Luke 6:27-36
Love for Enemies
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
The Pharisees and teaches of the law were opposition to Jesus...They looked for ways to disrupt and ruin His ministry...If Jesus had an enemy on earth it would the the Pharisees...I also might include the teachers of the law...They certainly mistreated Him...They were without question His opposition...
Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20)...Jesus also told His disciples to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees (Mark 8:15)...Jesus also uses the example of comparing the Pharisee and a tax collector...The Pharisee prays that he is glad that he is not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers, and even the tax collector...The tax collector prays that God give him mercy, because he is a sinner...So Jesus uses the Pharisee as an example...The Pharisee thought he was righteous and was confident of his own (the Pharisee's) righteous...Jesus told the Twelve that a few misguided leaders (Pharisees) can affect a large group or the people of Israel, just as a small amount of yeast affects the whole batch of dough and bread...In all these examples, our righteousness must be better than the righteousness of the Pharisee... Pharisees spread bad information like a rotten apple or yeast and affected the people in a negative way spiritually...We have to be aware of groups and people like the Pharisee...And in the last example, we are told that the tax collector and his prayer is more justified than the Pharisee and his prayer...
But Jesus teaches us love...He tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us...We are to bless those who curse us, pray for those who mistreat us...We are to turn the other cheek, when one strikes us...If someone steals our coat, we are to give him our tunic...We are to do to others as we would have them to do unto us...Jesus does not tell us we don't have enemies...He, in fact, uses the word enemy... He does tell us to not to act like our enemies...Jesus loves the Pharisees...But He does not act like them...Jesus wants us to do better and be better, and act better than our enemy...We, as a follower of the Master, must be better, to do good, without pride...For if we say and pray "God, I thank you that I am not like other men-even like this Pharisee" are we better than the Pharisee...If we think or pray this, we are no better than the Pharisee praying at the temple...
This is a problem of man...We try to do good, but we cannot do good...The Father and Son love the Pharisee...The Father and Son know the Pharisees are sinners...The problem with the Pharisees is that they do not see their unrighteousness...Therefore, they do not think they need to repent or be forgiven...If you think, you have done nothing wrong, why do you need forgiven...The Pharisees thought they were doing nothing wrong...They did not believe in Jesus and therefore cannot be saved...But Jesus loved them...He loved His enemies and loved those who mistreated Him...
Jesus was also angered sometimes with the Pharisees...In Mark 3:5 we learn He looked around at the Pharisees and was angered, because of their stubborn hearts...He was angered at them, but He still loved them...
Jesus, of course, understands this and can do this (loving an enemy)...He was without sin...We have a much tougher time...St. Paul sums this up in Romans 7:18-20, when he is struggling with sin...He says he knows that nothing good lies in him, that is our sinful nature...I want to do good, but I cannot carry it out...For what I do is not the good I want to good, but evil I keep on doing...
The evil one is around everyday...But Jesus is around everyday...We are tempted everyday...We have a choice...We need forgiveness...We need to love...We need to be merciful...We must see and understand that we need forgiveness...We must believe in the Father and Son and know They can solve this paradox for us...We have the answer...Jesus is the answer...Belief in Him, is the answer...Faith in Him, is the answer...Jesus died for our sins, not His...He knows we sin...God is Love...God's grace saves us from not only our enemies, but even ourselves...His Love is the answer...