3 Oct 2014
Matthew 5:43-44
Matthew 5:43: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.”
For the record, there actually isn’t a verse in the Old Testament that says “hate thine enemy”. Christ is describing what people actually do: they love their friends and they hate their enemies. But Christ has a higher standard:
Matthew 5:44: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
Jesus wants us to love our enemies and be a blessing to people that hate us. This doesn’t come naturally at all; in fact it’s quite difficult. But it honors the Lord when we love not just those who love us, but those who don’t love us.
Now, this doesn’t mean that if someone comes along and murders our family, we should do nothing about it and allow them to go on more killing sprees. Being loving is not the same thing as being nice. Society tells us to “be nice” and not judge people; God tells us to preach the gospel of repentance from sin – which means we need to preach about sin. Society tells us that evil is fine; God tells us to resist evil.
What these verses do mean is that we need to seek the welfare of those around us – even if those people are trying to hurt us. After all, God loved us when we hated Him. Jesus died for His enemies, not for His friends. Jesus offered us His forgiveness when we were still sinners. He extended mercy to us, and He commands us to do the same. Vengeance belongs to God, not to us. It is our job to seek and to save them which are lost – not to “have our revenge”.