Love Your Enemies

By Peter Amsterdam

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus not only taught that members of the kingdom of God should not retaliate and resist when wronged by others, but He taught that we are to love our enemies:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43–48).

Jesus paraphrased Leviticus 19:18, you shall love your neighbor, and then added the phrase and hate your enemy, which most likely summarized the way many in His day interpreted Scripture. There is no Scripture which specifically says to hate your enemy, though it can be inferred by Old Testament verses such as “Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies” (Psalm 139:21–22).

There are Old Testament passages that speak of showing kindness and goodwill toward one’s enemies: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” (Proverbs 25:21). “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles” (Proverbs 24:17).

Author D. A. Carson commented: “Some Jews took the word ‘neighbor’ to be exclusive: we are to love only our neighbor, they thought, and therefore we are to hate our enemies. This was actually taught in some circles.”¹

The key lies in the matter of defining who is a neighbor. The word “neighbor” in the Old Testament is used generally as a term for a member of the Jewish people. All throughout the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the word “neighbor” generally refers to fellow Jews. The full sentence Jesus paraphrased said: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

The general Jewish thinking at the time left “non-neighbors,” basically non-Jews, outside the command to love. However, Jesus greatly expanded the understanding of who is a neighbor to include strangers and even enemies. This is made clear both in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount as well as in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37).

John Stott explains that according to Jesus, our neighbor is “not necessarily a member of our own race, rank or religion. … Our ‘neighbor’ in the vocabulary of God includes our enemy. What constitutes him our neighbor is simply that he is a fellow human being in need, whose need we know and are in a position in some measure to relieve.”²

We are to love even our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who abuse us (Luke 6:27–28). Why? Because we are God’s children, and this is how God treats people.

Speaking of humanity in general, the apostle Paul made the point that corporately, through Adam’s sin (and individually through our own sins), humanity rejected God and thus were considered His enemy, yet Scripture tells us that “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). From the very beginning, God loved humanity; even though humanity was in rebellion against Him due to our sins, He loved us. As His children we should do as He does, by loving our enemies.

We’re told to pray for those who persecute and abuse us. We are to pray for them as Jesus prayed after being severely beaten and nailed to the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). We are children of our Father, and therefore should imitate His love. He doesn’t discriminate. He gives the blessings of sunshine and rain not only to the just, but also to the unjust. God is inclusive when it comes to His love, and as disciples, our attitudes toward others should reflect His.

Earlier in the Sermon Jesus taught His followers to go the extra mile, to refrain from slapping back in retaliation, to give not just our tunic but our cloak when someone sues us; and here He goes a step further, saying we are to love these people, to love even our enemies, to be positive in our attitude toward them. The love He speaks of isn’t referring to a natural affection or feelings of love, but rather the type of love which stems from the will and chooses to love the undeserving. It’s a love that is shown in action, compassion, and kindness.

Jesus next puts forth two hypothetical cases: “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:46–47).

Loving those who love you is nothing special. Even those who were considered the lowest of the low in Jesus’ milieu, the hated tax collectors, loved their family and friends. Jesus makes the point that there is no reward for doing what is naturally commonplace. He then pointed out that if you greet only those of your own people (in this case, fellow Jews), you are only doing what everyone does, including the Gentiles—the people who were looked down upon and considered idolaters. There is nothing exceptional about warmly greeting your own people. The implication is that more is expected of believers.

Earlier on in the Sermon, Jesus said: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). As members of the kingdom, we are to do more than what is naturally done, to go beyond the norm. We are to imitate God by manifesting His love to everyone, including those who hate us and persecute us.

Jesus then ended with: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The meaning of “perfect” as used here isn’t moral perfection. John Stott explains:

Both the hunger for righteousness and the prayer for forgiveness, being continuous, are clear indications that Jesus did not expect his followers to become morally perfect in this life. The context shows the ‘perfection’ he means relates to love, that perfect love of God which is shown even to those who do not return it. Indeed, the scholars tell us that the Aramaic word which Jesus may well have used meant ‘all-embracing.’³

The direction to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” picks up on the earlier point of imitating God. A believer’s lifestyle, along with the principles behind it, is meant to be different from the norm. It derives its direction and inspiration from the character of God rather than from the social norms of society. Jesus teaches that we are to look beyond simple obedience to the rules and restrictions of the Law to reflect God’s character as best we can. It echoes the repeated direction given in the Old Testament: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).

Like the Father, our treatment of others shouldn’t be determined by who they are or their treatment of us. God loves all people and bestows His love on them even if they don’t believe in Him—even if they hate Him. He doesn’t respond in kind. Instead, He loves them because He is love. We too are called to move beyond reacting to others based on our personal feelings about them or how they treat us or what they say. Instead we are to be governed by God’s love, to love as He does. When we do, we reflect His love toward them.

It is clear throughout Scripture that in the life to come, those who have been evil and have rejected the gift of a personal relationship with God made possible through the sacrifice of His Son will face judgment (John 3:36; John 5:28–29). God hates their evil (and ours as well), but He loves them as individuals. Thus, while we should love the individuals as God loves them, it doesn’t mean we accept or embrace what they do and who they become, or that we never speak against or take a stance against their wrongdoing or ungodly actions.

Paul says to “hate what is evil, cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9), and there is such a thing as righteous anger against evil. But such anger is hatred for the evil deeds; it’s hating what God hates. It’s not a personal hatred; it has no personal malice, vindictiveness, or spite.

God loves every human being, even though they sin against Him. He offers them the means of salvation from His wrath against their sin. When we are called to love our enemies, it’s a call to love them as God loves them, to desire good for them, to pray that they will come to know Him so they can spend eternity with Him.

Jesus’ call to love our enemies is His call for us to live as members of His kingdom by letting our light shine before others, doing our best to reflect the nature and character of God, our Father in heaven.

Originally published May 2016. Adapted and republished March 2024. Read by Jon Marc.

Posted in: altruism, audio, bible, love, opposition and persecution, peter amsterdam, righteousness

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