Meeting Jesus - Loving Our Enemies
I have four daughters, and my youngest Jessica is 9 years old. And she is just as sweet as my other girls were when they were 9 years old…Jessie is like Tigger. She is full of energy, joy, and is always bouncing around. She smiles. She laughs. She brings a lot of levity to our home.
Jessie said something one night while we were eating that surprised us all. As we were enjoying our family night dinner, one of the girls mentioned that a classmate had “told-on” one of the other students for doing something wrong. Without hesitating, my sweet, innocent, Jessie Lee said,
“Snitches get stitches.”
I could just imagine Jessie being part of the 3rd Grade Mafia on the playground at the private Christian school she attended…pounding her fist in her hand…and warning the other kids: “Snitches Get Stitches.”
But – “snitches get stitches” actually reflects how many people feel today. Maybe we get our feelings hurt, maybe somebody does something to us to intentionally cause harm and we think:
Since you hurt me, I am going to hurt you back... OR
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will ignore you.
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will look the other way when I see you coming.
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will smile and nod – but things will never be like they once were.
Or maybe, if you hurt me, I will humiliate you and gossip about you and tear you down behind your back.
We know quite well the Old Testament passage: “An eye for an eye and tooth for a ______”
Think about a toddler. When a toddler gets hit by another toddler, most of the time, they choose to hit back. Ask the toddler why they hit somebody, and they will typically say, “Because they hit me first…”
The toddler is not thinking about self-preservation or self-defense. They want to hurt the other kid because they got hurt.
And, parents, grandparents, and everybody who has a pulse, we struggle with “paybacks” as well. We struggle with paying people back when they hurt us…
So, how do followers of Jesus respond when we get hurt?
In Luke 6, Jesus was teaching and he said:
Luke 6:27–36 (ESV)
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 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 is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
What is Jesus teaching us here? Is Jesus teaching us that we are simply supposed to stand still and take it when we are hurt? Are we supposed to allow “evil doers” to get away with the harm they have caused us? As a follower of Jesus, the first thing we need to understand about this passage of scripture is:
RADICAL LOVE OVERCOMES HATE, HURTS, AND HUMILIATION.
As always, it is important that we understand the context so that we understand the application. In the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew brought more clarity to this passage.
Matthew 5:39 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Slapping somebody communicates they are insignificant, and you are not worried about their retaliation. A punch is designed to inflict more physical damage, but a back-handed slap is designed to cause deep personal hurt, shame and embarrassment. So…here is the message that Jesus wants you to hear. Whenever you are deeply and personally hurt…when you are devastated, embarrassed and feel so ashamed somebody chose to hurt you…
When you are wronged - don’t pay other person back! Do not seek revenge…
Don’t grumble about them.
Don’t take their private sin against you, and make it public.
Then, Jesus talked about TUNICs and CLOAKs…
The tunic was a very thin garment worn under the clothes and closest to the skin. Most Jewish people had two tunics.
The cloak was an outer garment worn during the day, and used as a blanket during the night. The Jewish people only had ONE of these. Anything more was considered excessive.
Now it gets interesting.
If a person had been sued for their shirt and their coat…the law allowed that the coat and shirt could be taken, but the law also demanded that the coat be returned to the individual before night so that they had something to keep them warm. It was within the rights of every person to retain their coats. The law insisted that coats were always returned to individuals…
See, as followers of Jesus, you and I should be willing to lay down our rights and expectations so that others are blessed. Live with the mindset that everything you are entitled to, is in reality, entitled to others because God owns it all. That is Radical Love that loves our neighbor as ourselves. And Radical love overcomes hate, hurt and humiliation.
Then, Jesus goes on to explain why you and I as followers of Jesus are supposed to treat others with forgiveness and radical love.
The reason why followers of Jesus are supposed to demonstrate RADICAL LOVE to others is because:
GOD LOVES THE UNTHANKFUL AND WICKED – THAT’S ME.
The reason why we are supposed to be kind to those who hurt us, humiliate us, and hate us is because GOD LOVES the wicked and the unthankful. Look at verse 35:
Luke 6:35 (NLT)
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
I know that might surprise you if you are visiting today. You might expect the Pastor to stand up and say, “God loves the righteous. God loves the Holy people. God loves Christians.”
That’s true…but
God loves and shows kindness to the people who do not believe in Him.
God loves terrorists, murderers, and abusers.
God shows kindness to people who are not kind to others.
One of my Core Values is Uncomfortable Grace. I believe that followers of Jesus SHOULD give the same limitless grace they have received from God. That means we demonstrate radical love. Not paying back evil for evil. Not seeking to hurt others who have hurt us.
We should go out of our way to demonstrate Grace that sometimes makes us and others a little uncomfortable…that means we love others and forgive our enemies in such a way, that we see them as God sees us, without one single fault.
Colossians 1:21-22
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
You were God’s enemy…but God showed kindness and forgave you and you now stand without one single fault because Jesus paid the price for your sin. According to Paul, you are already in God’s presence, and you stand before him without one single thing wrong with you. No faults. No sin. As a follower of Jesus, because of God’s Kindness, we want to forgive our enemy in such a way, that when they are in our presence, we see them without one single fault.
So…
ACT LIKE A CHILD & LOVE LIKE YOUR DADDY.
In verse 35, many translations read:
Luke 6:35 (NLT)
“…you will truly be acting as children of the Most High…”
Let’s take one more look at children and toddlers interaction with each other. One minute two kids can be playing together on the playground, the next second, they are fighting. then the next second, they are playing together again. Most children under 4-5 years old, do not hold grudges. They let go of their hurt quickly, forgive and move on…because they would rather play and laugh than fight and argue. That’s how we all need to be.
Luke 6:32–34 (NLT)
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
Jesus is teaching that even selfish, self-centered, people without Jesus can be kind, nice, and giving to those who are kind, nice and forgiving to them.
Only selfish people are nice to those who are nice to them.
Only selfish people love those who show to love them.
Only selfish people pray for those who pray for them.
Only selfish people give to those who give to them.
Only selfish people forgive those if they forgive them.
But the true mark of a follower of Jesus is love for all. The more we learn to love others and care for others, the less you are going to be offended by them.
1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
So, let’s be like our heavenly father. Let’s act more like children. Let’s forgive quickly and love others deeply. Let’s be more like our Heavenly Daddy who created us. Let’s show uncomfortable grace to all those who have hurt, humiliated, or hate us…
When we do, great is our reward in Heaven.