture:
[Julie] (51:25 - 51:43) "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
[Rick] (51:43 - 51:47) You look at that and say, wait a minute, wait, He's not counting their trespasses against them?
[Julie] (51:48 - 51:48) What does that mean?
[Rick] (51:48 - 52:22) Is He (God) giving them a free ride?
The answer is no. What he (Jesus) is doing is, he's saying, I'm going to forgive. I'm going to die for your sins in Adam.
Then in the "ministry of reconciliation," how many times did Jesus say, every man will give an account for their actions and for their words? What this does is it gives those people an opportunity to have to deal with and make right the evil that they did. There will be no human being who can get away with the evil that they've done in this world without having to deal with it later.
None, ever.
[Julie] (52:22 - 52:25) So there are consequences, but with a path forward.
[Rick] (52:26 - 52:47) That's the point. The whole point of a consequence is supposed to be to present a path forward. That's what it's about.
That's why Jesus loved his enemies the way he loved them. He was giving his life for them. There is a path forward.
That's why we need to learn to Live a Love that Includes our Enemies:
[Jonathan] (52:48 - 53:06) Loving our enemies in this life is not always easily seen or appreciated. In spite of this, let us work at selflessly blessing them now in whatever way that is possible and appropriate as we look forward to our privilege of ultimately blessing them in the future. That's what Jesus did!
[Rick] (53:07 - 54:07) The question is, is that what I do? If it's not, is that what I am learning to do? Is that what I have opened my heart and mind to exploring and understanding so that I can embrace it and then so I can apply it?
Loving your enemies is hard, but there is nothing more worth it if we apply the principles that Jesus showed us. Remember, this is the kind of love that is benevolent, that looks at those enemies and says, I want what's best for you. When consequences are appropriate, love says, let those consequences happen in a way that can build that person back toward God.
Love your enemies. Be like Jesus. Think about it.
Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Coming up in our next episode: "Do Christians Get to Judge Others?"
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