Intro
We know that Jesus call us to love.
But its hard to love when people let us down.
This week, over and over, I saw how little I love like Jesus. I had to apologize A LOT this week.
It’s hard enough to love our family and friends.
But in our passage today, Jesus gives us the hardest commandment that I know.
Jesus doesn’t call us to love those who love us. He commands us to love those who even hate us.
This is a very challenging Text, but I promise that there’s good news here for all of us. Although hard, it will help us appreciate and adore our loving God more. He will not leave us without help to do what he commands.
› But before we dive into our text, let’s look at where these commands are coming from. Jesus has been teaching about his new kingdom and we have to keep what he said before in mind if we are going to have any chance of understanding what he’s trying to teach us today.
Literary Context
In Luke chapter 6, Jesus is expounding the ethics of his kingdom and what those who follow him will live like.
You have to understand the beatitudes to understand and live his kingdom ethic.
You have to have that eternal mindset or you can’t sustain this kind of servant love, which is open to all kinds of challenges and even abuse.
The beatitudes is not a way to be saved but the lifestyle of the saved. It is the natural outworking of those who have been transformed by the gospel and know their treasure is in heaven.
Cultural Context
This whole section, Jesus is pushing against the natural mindset of the world and especially of the Jews, which was giving to others what they deserve.
• If someone wrongs you, you wrong them.
• If someone loves you, love them.
The OT law commands them to love their neighbor. And so over the years, the Jews redefined neighbor to be only those who look just like them and act just like them. It became a virtue to love your own and hate those not like you.
Jesus is going to flip this on its head with some of the most radical, revolutionary sayings ever!
Love
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Fo rJesus’ audience, they had a common enemy, Rome.
Rome took over their land.
Rome oppressed them with taxes.
And Jesus commands them to LOVE their enemies.
But for those who may say, “I don’t have any enemies.” Jesus unpacks in the rest of this passage, many different kinds of people. To make it easier, I sum up all the different kind of people by saying, “Those who wrong us.”
If you cut each of these phrases to where it describes what these people do to you, you get this list:
• Who strikes you on the cheek
• Who take away your cloak
• Who take away your goods
Jesus is not talking about easy people in our lives.
You may not have a clear enemy, but you do have people in your present and past who have done the above list.
In the following verses, look for all the verbs that are commanded for us to do towards those who wrong us. You should find about eight.
Here are all the verbs Jesus commands us to do towards those who wrong us:
› No let’s unpack these commands,
Do Good
The next phrase in v. 27, “Do good to those who hate you.”
Jesus doesn’t let love just be an emotion or a saying.
Do actual good to those who hate you!
Now in verse 28, Jesus is going to further explain what he means by “love your enemies.”
Bless
v. 28 “Bless those who curse you”
What does it mean to bless someone?
“To invoke God’s favor on another’s behalf or at least appeal to God for that person.” -Bock
What does it mean that someone is cursing you?
“It involves an invocation of God or the gods to harm or judge someone.” - Bock
So for the person is calling upon their god to harm and judge you, invoke to the real God that he will bless them!
Pray
“Pray for those who abuse you”
This word, for abuse in Greek is defined this way,
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. ἐπηρεάζω
to treat someone in a despicable manner, threaten, mistreat, abuse
This is no small thing. We’re not talking someone who just didn’t say, “hi” to you or didn’t get back to you when you hoped.
This person has done terrible things to you.
And Jesus calls us to pray for them.
He’s not calling us to pray that they would lose their job. Or that they would get sick.
And in the context of this section, we’re praying good things for them!
It’s probably a purposeful decision for Jesus to say, “Pray” and not, “Do good.” There is discernment needed here. There are some people in our lives who have abused us. And they are dangerous. They can further harm us. This does not mean we ought not to do good to them if the opportunity arises. But wisdom is needed. Jesus is not commanding you to go back and try to have a friendship with the person who abused you. Nevertheless, he’s still calling us to love and pray for them.
Offer
v. 29, “To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also”
Some people have understood this verse to mean that when we suffer physical abuse like a wife with an abusive husband or a bully at school, that we just take it.
If someone is being abused we must get them out of the situation and/or get the proper authorities involved.
I say that because this striking of the cheek is probably not a killer blow but an insult. A shaming act. It’s trying to injure but in a different way. Israel was an “honor/shame” culture, where shaming somebody was more (not less) destructive.
It’s more of a public shaming that then shame the person by exposing their evil by taking it.
Also, the context of the beatitudes suggest it may be due to persecution for Christ’ sake. So that changes it too.
On a similar note, Jesus gives us another example of loving those who wrong us,
Do Not Withhold
“From one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.”
The actual context of this is tricky to understand, but a similar point.
Clothes were expensive and having a cloak was not a matter of fashion but warmth and protection. Cloak is like a jacket and the tunic is like an under shirt.
So for us Minnesotans, imagine someone taking your jacket in the winter, which would be like their cloak. And then you say, “Wait, if you need this, you probably need more. Here’s my shirt too!”
This taking away the cloak is tricky to understand the original context but what is clear is that someone is in a position of power. Whether physically or socially and they are taking from you. Instead of trying to keep it, bless them by giving them more. Expose their selfishness and shame by blessing them over the top.
Paul said something similar in our New Testament Bible reading today in Romans 12:19–20 if you want to jot that down.
Give
30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
This word, “beg” is tricky because we have cultural baggage with it. We immediately think of beggars. But that’s probably not the original context.
But also, when you think about the context of all the kinds of people in this section, they’re all people who wrong us or could wrong us.
But I don’t think if a homeless person came up to you and asked for money that you would be obligated by God to give them whatever they ask.
There’s may be a collective exhale in our minds when I say that.
However, this passage calls us to do good to others. And so, you may be able to discern by natural observation or maybe by a supernatural sense, that they may use that money for something that would harm them. So doing good may mean not giving money.
But you are called to do much more than give a few bucks to appease your conscience.
This does not put you off the hook. It may put you further on the hook.
We are called to love and do good even if they may abuse our care and not be gratefully nor respond well.
Pastor and write Phillip Rhyken is helpful saying,
“Some Christians are so concerned about somebody taking advantage of them that they never give anything to anyone. But Jesus calls us to err on the side of generosity. Of course there are limits to what we can give, and there are times when it is not loving to give, because giving will foster an unhealthy dependency. But love is what must decide—not love for ourselves and our possessions, but love for others and what they truly need.”
Overall, generosity should be our disposition not fear of abuse. To give to others, especially within the church.
Do not Demand Back
and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
Another situation where you are taken advantage of and you do not demand anything back.
None of this makes sense unless you really believe your treasure is in heaven.
› Now, Jesus was not giving us a conclusive list of every way to love those who wrong us and every way we could be wronged. But he’s giving us some examples that get at principals. However, the following command is a catch-all. It’s the key to any kind of situation.
The Key to Any Situation
31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
This is the golden rule for all of life and it’s very simple to understand.
If you apply this into any situation, it will give you direction on how to love. It’s a key to unlock all kinds of tricky situations.
However, it is hard to live out and often twisted.
Many in the world pervert this command into a life-proverb to better yourself.
If you want a good life, treat others well.
Stay positive and it will come back to you.
Jesus calls us to love them. Period. Not love them so you can be free from your bitterness or some other self-serving humanistic mumbo jumbo.
Not so they can love you in return.
The golden rule teaches us how to love not what you get out of love.
› Now, as radical as Jesus’ sayings are, people may still be thinking, “You know what, I am a loving person.” Jesus is going to expose ALL OF US!
Jesus wants to show us what his love is like.
Exposing Worldly Love
Jesus helps us understand true love by showing us how much we don’t love.
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.
This is an incredibly convicting passage.
Let’s start off by unpacking what’s this word, Sinner?
In this context, it’s someone who is not in Jesus’ kingdom.
It’s someone who doesn’t know God and who’s life is marked with sin. So, Capital S, sinner. Not anyone who ever sins, which would be all of us.
Who here loves those who love you?
Even Sinners who don’t know God do that.
Who here does good to those who do good to you?
Even Sinners who don’t know God do that.
Who here lend to those whom you know are trustworthy and will give back?
Even Sinners who don’t know God do that.
You will be hard pressed to think of many examples in the world where people demonstrate costly love towards those who wrong them or haven’t done good to them.
It is easy to slowly surround yourself with people who you are less-messy and who like you, which creates the illusion of being loving.
We may think we’re loving but what Jesus shows us is that loving when it directly benefits you is nothing special.
Do you want to test your love?
Try these questions by merely flipping Jesus’ words:
Who here loves those who don’t love you?
Who here does good to those who harm you?
Who here lends to those who you have no idea if they will ever return it back?
Self-inventory
Now I want to lead us all in an exercise.
Who in the world has caused most hurt in your life?
Perhaps no one else has put you back in life more than this person?
This person may be your enemy or the closest thing to an enemy.
Now, with them in mind, do you:
Offer them more than they take?
Treat them the way you want to be treated?
If you’re honest and you’re like me, you probably struggle with all or most of these commands.
Our natural response is not to love but to retaliate.
To give them what they deserve!
Or Scott Hubbard help me see this in sermon prep, in a more subtle way, to passively shut down and distance ourselves.
› Jesus has words for us. He is going to sum up the commands and then give us good news!
The Summation
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.
Love, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. That about sums up much of our section.
Expecting nothing in return? What is he talking about?
I used to think it was just about what you lend but I believe its more than that.
Love your enemies, expecting nothing in return.
Do good, expecting nothing in return.
Lend, expecting nothing in return.
See this passage shows us these commands are not about immediate results.
Like, do these things, and you will eventually win them over.
You may win them with your love.
But your reward is promised. It’s great. But it may or may not be immediate but it is guaranteed and will be infinitely greater than any of our loss now. So much so that when we enter in it, we will think even the most unjust mistreatments were nothing.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Again, you can’t live this way without believing you have a greater treasure awaiting you. An eternal one!
What will this show when you live this way?
That we are truly God’s people. Sons of God live this way.
Because sons imitate their dad’s.
And this is what the Father is like!
This will be a mark of our adoption, if we are kind to the unthankful and evil. - John Calvin
P. 307, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Over and over, every preacher, writer and scholar who I read on this section make the point that loving your enemy characterizes those who follow Jesus. It’s not like only some elite Christians do this. It’s what they do.
What does it mean to be characterized by something?
Being characterized by an attribute means that most of the time someone is displaying a certain trait so that they are known for it. The attribute is associated with them.
Does loving those who wrong you, characterize you?
God’s is Mercifully Loving
If you are not characterized by loving those who wrong you, the good news is that there is some who is!
Notice the phase in v. 35, “He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
You may not always love those who wrong you, but GOD DOES!
Why the word, merciful? Why not love?
When we love and do good to those who wronged us, we are showing them mercy.
We’re not giving them what they deserve.
They deserve retribution.
But instead, we are loving them.
That is what God does all the time!
Jesus’ Example
What we will find is that Jesus is commanding us to do what tee does. He’s no hypocrite.
Jesus does good to those who hate him,
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
Jesus does not retaliate,
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
Now, we don’t see him explicitly turning his cheek but by allowing them to do such a thing, he was.
Remember, he could, in a moment, just destroy every single person with a snap of his fingers.
Jesus expose their evil hearts and his innocence by not fighting back. Trusting that God, in his time, will fight for him.
Has anyone been abused and mistreated like Jesus?
After 24 hours of torture, abuse, and crucifixion, Jesus prays and blesses,
34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Mercy to Us
We can follow Jesus because of his example but even more, because mercy has been given to us!
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
So we can extend mercy to the most undeserving because we have been given undeserved mercy!
And not just mercy, we have been given grace!
WOW, who is like this God???
He’s not calling us to do what he has not done and DOES (Present tense!)
He is continuing to extend mercy to us and those who are still in active rebellion against him.
Gospel Call
If you have failed to love like I have, there’s good news.
Jesus has never failed to love.
His entire life on the earth he loved perfectly.
And so those who trust in Jesus are considered as if we loved like he did.
And he was tortured and crucified as if he lived the kind of loveless, hateful lives we have.
And in his resurrection we see that his love conquers all hate and failure and he will one day abolish all hate and only love will reign on this earth.
If you want this God of love, you can have him. Please take the next step and reach out to any of our members. We want to pray with you, share with you, and answer any questions you may have.
How to grow in loving the hardest (You)
1. Loving in the little things
a. You don’t start off forgiving the person who murders a loved one. Though God will give grace in those moments.
b. You start with the daily slights and aggravations.
i. When your child disobeys for the 100 x’s time.
ii. When your spouse breaks a promise or doesn’t treat you right.
iii. When a friend is short and snappy with you out of nowhere.
iv. When your boss is harsh and ruthless.
v. When that person you have invested in so many hours forgets everything you’ve done for them and goes back to their sin.
2. Returning back to the gospel when you don’t want to love
a. In these moments when you want to lash out. When you want to give up. Remind yourself of the gospel. What God did to you when you were hardest to love. And as you do that and pray, your heart starts to be shaped in the shape of the cross. You start to love like he does.
b. When you live the way he does, your heart starts to resemble his.
3. Take steps of love towards someone who most likely won’t recipocate
4. Surrounding yourself with people who love better than you
We: Imagine if we believed this and lived it
They will know we are Christians by the way we love each other
Let us unconditionally love one another like our Father has loved us.
Let us unconditionally love those who wrong us like our Father has loved us.
Let us unconditionally love like our father loves!
