Hatred of others is a useful tool used by ungodly authorities to create a unity based on rage, roots of bitterness, and the past sins of others. Therefore, we are taught by Jesus in the same passages to pray for them. To follow Jesus, you must love your enemies. 5:44, "pray for those who persecute you," is a synonymous parallel to "love your enemies." Thus, those persecuting you are included in your enemies. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Just have loving feelings toward them and, if possible, express that through words, by doing something nice, or even with a smile. O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.. The act of respect can often be expressed by simply saying, Peace be with you, and walking away., Putting yourself in your enemy's shoes is one of the most effective ways to show love for them. Christ loves you. Proud member No, the Old Testament never teaches to hate our enemies any more than the New Testament does. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Humans have feelings of hate, motivated by an idea that another person has harmed us in some way. Well that's the Old Testament. Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. These, like Matthew, and Zacchaeus, were tax collectors. I can't offer kindness to those who have wronged me unless your Spirit stirs within me. [47] And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Often, theres more than one person who has caused us anger, hatred, or resentment in the past., There is something in the teachings of Jesus that is worth considering regardless of whether youre a Christian or not.. Matthew 5:43-48 ESV / 392 helpful votesHelpfulNot Helpful. And Jesus knew this when he said, Forgive them, Father.. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. God has a different plan for everyone, and sometimes that means your path in life doesnt match with someone elses. In this article, we'd like to share six prayers for guidance. Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? There was nothing wrong with the Old Testament teaching of recognizing the enemies of God. Suppose ten are found there. He answered, For the sake of ten I will not destroy it., For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him., I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.. When people love you, you might think you are exactly the way you are supposed to be. Is he my darling child? Interestingly, Mormonism alters Jesus words here and accidentally creates the very problem for which Jesus is falsely accused! God loves his enemies. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. And in a world where donkeys and oxen were means of personal livelihood, it is no small thing that the law commands Gods people to love their enemy by rescuing and returning their animals: When you come upon your enemys ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. "Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you." But the casual, easy interpretation by the Pharisees and the Sadducees led the people of Israel to see all the Gentile nations as prominent and perennial enemies. Now we will come back to the third and the fifth but Im looking at the ones First of all, theyre the most obvious that make it so plain to us that the ethic that Jesus was subscribing to and conveying to his disciples was in every case Old Covenant ethics of morality. When he says, Youve heard it said, hes not saying, God said. Of course he didnt say, God said. He said, Youve heard that it was said. But the reality of it, it wasnt said. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. As with other Jewish teachers of His day, Jesus validated it through reuse and reappropriation. 18(A)You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, (B)but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Love for one's enemy even extended to his animal. Hes correcting the false beliefs, the false ideas, false interpretations, things taught by scribes and Pharisees. Oops! They wanted more teaching, more application for living, more understanding, and, thus, more hope. They and other unscrupulous figures who use their delegated authority from Rome to fleece their own people represent an existential threat to Israels identity. Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.. Love Your Enemies Matthew 5:43-48 Delivered 11/24/2002. Yet, there are those who cry foul here, saying that Jesus statement is predicated on a misquotation of the Old Testament and a false assumption that the Old Testament taught people to hate their enemies. Jesus is demonstrating what God really commands over against the teachings and practices of his day. It exemplifies the deep love that God has for us. CARM |P.O. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. When you love your enemies, you grow and develop spiritually. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Verse 43: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies." So what Jesus is doing here in these six commandments is showing his disciples how some of the scribes and Pharisees applied the Old Testament teachings, and then, over against that, what he was calling them . Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. And he made him a robe of many colors. How can we know this? There is no reason for you to remain on a painful cross of unlovingness, or in the shame-shrouded tomb of lifelessness. And I will betroth you to me forever. And he did so along the grain of its core ethical teachings. There was such a big problem with escalating vendettas that this law of retaliation was a way to limit those crimes., The sentencing was carried out by a court of elders, who assessed the damage done and distributed a monetary punishment to the guilty party., In the Old Testament, there is a verse in Leviticus 19:18 that states, Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people.. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.. To the choirmaster. Sign up for a free PRAYaccount and youll begin receiving our Weekly Wisdom Devotionals, sent to your inbox every Tuesday. 6:35). That youre only obligated to love the people who love you, but you have no obligation to ever show mercy and grace to undeserving people? Paul quotes this proverb in Romans 12:20, most likely as a specific instantiation of Jesus command in the Sermon on the Mount. These are people who are under the oppressive regime of the Roman empire. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. We greatly appreciate your consideration! Publisher: OpenBible.info. Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Solomons Temple and its Archaeological Analogies. Heres the story. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'. In both Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27, Jesus calls for believers to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But its quite another to express that love.. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. Responding to evil with more evil does not solve the problem. H Elisha the prophet and Jesus both taught the importance of loving your enemies. John Donne (1572-1631), the poet-preacher of St. Pauls, London, wrote of Matthew 5: All the articles of our religion, all the canons of our church, all the injunctions of our princes, all the homilies of our fathers, all the body of divinity, is in these three chapters, in this one Sermon on the Mount.1The Sermon on the Mount, on a hill north of Galilee, has been called a radical re-interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures by Jesus. Is that something that started with the New Covenant? Thats not a quotation. That would be strange that God would correct himself and so who is he correcting? Thats what God was teaching in the law? Oba 1:12). Its human nature., When you provide someone with that basic need, you can often help thaw their cold heart., We can always pray for our enemies because praying is an act of mercy. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Luke 6:28. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Is Ephraim my dear son? Thats how you can tell who your neighbor is, the person who loves you. Publication date: Apr 27, 2023. 3 Lessons on Real Ways to Love Your Enemies. The question were asking today is about a very familiar commandment, love your enemies. He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. The assumption is that Jesus contrasts the ethics of the Old Testament with His ethics. Today's climate makes it easy to harbor feelings of resentment toward others or toward a specific group of people. It may come as a surprise that some specific teachings on showing love toward enemies appear only in the Old Testament. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. The word perfect, in the original Greek, means complete. (Luke 23:33, 34) His teachings about loving our enemies harmonize with what is stated in the Hebrew Scriptures, commonly called the Old Testament.Exodus 23:4, 5; Proverbs 24:17; 25:21. The most prominent verses cited as evidence are Jesus you have heard it said but I tell you statements, especially His statements about enemies. When you acknowledge that there are differences between you, you can open the door to commonalities., Talk about small things, like hobbies, or films you enjoy even food you like to eat., If you come across a topic that you disagree on, try your best to listen without judgment. Why will you continue to rebel? The Lord Jesus says that when we love our enemies, we prove that we are His children. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.. Given the Qumran use of Nahum 1:2 in applying Lev 19, we can see why Jesus grounds his instruction of love toward enemies in the character and example of God (v. 45). In addition to the obvious point that the OT nowhere states that one ought to hate their enemy, and the fact that Jesus describes His teachings as law-fulfilling (Matt 5:17), there are serious problems with this view. It's stressful when someone you love is undergoing surgery. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels. Something went wrong while submitting the form. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power. First, just as a beginning, it should be noted that the Israelites were not always commanded to annihilate all their enemies, only certain ones. In the Old Testament, there is a verse in Leviticus 19:18 that states, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people. Jesus emphasizes the reality of reward in loving others. You shall love your neighbor.. God doesnt change. To subscribe to David Servant's periodic e-teachings, click here. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He has authored numerous books, including a 500-page equipping manual titled The Disciple Making-Minister, which has been translated into more than 30 languages. Learn about the different ways to move on with Pray.com, Learn about emotional intelligence with pray.com. Knowledge of the Old Testament should lead us to reject what we might call a docetic ethics, a belief that Jesus ethical teachings just dropped from heaven. Today, the hatred we feel for other people is a universal problem.. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Are not even the tax collectors doing that? He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Jesus is raising the bar now that hes come to the earth and hes got a set of followers. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Maybe theres someone who you resent or even feel hatred toward?, Almost everyone has those kinds of individuals around them at some point in their lives. He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C,, Hit by friendly fire: what to do when fellow believers hurt you, 3 Real Ways Christians Can Love Their Enemies. Y If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it." - Exodus 23:4-5 NIV. Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. Its authenticity is not seriously questioned and yet it is a revolutionary command. Either you can hate what happened in the past and not change a thing, or you can accept it and move forward., Its one thing to feel love for someone, even if you consider that person to be an enemy. The other contextual factor that exists in Jesus statement in the sermon on the mount is pride, position, and power. Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield (1851-1921) of old Princeton reminded us that the greatest truth of John 3:16 is that God pursues those who rebelled against Him that He might bless them. Yet as Jesus implied, it's similar to the first. We will seek to understand the presenting issues and context that brought about that statement from our Lord Jesus and discover the meaning for our lives. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. To love your enemy means to try and understand them and behave toward them as you would like them to do to you. . book of Leviticus taught the Jews to "love your neighbour as you love yourself". That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Remember he's God. Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. P The thesis of the book is simply is this: as Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, the cross of Christ was transformed from an instrument of shame to a sign of salvation. Throughout the Scriptures, we are commanded to treat even those who hate us with dignity and compassion as men and women created in the image of God. Whether its a loss of a job, a loved one, self-esteem, or their own health, there are plenty of reasons people do what they do., The next step is to accept where they are in their life. G David has served for more than 40 years in vocational ministry, pioneering and pastoring three churches during 20 of those years, and personally ministering in more than 50 of the worlds nations. Matthew 5:35: Psalm 48:2 . By providing my email I agree to allow Pray.com to use my email for marketing purposes, and I agree to the. You can love your enemies too. Is there an underlying reason for their attitude and actions? A blog by WTC faculty and friends where we can post our latest thoughts and reflections, write about what were working on, or what were teaching on, as well as hosting a variety of contributors. The lessons for their life might not be the same as yours, and thats okay., There's something we have in common with everybody if we look closely enough. Something went wrong when trying to add that email address. In the New Testament, quite clearly, Jesus is not presenting a new ethic. 24:12; Rom. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. I talked about previously on little lessons about how all of Gods moral commandments all emanate from his own character. I did a proximity search in my online Bible of hate+ enemy / enemies and could find only one passage even suggesting hatred of enemies: St. Paul cites and further interprets this teaching: Furthermore, not only is this ethical teaching found in the Old Testament and Judaism, but also in virtually all of the major world religions: C. S. Lewis noted that these affinities with other religions, along with various pagan precursors to Christianity far from being a, Definition of "Radical Catholic Reactionary": Dialogue, "This is, obviously, a very detailed paper on parallels for Solomon's Temple. You come down from the cross, out of the tomb, and are, like the Lord, renewed to eternal life. What does it mean to love your neighbor as you love yourself? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And one could support it from the Old Testament ( Lev. Some critics challenge, however, that this creates a problem with Jesus ' own teaching, which seems . Well, no. One must concede that there is (more publicized) material in the Old Testament from which one could derive an ethic of hatred toward enemies (e.g., Ps 137 or Joshua), and well save that discussion for another day. In practice, many people felt that they should love fellow Jews and it did not matter if . But I say, love your enemies! 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. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Moreover, those who persecute us today may, in Gods grace, become those who protect us tomorrow. 13:9; Gal. It can have affectionate, benevolent, strong liking, romantic, or sexual implications. This also means we dont necessarily have to stay in contact with people who have wronged us. Whos my neighbor? What does the Bible say about witchcraft? So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. 3:6 ), and He cannot hate any person, nor can He command anyone else to do so. Grace Alone and Faith Alone: What is Wrong with the First Two Solas? This is the proof right here. Like the man in Luke 10, religious people have compartmentalized who gets God's love through us. ' And in my Bible, those one, two, three, four, five words You shall love your neighbor are all capitalized indicating thats a quote from the Old Testament, from the law. [2] John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, was identified as a new Elijah, who was the forerunner of Elisha. OpenBible.info The Old Testament nowhere requires Israel to hate its enemies. Jesus teachings on loving enemies were woven from the richly varied threads of Scripture, which He heard, learned, debated and taught from a very young age. Psalm 136:1-26 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. -Matthew 6:43-45. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and . To the choirmaster. He and his wife, Mae, reside in Western North Carolina. His most recent book is a second edition release: Hit by Friendly Fire: What to do when Another Believer Hurts You(Resource Publications, 2022). As David Holwerda wrote of Luke 6:17-26: Thus both the beatitudes and the woes [of the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plains] are intended to shape the lives of disciples who live in this world as citizens of Gods kingdom., In both Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27, Jesus calls for believers to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. V Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! What does it mean that the rain falls on the just and the unjust? You could also have similar jobs, common friends or family members, or similar personality traits., One surefire way to find common ground is by acknowledging your differences. Why is this message an important one? Read beyond verse 16 to consume the fullness of the meaning: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. It simply means you cant let bitterness and hatred grow in your heart. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. According to David E. Holwerd in The Lectionary Commentary, Lukes sermon is much shorter (30 verses to Matthews 107), and it contains only four beatitudes compared to Matthews eight.Yet, both of these divine sermons have the same goal. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. And God saw that the light was good. 5(B)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. However, your enemies will force you to take a closer look at your life. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. U A crowd awaited. There is only greater pain. 20. But one of his most notable teachings was his thoughts on loving your neighbor., Its easy to remember Matthew 5:44, But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you., First, in order to understand why Jesus said this, we have to go further back into the Bible, to the Old Testament., In ancient times, there was something known as the Lex Talionis, or the law of retaliation. It was basically An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth type thinking. Milton has also served as chancellor and president of seminaries and is the author of more than thirty books. E It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. To love as Christ loved us is to receive and share the reward of such love: new life. In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of God's desire for His people to pray for enemies and to love one's neighbor as one's self. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. Always remember that life in the community of man is not divided into the 'Hatfields and McCoys.' A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 43You have heard that it was said, (B)You shall love your neighbor (C)and hate your enemy. 44[a]But I say to you, (D)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, (E)do good to those who hate you, and pray (F)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for (G)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. When you need guidance, turn to God. Israel and Syria were locked in conflict (imagine!). We are also concerned with Luke 6:27: 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 abuse you. 12:19; Heb. Throughout the Scriptures, we are commanded to treat even those who hate us with dignity and compassion as men and women created in the image of God. Learn about the best Christian goals and how to accomplish them with pray.com. No. Oba 1:12). 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 [] 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, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends . As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Thanks for joining me. Its one thing to have laws and teachings about loving enemies. And God separated the light from the darkness. He knows the Bible pretty well. Verse Concepts. However, we need to stop hating one another because hating one another is the easy way out. Proverbsand we have to remember that these were popular sayingseven states that those who rejoice over anothers misfortune will not go unpunished (17:15). To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. He keeps saying something and he says, And hate your enemy. In my Bible, And hate your enemy is not in all caps. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made . of For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. . Everybody knows Jesus said that in the Sermon on the Mount. Proverbsand we have to remember that these were . Discover what it means to be an active listener and learn five actionable steps to become one. Oh, my goodness is God long-suffering under the Old Covenant towards people who dont deserve them. When you love your enemies, you eliminate hatred from your heart and you show that Jesus is the Lord of your life. Meditate on the truth that is proclaimed throughout all of the Bible and personified in the person of our Lord: But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 19:18; Dt. These three components of our Saviors sermons provide practical ways that we can love and forgive our enemies.. Want the Verse of the Day sent to your inbox? What Every Christian Should Know about the Protestant Reformation. Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. The Queen of Sheba, Solomon, & Archaeology, Solomon's Temple and its Archaeological Analogies, Solomon's "Impossible" (?) "1 Samuel 25-26: Love Your Enemies," Old Testament Seminary Student Study Guide . And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice., He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you., Then he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once.