Matthew 5:43-48 Love Your Enemies
Proposition: If we are truly the Sons of God, then we will love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us Introduction The 20th century was the bloodiest in human history. – Ron Sider ☢ In Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century, Jonathan Glover estimates that 86,000,000 people died in wars fought from 1900 to 1989. That means 2,500 people every day, or 100 people every hour, for 90 years. ✣ In addition to those killed in war, government-sponsored genocide and mass murder killed approximately 120,000,000 people in the 20th century—perhaps more than 80,000,000 in the two Communist countries of China and the Soviet Union alone, according to R. J. Rummel's Statistics of Democide. – Excerpted from our sister publication Christianity Today, © 2007 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit ChristianityToday.com/ct - Ron Sider, "Courageous Nonviolence," Christianity Today (December 2007) There are certain things that come naturally to us all ☢ Yelling at or hitting a sibling for some wrong done to us ☢ Loving our parents as a child and having conflict with them in our teen years ☢ Loving those who love us and hating those who hate us Jesus challenges us this morning with an entirely different ethic ☢ If we are truly the Sons of God, then we will love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us
Love Your Neighbor & Hate Your Enemy (v. 43) The Letter of the Law 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' Jesus quotes the Old Testament Law – Love Your Neighbor as Yourself ☢ Leviticus 19:17-18 " 17 'You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 18 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the
sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD." ✣ God commands here to “not hate your fellow countryman in your heart” This is difficult but rather obvious ❉ It is easier to love someone like ourselves ❉ Even those we love can bother us, but at least we can agree on basic ideas Mutual protection, Mutual benefit, common cause The second part – Hate your enemies – is not commanded by God ☢ He is relating what “People Say” ✣ This is a good example of the half-truths we often use Half is commanded by God – love your neighbor as yourself Half is man-made – hate your enemies ☢ The Natural Man says, hatred of enemies is obvious ✣ Our assumption – It is OK to hate those who hate us (Who doesn’t?) Jesus is not condoning or approving of this natural attitude in each of us ☢ He is challenging the ways in which the religious leaders of His day justified their sinful attitudes and behavior ✣ In Jesus’ day, the Romans were the occupying force in Israel Many thought Jesus had come to save Israel from the Romans ❉ Their definition/desire for Messiah was to Free Israel from oppression They had no problem if this included the shedding of blood
Jesus Gives A Different Ethic (vv. 44-47) The Spirit of the Law 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 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. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Love Your Enemies ☢ Jesus is telling the people to love their Roman oppressors
✣ Not – just go through the motions of loving them Jesus is calling for a radically different attitude towards our enemies ❉ He wants us to love our enemies in the same way He loved His enemies (us) Pray for those who persecute you ☢ One could easily twist this command to pray for their demise ✣ Jesus is calling us to pray for our enemies in the same way we pray for ourselves and those we already love The longer you pray the softer your heart becomes towards them Why does Jesus give this ethic? ☢ The Sons of the Father should be like their Father ✣ How does our Heavenly Father treat His enemies? He causes the sun to rise on the evil and good He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous ✣ This is common grace and mercy God shows patience and mercy with even the worst of people ❉ Romans 5:8-10 "8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Jesus, the Son of God, died for His enemies If you wish to be a Son of God, then you will act like the Son of God What reward is there for loving the people who already love you? ☢ Even the tax collectors do this! ☢ If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? ✣ You claim to be this “good” person Should you not be better than those who hate their enemies? ☢ Even the Gentiles (whom you despise) do this much ✣ Should not the righteous live according to a higher standard? Love Your enemies as you love yourself
A Perfect Standard (v. 48) 48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Be Perfect – God has a perfect unchanging standard – Himself ☢ You may be tempted to say “That’s Not Fair!” ✣ Is it wrong for God to want what is best for you? ✣ Is it wrong for God to want you to be like Him, perfect? ☢ God’s standard flows out of His Character ✣ The Law perfectly reflects the Righteousness and Holiness of God The Law lovingly but unyieldingly exposes our desperate situation ❉ We have sinned against a Holy and Just God ❉ We are His enemies by nature, and this is why Jesus died for us Jesus perfectly embodies both God’s Justice and Mercy ☢ Jesus’ death satisfies the Justice of God in punishing each and every sin ✣ Romans 3:23-26 "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." You and I cannot even keep the smallest part of the Law ❉ One failure is enough to condemn us Jesus took upon Himself the punishment we deserve, so He could be both Just and Merciful This is why the Gospel is Good News ☢ It is His Free gift to all who trust Him by faith God freely gives what we could not earn ❉ Today He is simply calling us to be like Him in extending that same love, forgiveness and mercy to all, even our enemies
Therefore: Demonstrate the love of Christ in you by loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you
Christian Woman Helps Bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev – Audie Cornish ☢ Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the older of the two brothers who set the bombs in Boston, the one who died in the process of the chase. Since the tragedy, no cemetery has been willing to allow Tamerlan's body to buried, due to widespread protest. No-one wanted his body buried in their town. ✣ Martha Mullen, a Christian, felt a conviction to respond. As reported on National Public Radio, Martha began researching and contacting Islamic funeral services, eventually locating a Muslim cemetery in Doswell, Virginia that would accept Tamerlein's body. NPR reporter Audie Cornish asked Martha, a total stranger to the Tsarnaev family, why she chose to get involved at all, especially given the risk that she might, herself, be targeted by angry protestors. ❉ Martha answered, … it made me think of Jesus' words, "Love your enemies." I felt that … [Tamerlan] was being maligned probably because he was Muslim, and Jesus tells us to, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and your neighbor is not just someone who you get along with but someone who is alien to you … if I'm going to live my faith then I'm going to do that which is uncomfortable and not necessarily what's comfortable …. I feel like it was the right thing and it's important to be true to the principles of your faith. – by Audie Cornish, "All Things Considered," National Public Radio (5-10-13)
Old Woman Walks to Cemetery to Spit on Grave In his best-selling book The Telling Room, Michael Paterniti shares a true story he heard when visiting his father's ancestral village in Sicily. Every day while he was in the village he saw a very old woman walking with her cane, struggling up a steep road to get to the local cemetery. It was said that at her tortoise pace, the walk from her home to the cemetery and back took about six hours out of her day. What grief inspired her difficult daily walk? Was she driven by sorrow over a departed child or a deceased husband, the love of her life? No, the locals told Paterniti that she was driven by Astio, or bitter hatred. Her archenemy was buried in that cemetery. So, rain or shine, the old woman walked up the hill every day to her enemy's gravesite, just to spit on it one more time. Adapted from Michael Paterniti, The Telling Room (The Dial Press, 2013), p. 175
Our Role as Peacemakers In his book Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding, author and professor Robert A. Guelich writes of the role Christ-followers play as peacemakers: The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well-being… The "peacemakers," therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated. Robert A. Guelich, Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding (W Publishing Group, 1991)
Apple's "Pocket God" Video Game Have you heard about Pocket God? It's one of the top-selling video game applications for Apple's iPhone. Here's the game description found on iTunes: What kind of god would you be? Benevolent or vengeful? Play Pocket God and discover the answer within yourself. On a remote island, you are the all-powerful
god that rules over the primitive islanders. You can bring new life, and then take it away just as quickly. Seeing that game options include throwing islanders into volcanoes, using islanders as shark bait, bowling for islanders with a large rock, or creating earthquakes to destroy the islanders' villages, designers seem to think players will only want to play the role of a vengeful god—which must mean they think that's the only kind of god players can ever imagine being real. Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; http://www.apple.com/iphone/ (Pocket God entry)
Pastor's Wife Forgives Gunman Fred Winters, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois, was shot and killed during a Sunday service on March 8, 2009, by a troubled young man. A week after the tragic event, his wife, Cindy Winters, was interviewed by Julie Chen of CBS's Early Show. When asked about her husband's alleged killer, Terry Sedlacek, Winters spoke only a message of forgiveness—a message quite fitting for the Easter season: I do not have any hatred, or even hard feelings towards him. We have been praying for him. One of the first things that my daughter said to me after this happened was, "You know, I hope that he comes to learn to love Jesus through all of this." We are not angry at all, and we really firmly believe that he can find hope and forgiveness and peace through this, by coming to know Jesus. And we hope that that happens for him. Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: CBS, "Pastor's Wife Forgives Accused Gunman," www.cbsnews.com (3-16-09)
Don't Let Your Shortcomings Halt Your Dreams One of the lessons I have learned in six and half decades of life is that very few dreams should go on hold while you improve the shortcomings of your life …. To be sure, there are times when you need to stop what you are doing and focus on conquering a flaw. But if you wait till all your shortcomings are remedied, your dreams will die. All our advances are with a limp.
If you wait till you are beyond criticism to pursue your dream, you will never do it. You won't marry or stay married. You won't decide to have children or raise them. You won't take your first job or keep it. You won't go into missions or stay there …. Few things paralyze people more than their own imperfections. And there are always people around to remind you of your flaws and suggest you can't move forward until you're better. John Piper, Bloodlines (Crossway, 2011), p. 109
Dating Website Excludes "the Riff Raff" The niche dating site BeautifulPeople.com describes itself as a place where you can "Connect with beautiful men and women in your local area and from around the world." According to their website, here's how you can join what they call their elite online club: "Applicants are required to be voted in by existing members of the opposite sex. Members rate new applicants over a 48 hour period based on whether or not they find the applicant 'beautiful'. Should applicants secure enough positive votes from members, they will be granted membership to the BeautifulPeople community." This screening process allows members to avoid what they call "the riff raff." This dating pool for the genetically blessed came under fire recently for ousting some 5,000 members for packing on the pounds during the holidays. The site says that it has a "strict ban on ugly people," and issued a news release saying the cuts were made after many members posted photographs of themselves looking plump in the weeks after Thanksgiving. Robert Hintze, the site's founder, said "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model." A company spokesman defended the actions. "Is it elitist?" He said, "Yes, it is, because our members want it to be. Is it lookist? Yes, it is, because our members want it to be. Is it PC? No, it's not, but it's honest." Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: Stephanie Rosenbloom, "Narrowing the Field before Playing It," New York Times (1-5-11); Mallory Simon, "Dating site for beautiful people expels 'fatties' after Holiday weight gain," CNN (1-4-10)Brian Hiatt, "An Outlaw Looks at 50," Rolling Stone (July 2013)
Police Officer Forgives Teen Who Paralyzed Him On July 12, 1986, Steven McDonald, a twenty-nine-year-old police officer on patrol in Central Park, stopped to question three teenagers about a bicycle theft. The oldest, a fifteen-year-old, took out a gun and shot him in the head, neck, and arm. McDonald was rushed to a hospital, where surgeons told his wife that he would be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. McDonald spent the next eighteen months in the hospital. A few years later, McDonald made headlines again, this time because he publically forgave his shooter. Before his death in January 2017, McDonald explained why he forgave his shooter: Looking back, pondering on my life since that time, it's clear to me that God was in charge. All he wanted was the opportunity to use me. He just needed my yes, and that was made possible by prayer. It's that simple, really. Through the family and friends that God put in my life, and their prayers, God spoke to me and said, "Will you love this boy who shot you?" And the best way that I could love him was to forgive him. Left to my own abilities, I don't think I would have done it. … And I know that I would have died a long time ago had I not listened to God, said yes to God, followed the example of his Son, and loved and forgiven. Steven's son Conor McDonald, now an NYPD sergeant, recounted how his father would call him every day at 5:00 a.m. while he patrolled, just to wish him a good morning, and how during his college years his father would make a weekly trip to Boston just to have lunch together at Applebee's. "My father was always committed to me," Conor said, "He did more than most able-bodied fathers could ever do with their sons. … My parents created the most phenomenal life out of such darkness. It was due to their unmatched, unconditional devotion and love for each other, which I witnessed from the beginning of my life." Adapted from Sam Hine, "God's Cop," The Plough (April 2017)
Act of Forgiveness Changes Author's Life When Shannon Ethridge was just 16 years old, an act of forgiveness and love changed her life forever. While driving to her high school one day, Ethridge ran
over Marjorie Jarstfar, a woman who was riding her bicycle along a country road. Marjorie died as a result, and Ethridge, who was found completely at fault by authorities, was consumed by intense guilt. She contemplated suicide several times, but she never took her life because of the healing response of one man: Gary, Jarstfar's husband. Gary forgave the 16-year-old and asked the attorney to drop all charges against her, saving her from a probable guilty verdict. Instead, he simply asked that Ethridge continue on in the godly footsteps that his wife had taken. "You can't let this ruin your life," Gary told her more than 20 years ago. "God wants to strengthen you through this. In fact, I am passing Marjorie's legacy on to you." Gary's act of forgiveness showed Ethridge the amazing love of God. Today, Ethridge is the bestselling author of Every Girl's Battle and Every Woman's Battle, and her recent book, Completely His: Loving Jesus Without Limits, helps women overcome guilt-ridden, wounded lives. Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky; source: Kevin Jackson, "Christian Author Carries Mantle of the Woman She Killed," www.christianpost.com (6-21- 07)
"American Idol" Finalist Forgives Offense Mandisa Hundley, gospel singer and one of the 12 finalists on the TV show American Idol, met with judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson to find out if she made it through to the next round of the competition. Simon had previously made a sarcastic remark upon seeing Mandisa, who is a heavy-set woman: "Do we have a bigger stage this year?" When she entered the room to learn the judges' verdict, Mandisa looked right at Simon and addressed him: Simon, a lot people want me to say a lot of things to you. But this is what I want to say…yes, you hurt me, and I cried, and it was painful. It really was, but I want you to know that I've forgiven you, and that you don't need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. And I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you. I just wanted you to know that.
Randy said, "Amen." Simon apologized and hugged the singer, and Mandisa discovered she had been selected to advance into the next round. American Idol, realitytvmagazine.com (2-15-06)
Chris Seay's Father Demonstrates How to Love the "Unlovely" In his book The Gospel According to Jesus, Chris Seay mentions a profound lesson he learned from his father about loving the "bad people": Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, so we used to get outfield deck seats (aka "the cheap seats") to see the baseball games at the [Houston] Astrodome. Most of the people buying the cheap seats did so to save more money for beer. After the first few innings, they were drunk, and by the time the seventh-inning stretch rolled around, there would be beer mixed with peanut shells on the floor, spilled beer down your back, and a brawl two rows over and back to the left. It was ugly out there. As a kid, I learned from a lot people that we were sitting with the "bad people." There was one consistent drunk fan named Batty Bob. He was a self-proclaimed Houston Astros mascot. He'd come to all the games wearing a rainbow wig, and he'd lead slurred cheers in the stands. I remember one time my dad went out to sit and talk with Batty Bob. He spent the whole game with Bob, then walked him out to the parking lot to bring him home with us. I was more than confused, because this guy was one of the "bad people." When we got home, my dad came to me and explained how God loved Batty Bob. I remember thinking, Really? Batty Bob? And he stayed with us for a few days to get back on his feet. This is when I started to realize that God did not despise these people; he dearly loved them. Chris Seay, The Gospel According to Jesus(Thomas Nelson, 2011), p. 147
Serbian Bishop Prays for Enemies The following is a prayer written by Serbian bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, who spoke out against Nazism in the early 1940s. Because of his protests, he was arrested and taken to the Dachau concentration camp.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to Earth; enemies have loosed me from Earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an un-hunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless and do not curse them. Submitted by Bill White, Paramount, California
Judge Gives Six-Month Sentence for Yawning in Court It's a given that some judges in the American legal system are more severe than others. But Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak—from Will County, Illinois—may be the only federal judge who has sentenced a man to prison because of a yawn. That's right. In August of 2009, Clifton Williams was attending the hearing of his cousin in a Joliet courtroom. His cousin pled guilty to a felony drug charge, and when Judge Rozak delivered a sentence of two years probation, Mr. Williams let loose the incriminating yawn. Judge Rozak noticed, later describing the incident by saying that Williams "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound." The judge decided that this was a disrespectful interruption of the court, and sentenced Williams to six months in jail—the maximum penalty for contempt of court without a jury trial. This isn't the first time that Judge Rozak has flexed his judicial muscles. A Chicago Tribuneinvestigation revealed that Rozak has charged several court spectators with contempt when their cell phones rang in the middle of a session. In fact, with 30 judges operating in his Judicial Circuit, Judge Rozak has brought more than a third of all the contempt charges filed in the past 10 years. People like Daniel Rozak are the reason why some people cringe when they hear God described as a Judge. They wonder, Will God judge me with fairness?
Sam O'Neal, Geneva, Illinois; source: Matt Bartosik, "Shut Yer Mouth: Man Gets Six Months for Yawning," nbcnewyork.com (8-11-2009)
When the Supremes Socialize In an article having to do with the socializing of Supreme Court justices Justice Scalia shared some of his wisdom: Ruth Bader Ginsburg fondly recalled her closest friend on the court, who always gave her roses on her birthday and shared her reverence for the law. Scalia was once asked, she told the audience, how they could be such dear friends with such different views. Justice Scalia answered, "I attack ideas. I don't attack people. Some very good people have some very bad ideas. If you can't separate the two, you'd better get another job." Roxanne Roberts, "When the Supremes socialize," THE WEEK, April 9. 2016. p. 36.
John Piper on the Providence of God In his book A Sweet and Bitter Providence, John Piper offers these thoughts about God's providence: Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ. John Piper, A Sweet and Bitter Providence(Crossway Books & Bibles, 2010), pp.101-102; found via Joe Thorn's blog (1-20-10)
Girls Who Are Bullies Girls, according to a 2006 Clemson University study, are nearly twice as likely to bully or be bullied electronically than boys [bullying by way of personal websites,
e-mail, text messaging, or cell phone calls]; another long-term study shows girls are responsible for 61 percent of reported in-person bullying incidents. Making matters worse, physical violence, once the domain of boys, has thoroughly infiltrated girl culture. The U.S. Justice Department reports that between 1992 and 2003, the number of girls arrested for assault rose 41 percent. Among boys, the increase was 4.3 percent. Jessica Reaves, "Tough Cookies," Chicago Tribune Magazine (7-22-07), p. 12
Loving Your Neighbor Reasonably Love your neighbor as yourself; but don't take down the fence. —Carl Sandburg, American poet, novelist, and historian (1878–1967) Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes