What Did Jesus Mean When He Announced, Love Your Enemies?

What Did Jesus Mean When He Announced, Love Your Enemies?
by Jimmie Burroughs

Jesus asserted, 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; (Matthew 5:44) And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. (Luke 6:29)

I heard Atheist Bill Maher denigrating Christians as he normally does, and it's his right to take whatever view he would like, but in fairness as a public figure he should at least make efforts to grasp the theology of the Bible; although if he probably did he may no longer be an atheists.

Mr. Maher referred to the passage above and said that Christian were hypocritees if they called themselves Christians and wanted to kill the enemy, talking about Osama Bin Laden and his Muslim radicals. He revealed Jesus taught that you need to love your enemies.

To understand what Jesus is talking about in those verses, you need to understand 4 things: the point he is making, who he's referring to as enemies, the context for what he is asserting, and the use of hyperbole.

T he point Jesus was making was that his disciples need to express the same sort of radical love he voiced for his enemies. Jesus loved his enemies but he also bravely stood his ground in their presence. He had no fear of informing them where they were wrong. Being a loving Christian does not mean to be feeble. To the contrary, it means standing for that which is right even in light of danger. The dividing point for Jesus was that he managed to be strong and loving at the exact same time.

Jesus was talking about personal enemies: The work-mate, for whatever reason, that hates us. The ex wife or hubby who is hated, or the disgruntle neighbor. These are the ones that we are to show kindness toward without regard for their disposition towards us.

T he context in which Jesus is teaching his disciple to love is not to be misunderstood to mean pacifism in war, as Maher was applying it. He was not talking about allowing a national enemy to destroy us while we sit disinterested and do nothing.

When I was a boy, occasionally a mad dog would come into the area. People in the area loved dogs and there were plenty of them, but somebody would shoot and kill the mad dog because he meant only harm. Ben Laden was a mad dog whose ambitions were to bring great harm to anyone who disagreed with his radical theology. He would as soon kill youngsters as anyone to make his point. There was only one alternative to protect the innocent, and that was to search him down and kill him like a mad dog before he probably did bigger harm.

These words of Jesus are not about crime or pacifism in war. Jesus wasn't talking about national enemies who would destroy a country. It's critical to appreciate who Jesus is. He's God. He made it obvious that people who saw him had seen the Father also. He claimed, I and my Father are one . ( John 10:30)

Jesus was always God before he came to earth as Jesus. How did God deal with the enemies of his chosen folk, the kids of Israel? He commanded Israel to conquer them and even helped on occasions by raining down stones from heaven.

How did Jesus handle the godless money changers who dishonored the Temple? He drove them out with a cat of nine tails and overturned their tables.

If we seek to make a new law because of what Jesus is teaching on this occasion that overrides the civil law in Exodus against violent crime, we not get the point wholly. Laws were precisely defended in Bible times. Law breakers were frequently executed with Gods command. We are to love our enemies, but we are also to defend the law and punish the law breakers. We are to protect our nation form cruel enemies who need to destroy us and our liberty.

It's a matter of understanding what Jesus meant and what he didn't mean. He did not mean that we are to just allow wrongdoers to run free and let them do violence as they please. He did not mean that we shouldn't ever call on the police when wrong is performed by criminals. He didn't mean that we should allow somebody to be attacked without offering help.

Interpreting any discussion usually needs an understang of the use of hyperbole. Today we often use hyperbole to. Stress a point. Hyperbole is a conscious exaggeration to emphasise a point. As an example, we are saying, I sort of died laughing , or, He would kill me if he knew I said that . We do not mean for these sayings to be taken literal. It was also generally utilized in the time of Jesus, and that's how Jesus is stressing the point in these verses, that we should make every effort not to take revenge, not make a response to others hatred with loathing, not to mistreat others when they mistreat us, but to plan paths to return goodness for their unkindness. Hyperbole is not misrepresenting something; it is accepted by all that it is for emphasis only.

Jesus didn't mean that when someone took your coat to give them the remainder of your clothes and be undressed. He meant that we are not to take revenge on those who need to cheat us or thieve from us. Neither did he mean that we are to literally turn a check if we are attacked by someone. He intended to try each measure to avoid a conflict.

Jesus is teaching to radically love your enemy. It would be silly, if we applied what Jesus Said here to postpone the law, or let assailants get by with causing bodily harm, or let national enemies conquer our country while we set idly by. President Ronald Reagan was a believer, but he also trusted in having a strong state defense, and he was not going against Bible teaching. God made the country of Israel robust, so they could protect themselves against all enemies, and that was just when they turned from him to other gods that they lost their robust defense and lost their nation to the enemy. We, incidentally, in The United States need to take heed from history lest we also lose our powerful defense.

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About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is an inspiring speaker and writer who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for over 30 years. There are countless hundreds of articles to help you on this website, Website Contents, in your person growth. Be sure to take vantage of the FREE offer to get the ebook The 4 Pillars for Personal Development? while available.

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