How can I love my enemies? Luke 6:27-36
Have you ever
observed how bumper stickers seem to encapsulate people’s philosophy of life?
Here is a selection:
Do unto others before they can do unto you.
I don’t get mad I get even.
Caution I brake for tailgaters.
To err is human,
to forgive is out of the question.
Keep honking I am just reloading.
Late one summer evening in, a weary truck driver pulled his articulated lorry
into the all-night lorry park at the M1 Watford Gap service station. The
waitress had just served him his supper when three tough looking, leather
jacketed Hells Angels motorcyclists - walked in, came over to his table and
began to give him a hard time.
Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate,
another took a handful of his chips, and the third picked up his coffee and
began to drink it. He ignored them and finished his meal. Then he calmly got
up, put his money and bill on the cash register, and went out of the door. The
waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching at the
door as the big truck drove away into the night. When she returned, one of the
bikers said to her, "Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?" She
replied, "I don’t know about that, but he sure ain’t much of a truck driver
either. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out."
Sounds like justice, doesn’t it? When someone wrongs us, our first instinct is
to get them back! Our first instinct is to make them hurt as much as they hurt
us. Its instinctive when we are wronged. And it starts at an early age.
The author Judith Viorst wrote a children’s book entitled “I’ll Fix Anthony”
published by Aladdin. It’s the story of two brothers, Nicholas and Anthony.
Nicholas, the younger brother complains about the way his older brother Anthony
treats him: "My brother Anthony can read books now, but he won’t read any
books to me. He plays checkers with Bruce from his school. But when I want to
play he says, "Go away or I’ll clobber you." I let him wear my Snoopy
sweatshirt, but he never lets me borrow his sword. Mother says deep down in his
heart Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep down in his heart he thinks I stink.
Mother says deep deep down in his heart, where he doesn’t even know it, Anthony
loves me. Anthony says deep deep down in his heart he still thinks I stink.
When I’m six I’ll fix Anthony …. Anthony is chasing me out of the playroom. He
says I stink. He says he is going to clobber me. I have to run now, but I won’t
have to run when I’m six. When I’m six, I’ll fix Anthony.
Nicholas imagines that when he is six, he will have his revenge against
Anthony. He believes he will jump higher, run faster, swim better, and be
braver. Too bad for Anthony. But for now, Nicholas must run, because Anthony is
going to clobber him. The truth is that we grow up thinking about all the
people who have clobbered us and get some quiet satisfaction from hurting them
back.
Clarence Darrow, the renowned criminal lawyer once joked: "Everyone is a
potential murderer. I have not killed anyone - but I frequently get
satisfaction out of obituary notices."
And it’s a reaction even found among refined genteel ladies. Charlotte Bronte suffered
a traumatic upbringing at the Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge, Lancashire. In her novel, Jane Eyre, she recreates her experience in the legendary Lowood School. Through the lips of the young Jane, who also endures physical abuse “without
a reason”, Charlotte Bronte offers her philosophy of life “We should strike
back again very hard: I am sure we should - so hard as to teach the person who
struck us never to do it again.” Recently, letters have come to light written
to Charlotte by her former head teacher, the Revd William Carus-Wilson. He did
not take the veiled attack lightly, threatening to sue his most famous former
pupil. And that’s the trouble with revenge. It is like a black hole. Its never
ending. And that’s why Jesus’ teaching is so radical - so revolutionary - so
counter-cultural - so humanly impossible.
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
As in our Membership Covenant, so here in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the foundational truths of what it means to be a Christ-follower. What makes a Christ-follower different from all other faiths and none? A Christ-follower will love his enemies. Notice this is not advice. This is not a recommendation. This is not a multi-choice option. This is not an opinion, not a suggestion, not even a plea. It is a command. It’s a command Jesus often repeats. “If you love me you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15).
If you obey my commands you will remain in my love.” (John 15:10) “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14). So here also Jesus says “Love your enemies.” (Luke 6:27).
How can I love my enemies? We must start by defining what we mean by an enemy. Jesus defines an enemy in three ways.
An enemy is anyone who hates you
Maybe someone hates to see your kind get ahead and move into their neighbourhood; hates to see your kind get a promotion and become their boss; hates to see your kind go to school with their children and marry their daughters. An enemy is someone who wishes ill of you.
An enemy is anyone who curses you
Jesus isn’t referring to swearing here. Anyone who calls you a four-letter word isn’t necessarily your enemy. Jesus is referring to those who wish you to experience misfortune, who want you to suffer, they want you to pay. You know the kind. They come out with broad generalisations… ‘lock them up’, or ‘send them home.’
An enemy is someone who hates you. Someone who curses you.
An enemy is anyone who mistreats you
It may be their language. It may be verbal - verbal abuse. It may be physical - physical abuse. It may be sexual - sexual abuse. Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes and must not be tolerated. If it is happening to you, you must not accept it. You must be proactive, tell someone in authority. But what you must not do, says Jesus, is retaliate.
When you come face to face with an enemy, Jesus tells us we must take three steps to love our enemies and bring good out of evil.
1. Do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27)
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”
(Luke 6:27). Its not hard to imagine how these words were as revolutionary when
Jesus first uttered them as they are today. Matthew records another
conversation in which Jesus set himself in total opposition to the other
religious leaders of his day. “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbour and
hate your enemy’ but I tell you love your enemies…” (Matthew 5:43)
Later in this passage Jesus explains why. “If you love those who love you, what
credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.” (Luke 6:32). Jesus
is calling us to do something that’s totally contrary to our human nature.
Human nature tells us to take revenge. Why then does Jesus repudiate revenge?
Because hatred destroys you physically
Scientific
studies have been done to show the damage hatred does. Anger causes your blood
pressure to rise. Your breathing rate increases. This causes a strain on your
heart making you more susceptible to a heart attack or stroke. It also can
trigger headaches and lead to abusive behaviour. It can break down your immune
system and cause you to be more susceptible to various diseases. Hate destroys
you physically.
Because hatred destroys you emotionally
Hatred is exhausting. It eats you up and wears you out. Hatred is all
consuming. It makes you lose your objectivity and leads to bad decision making.
Often hatred, is like a volcano, it erupts and spews out over people you care
for. It causes hurt and embarrassment. This can lead to feelings of guilt and
depression. Another side effect of hatred is that other people will not enjoy
being around you. Hatred leads to loneliness and bitterness. Hate destroys you
physically and emotionally, but above all,
Because hatred destroys you spiritually
Hatred literally rots the soul. Writing to Timothy, Paul warns of those who are “abusive…slanderous… treacherous… having a form of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5). In the Message, Eugene Peterson translates verse 5, “They’ll make a show of religion but behind the scenes they’re animals.” (2 Timothy 3:5). And if you want a picture of the corrupting power of hatred look at J.R. Tolkein’s depiction of Gollum.
Hatred destroys physically, emotionally and spiritually.
So how can we break freed from being imprisoned by anger? Simple - by doing
good to those who hate you.
The one thing we all have control over is how we’re going to respond to those who hate us. Doing good instead of doing harm will diffuse rather than escalate the conflict.
Watchman Nee tells a story about a Christian who owned a rice paddy next to that
of a Communist. The Christian irrigated his paddy by pumping water out of a
canal. Every day, after the Christian had pumped enough water to fill his
paddy, the Communist would come out, remove the boards that kept the water in
his neighbour’s paddy, and allow the water to drain into his paddy so he wouldn’t
have to pump the water. This continued for some time, until the Christian could
not take it any more. He prayed, “Lord, if this keeps up I’m going to lose all
my rice, maybe even my field. What can I do?” The Lord began by putting this
thought in his mind. The next morning the Christian got up early and started
pumping water into his neighbour’s paddy first. Then he replaced the boards and
pumped water into his own rice paddy. The result was that both rice paddies
became productive and the Communist was softened by his neighbour’s generosity.
The two men became friends and eventually the Communist became a believer in Jesus.
What will it mean for you? Maybe offering to mow the lawn of a hateful neighbour;
Maybe volunteering to fill in for the mean-spirited co-worker who drives you
crazy; Perhaps being helpful to an ex-spouse. Perhaps providing for a parent
who was mean to you when you were a child. This is what it means to do good to
those who hate you. Now there are some side effects you need to be aware of. If
you obey Jesus, you’ll be surprised by the freedom you soon feel from not being
enslaved to the anger you feel towards those who’ve been mean to you. Abraham
Lincoln once said he destroyed his enemies by loving them. How many enemies
have you destroyed like that? Do good to those who hate you.
2. Bless those who curse you (Luke 6:28)
Over and over the Bible warns of the power of the tongue.
“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also
is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole
person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by
hell.” (James 3:5-6)
When we retaliate
verbally its like throwing petrol on a fire. Instead Jesus says bless them. What
does the word ‘bless’ mean?
The word ‘bless’ or
Eulogeo gives us the English word eulogise. Its actually a contraction of two
Greek words - Eu means ‘good’ and logos means ‘word’. Put the two together and
Jesus is saying we must have a good word for those who do not have a good word
for us. Proverbs 12:18 says “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue
of the wise brings healing.”
Do you remember the last time someone encouraged you? How did it feel? Like having
a back rub, like having a neck massage.
Saturday
afternoon I was walking through the open air market in Staines in the rain. Just
as I passed a particular stall, the owner adjusted the canvas roof of his stall
and a large amount of water cascaded down and splashed in front of me.
Expecting a verbal lashing he took a defensive stance as if to say “it was an
accident” I gave a reassuring smile and said it’s OK.
A kind word; a word of encouragement can dissipate the anger a person may feel towards
you. Proverbs 15:1 says “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word
stirs up anger.” Most of us would probably have fewer enemies if we learned
how to speak in a way that built people up instead of tearing them down. The next
time you meet someone who just ticks you off, think of a kind word or deed you
can share. And you’ll be surprised at how good it feels and perhaps surprised
by the way the person reacts. So, do good to those who hate you and bless those
who curse you.
3. Pray for those who those who ill-treat you. (Luke 6:28)
Have you discovered that those people who mistreat you have a way of dominating
your thoughts? You just can’t get them out of your mind. Have you ever been
there before? I can think of many times when people have wronged me.
Instead of moving on I dwell on what they said to me or did to me. Negative
thoughts about other people just make me more miserable and paralyse me. Jesus
has a solution. Turn insult into intercession. Pray for those who ill-treat
you. Now before you get excited, Jesus isn’t talking about praying for our
enemy to get run over by a truck. He’s not talking about praying for lightening
to take them out. We are to pray that their hearts and ours be softened, be
changed, be reconciled. Too often we waste our time dealing with symptoms
instead of dealing with causes.
For example, if I stay up late and don’t get enough sleep I invariably get a headache
at four in the morning and can be a little irritable for the rest of the day -
OK a lot. But if all I do is take pain killers, I’m only dealing with the symptoms.
What I really need to do is stop answering emails late at night and go to bed
earlier. Because that will eliminate my tiredness. That is what prayer does to
what ever it is that has caused the enmity. The best thing we can do is pray
for them. Praying for your enemies will actually keep you from being destroyed
by bitterness and anger. Turning our hurt over to the Lord in prayer and asking
for God’s blessing upon our enemies will change them and us. How are we going
to respond to your enemies? Jesus commands us do three things. Do good to those
who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who ill-treat you.
In verses 29-30 Jesus gives four illustrations of how to do this. “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the
other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your
tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you,
do not demand it back.” (Luke 6:29-30)
And the abiding principle
that should guide us? Luke 6:31: “Do to others as you would have them do to
you.”
So - we’ve looked at how I should love my enemies. But why should I love my enemies? Apart from this express command (which should be enough) Jesus gives us three final reasons.
Three motivations:
Your reward will be great (Luke 6:35)
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great…” (John 6:35) Jesus doesn’t expand on this here but remember this a promise. A promise from Jesus Himself. A promise he will not forget. A promise he will keep. Jesus is essentially saying: "If you will honour me enough to do the tough things in life, I’ll reward you properly - trust me, its worth it.” Your reward will be great.
You will be children of the most high (Luke 6:35)
“and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35) The implication here is that our behaviour reveals our parentage.
If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, if you are a child of God, you will obey him. Your reward will be great. You will be children of the most high.
You will be more like your Heavenly Father (Luke 6:36)
“Be merciful, just as your
Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36).
Why would God want us to be kind to the ungrateful and wicked?
Because that is how God has
treated us. Peter explains, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9-10). Think about it.
The greatest triumph over evil is to love your enemy into the Kingdom of Heaven. Your reward will be
great. You will be children of the most high. You will become more like your Heavenly Father. What more motivation
could you want to love your enemies?
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. Then, he
began painting the likeness of Jesus. No matter how hard 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 you paint the
face of Jesus in your life unless you repent of any bitterness in your heart
toward others. So, take Jesus at his word and trust Him to help you love your
enemies into God’s family this week.
Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who
ill-treat you. And notice the change in them as well as in you. Let’s pray.
With grateful thanks to Darrell Bock’s commentary on Luke (Baker Exegetical Commentary) and sermons by Jeff Strite “Living with the enemy”; John Hamby “Love your enemies”; Jeff Simms “Keys to Healthy Relationships” and Antonio Torrence “Forgive me” found on www.sermoncentral.com