Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus
Teaches about Loving Your
Enemies
5:43
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you,
45
that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven.
-
- He causes the sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and the
unrighteous.
-
- 46
If you love those who love you, what reward will
you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing
that?
-
- 47
And if you greet only your brothers, what are
you doing more than others? Do not even pagans
do that?
-
48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
What does Jesus say about
loving your enemies ?
When I first started reading
this passage I was a little confused. Love your
enemies? Then, as I read further to verse 46 I
realized what Jesus meant.
It is easy to love those who
love us back. We can love those people with almost
no effort on our part. So, what did we accomplish
for God by loving and cherishing them?
By teaching us not to
retaliate, Jesus keeps us from taking the law into
our own hands. By loving and praying for our
enemies, we can overcome evil with good.
The Pharisees interpreted
Leviticus 19:18 as teaching that they should love
only those who love in return, and Psalm 139:19-22
and 140:9-11 as meaning that they should hate their
enemies.
But Jesus says we are to love
our enemies. If you love your enemies and treat
them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord
of your life.
This is possible only for
those who give themselves fully to God, because
only he can deliver people from natural
selfishness.
We must trust the Holy Spirit
to help us show love to those for whom we
may not feel love.
I am certainly not saying
that we shouldn't love our friends and family, not
at all. But as Christians we should at least make
an effort to care for those who hate us because
that is precisely what Christ did when He died on
the cross.
He gave his life for a world
who hated him so that we might have life. Can we
try to love those who have wronged us and pray for
them?
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Another
Bible Verse for Living
Matthew
5:38-42
- Jesus
Teaches about Getting Even -
"So
angry I could ..." This thought ever enter your
mind? Of course, we've all felt anger toward
anothere person but most times we don't act out our
feelings. Let's see what
Jesus says about
retaliation.
Verses for study about loving enemies are
from Life Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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