love your enemy

The Implications of Imprecation

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net;
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence. – Psalm 140:1-13 ESV

This psalm reflects David’s reliance upon Yahweh as he pleads for deliverance from his enemies. There is no indication when this psalm was written, so it is impossible to know which adversaries or circumstances David had in mind when he penned these words. But David was a warrior and well accustomed to facing all manner of foes, including lions, bears, and even giants. David was an accomplished soldier with a track record of success, yet he called on Yahweh to deliver and guard him from those he describes as evil, violent, and wicked men.

The first word he uses is raʿ, which in Hebrew means “evil” or “malignant.” Whoever these individuals were, David viewed them as thoroughly evil. They were predisposed to causing pain and suffering, using everything at their disposal to “stir up trouble all day long” (Psalm 140:2 NLT), including their words. 

Their tongues sting like a snake;
    the venom of a viper drips from their lips.  – Psalm 140:3 NLT

According to David, their evil hearts were the source of their venom. They were inherently evil at their core, causing them to conspire and plot the downfall of others for their own perverse pleasure or self-promotion. But their words were more than hurtful; they were inherently violent. David describes them as ḥāmās, another Hebrew word that conveys the idea of cruelty and injustice. They weren’t simply out to ruin David’s reputation; they were plotting his destruction and would use everything at their disposal to accomplish that goal.

In verses 4-5, David repeats his less-than-flattering assessment of his enemies by calling them wicked (rāšāʿ) and arrogant (gē’ê). The Hebrew word rāšāʿ describes someone who is morally wrong or guilty of a crime. In essence, they are sinners who have violated God’s law and are worthy of His condemnation. To David, these men were anything but God-fearers. They weren’t just an annoyance for David; they were inherently ungodly and deserved to be punished for their crimes.

Like a prosecuting attorney in a trial, David gives further evidence of their guilt by describing them as arrogant. The Hebrew word gē’ê paints the picture of someone being “high and lifted up.” To put it plainly, these men were full of themselves, holding undeserved thoughts of their own grandeur and greatness. The Proverbs provide an apt description of these kinds of individuals.

My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.” – Proverbs 1:10-14 NLT

These are the kinds of men David was dealing with, and he longed for Yahweh to mete out well-deserved justice and judgment on them. But first, he asked to be delivered from them.

O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:1 NLT

O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:4 NLT

If this psalm was written while David was king, he would have had the full weight of the crown at his disposal. He could have mustered his troops and ordered the arrest of his adversaries. He could have declared war and eliminated the threat through violent means. But instead, David called on Yahweh and asked for His divine rescue and protection.

David was predisposed to trust Yahweh and reluctant to take matters into his own hands. During his days of fleeing from King Saul, he was presented with several opportunities to take Saul’s life, but he refused. Encouraged by his own men to kill his nemesis, David said, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the LORD’s anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him” (1 Samuel 24:6 NLT). 

Years later, when David became king and was forced to flee the city of Jerusalem because his son Absalom had staged a successful coup, David was confronted by a relative of Saul, who cursed him for usurping the Benjamites’ rightful claim to the throne of Israel. When one of David’s men heard this man’s violent threats, he offered to take his life, but David responded with patience and understanding.

“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16:12-13 NLT

David believed that Yahweh was sovereign over all things, including his life and the fate of his throne. That is what led him to turn to Yahweh for help.

“You are my God!”
    Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me,
    you protected me on the day of battle.
LORD, do not let evil people have their way.
    Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
    or they will become proud. – Psalm 140:6-8 NLT

David knew he needed God’s mercy, protection, and rescue. His hope was not based on his own strength or self-reliance, but upon Yahweh. David had experienced Yahweh’s rescue in the past, and he knew it was the best solution to his present problem.

But this psalm is more than a prayer for intervention; it is also a request for imprecation (cursing). David wanted his enemies to be dealt with severely, and he felt free to provide Yahweh with his opinions about the fate of his adversaries.

Let my enemies be destroyed
    by the very evil they have planned for me.
Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
    Let them be thrown into the fire
    or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
    Cause great disasters to fall on the violent. – Psalm 140:9-11 NLT

David’s words are difficult to read because they seem to lack any sense of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. They certainly don’t reflect the teachings of the Proverbs.

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
    don’t be happy when they stumble.
For the LORD will be displeased with you
    and will turn his anger away from them. – Proverbs 24:17-19 NLT

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
    If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
    and the LORD will reward you. – Proverbs 25:21-22 NLT

David’s request seems to contradict the message that Jesus would later deliver in His Sermon on the Mount.

“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” – Matthew 5:44-45 NLT

David’s prayer of imprecation or cursing is understandable but not necessarily acceptable. Just because it appears in Scripture and comes from the pen of the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), it does not mean that David’s request was either acceptable to or answered by God. In his mind, David was reciting the moral code of lex talionis, which was found in the Mosaic Law.

But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25 NLT

David was under the impression that the wicked deserved exactly what they had planned for him. It seemed only just and fair that the tables be turned and Yahweh pour out on them the troubles they had planned for David. This all made sense to David, and he felt free to share his honest assessment with Yahweh. But in his summation of the psalm, David provides a hint as to what he was really interested in: Justice.

But I know the LORD will help those they persecute;
    he will give justice to the poor.
Surely righteous people are praising your name;
    the godly will live in your presence. – Psalm 140:12-13 NLT

David knew that whatever the outcome might be, Yahweh would be the one to dispense justice as He saw fit. As human beings, it is only normal and natural for us to consider retaliation and vengeance as non-negotiable outcomes of Yahweh’s justice. We want to see the wicked suffer. We demand that evil people get what they deserve. But, in the end, we must trust the LORD to do what He deems best. In another psalm, Ethan the Ezrahite points out that Yahweh alone has the right to determine what justice looks like and how it should be delivered.

Powerful is your arm!
    Strong is your hand!
    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. – Psalm 89:13-14 NLT

David was free to share his thoughts with God. He could wish for the worst on his enemies, but when all was said and done, he would have to leave justice in the hands of his sovereign LORD.

Father, I don’t always understand Your ways, and there are times when I grow weary of the wicked, violent, and evil people that populate this world. I find myself wishing nothing but ill-will on them. I want to see Your justice delivered — on my terms. But Your Son called me to pray for them. He told me not to worry about they can do to me, but focus my thoughts on Your righteousness and Your expectations that I live up to the holy standard to which You have called me. I want to trust You with my life and leave the fates of my enemies up to You. Hep me to live by the trust found in Psalm 118:6-7. “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.” Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A New Commandment

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:34-40 ESV

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:31-35 ESV

Jesus issued many commands during His earthly ministry, so the question becomes, which of these commands was he referring to when He said, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). The other question is whether these commands were meant for non-believers. In the Matthew 28 passage, Jesus clearly commands His disciples to “make disciples of all the nations,” indicating that the gospel message was intended to be shared with those outside of the nation of Israel. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14 ESV). His substitutionary death was on behalf of all humanity, not just the Jews. Yes, He was their Messiah but He was also “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42 ESV).

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. – 1 John 4:13-14 ESV

Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all the nations but His commandments were to be taught to all those who placed their faith in Him as their Savior and Lord. So, it would appear that the commandments Jesus wanted to be taught were intended for His followers alone. They were for believers, not unbelievers. This view helps explain the rather perplexing language He used in His Sermon on the Mount.

Addressed to a predominantly Jewish audience, this lengthy message contained repeated references to the Mosaic Law and Jesus affirmed that He had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He told them, “Not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18 ESV).

“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:19-20 ESV

Then Jesus dropped a bombshell on His Hebrew audience, telling them, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20 ESV). This idea must have stunned the crowd because they considered the scribes and Pharisees to be the spiritual superstars of Israel. They were the religious elite whose obedience to the Law was unquestionable and irreplicable. No one could live up to their standard of righteousness and, yet, Jesus was demanding that the average Jew do so if they hoped to enter the kingdom of heaven.

But Jesus wasn’t done. He went on to describe the old Mosaic Law in new terms.

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!” – Matthew 5:21-22 NLT

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” – Matthew 5:27-28 NLT

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:43-45 NLT

Jesus was upping the ante but He wasn’t adding to the Law; He was simply explaining the depth of its meaning. The Law was never about a set of rules to be obeyed; it was about the lifestyle and habits of those whose hearts belong to God. Rules don’t produce righteousness. Adherence to a set of regulations can never make anyone right with God. This is something the apostle Paul, a former Pharisee himself, understood about the Law.

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:19-20 NLT

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. – Romans 8:3-4 NLT

So, when Jesus addressed His audience and explained the true meaning of the Law, He put the hope of righteousness out of reach for them. He set the requirements for entering the kingdom of heaven so high that it became unattainable. But Jesus wasn’t eliminating any hope of attaining a right standing with God; He was simply preparing to seek by a different means. Men cannot save themselves. Good works can’t produce righteousness. Obedience to the Law doesn’t earn anyone favor with God. That is why God told the rebellious people of Israel, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations” (Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT).

The commands that Jesus expects His disciples to obey can only be kept through the power of the Holy Spirit. Just before His ascension, Jesus told His disciples they would receive a “power from on high” (Luke 24:49). He spoke of the Holy Spirit whom He would send to empower, guide, and instruct them after His departure.

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” – John 14:15-17 NLT

Jesus knew that obedience to His commands would only be possible through faith in Him and with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus told His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:3435 ESV). What made this commandment “new” was its emphasis on a kind of love that replicated that of Jesus. It was to be a selfless, sacrificial, lay-it-all-in-the-line form of love that was only possible with the help of God’s Spirit. Jesus demanded that His followers love one another but He provided them with the means for doing so.

When the self-righteous, law-abiding Pharisees asked Jesus to name the most important of the 613 laws in the mitzvot or Mosaic Code, Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 ESV). Then He added, “This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:38 ESV). This answer must have pleased the Pharisees because they believed they had faithfully kept that commandment. But Jesus added an addendum to His statement that quickly burst their bubble and deflated their pride.

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:39-40 ESV

He knew the Pharisees were arrogant, self-promoting attention seekers who looked down their noses at anyone outside their elite clique of self-proclaimed law-keepers. Jesus considered the Pharisees to be corrupt, prideful, and selfish. They were more concerned with their own privilege and position than with helping others.

But Jesus demanded that His followers exhibit a selfless kind of love that emulated His love for them. Jesus declared Himself to be the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:15). The apostle John picked up on this theme when He wrote, “By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16 BSB). The apostle Paul echoed this same sentiment when writing to the believers in Ephesus.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. – Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

In his first epistle, John expanded on this life of love that Jesus commanded His disciples to live.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. – 1 John 4:9-12 NLT

This kind of love can be faked but never replicated. It can only be produced by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and, according to Jesus, it will be the primary evidence of true discipleship (John 13:35). Not only that but failure to love our brothers and sisters will negate any claim that we love God.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. – 1 John 4:20-21 NLT

This “new” commandment emphasized the importance of love in God’s kingdom. That is why Jesus said love for God and love for others were the two greatest commandments, upon which “the entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based” (Matthew 22:40 NLT). As the Law clearly stated, love for God was non-negotiable.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV

But Jesus was demanding and commanding a second expression of love for God – that of loving all those who bear His name and share a common faith in His Son. It is that kind of love that will give evidence of the Spirit’s presence and proof of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Godly Love.

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

“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?” – Matthew 5:43-47 ESV

Jesus has just finished addressing His listeners’ wrong perspective regarding the “law of retaliation” or lex talionis. The law, as they understood it, said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In other words, it gave permission to seek retaliation against an enemy as long as it was equal in weight. But Jesus gave them a whole new interpretation of that law, saying, “Do not resist the one who is evil” (Matthew 5:39 ESV). And He follows up His counsel to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile with something even more shocking. He tells them to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them. Jesus is attempting to move their emphasis off of retaliation and on to love and reconciliation. But not just toward their friends and neighbors.

Once again, Jesus clarifies what was a wrong perception on their part regarding the law of God. And it is essential that we know what the law actually said. The specific law regarding love of your neighbor is found in the book of Leviticus.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:18-19 ESV

Notice that there is no mention of hating your enemy in this passage. And also notice that the law forbade hatred for a brother and clarified that hatred emanated from the heart. Hatred wasn’t necessarily a visible action but was most certainly an inward attitude, and its source was the heart. Yet the Jews had somehow taken this law and added to it an addendum that prescribed hatred for their enemies. Where the law was silent, they gave it a voice and one that was loudly and vociferously hateful to all those who didn’t meet their definition of neighbor. Because, as far as they could tell, the law only required them to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

In their simplistic way of looking at things, they believed this law taught that love has its limits. The kind of love it demanded was reserved for neighbors, not enemies.  Enemies are unworthy of our love. But as He has done so many times already in this message, Jesus dismantles their false arguments and replaces it with the reality of what God was demanding when He gave this law. Jesus was trying to get them to understand that godly love knows no bounds. The law of God provided no place for partiality or personal preferences regarding who your neighbor might be.

This passage brings to mind a story that Jesus would later tell to an expert in the religious laws of the Jews. Luke records it for us in his gospel.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:25-29 NLT

The man’s question to Jesus had to do with eternal life. More specifically, he was asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He was wanting Jesus to tell him what actions he must take to be approved by God. And, as Jesus was so often prone to do, He answered the man’s question with a question. He asked the expert in religious law what he thought the law of Moses actually taught. And the man answered by quoting from part of the Shema, the morning and evening prayer recited by all faithful Jews.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  – Luke 10:27 ESV

And while Jesus affirmed that the man’s answer was correct, He also told him that it would require living it out in real life. So the man asked Jesus the next logical question, “And who is my neighbor?” What do you think this expert in the religious laws of the Jews expected Jesus to say? He was looking for Jesus to agree with his understanding of the word, “neighbor”. But instead of answering the man’s question, Jesus tells him a story.

A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On his way, he was attacked by robbers and left for dead. In the course of the day, three men will see him lying on the roadside. A Jewish priest came by but crossed to the other side of the road. Next, a temple assistant, another Jews, saw the man, stopped to look at him, but left him there. Finally, a Samaritan, a non-Jew, saw the man and stopped to offer him aid. Not only that, he paid to provide for the man’s ongoing care until he could get back on his feet.

After telling His story, Jesus asked the expert in the law, “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” (Luke 10:36 NLT). And the man responded, “The one who showed him mercy.” And, once again, Jesus affirmed that the man had answered correctly, but told him, “now go and do the same.”

What makes Jesus’ story so compelling is it presents a Samaritan as the hero. Samaritans and Jews hated one another. Samaritans were considered half-breeds by the Jews. They were the descendants of Jews who had been left behind when the Babylonians had conquered Judah and taken tens of thousands in captivity in Babylon. Many of those who were left intermarried with the pagan nations. The Samaritans were looked down on by the Jews and were often referred to as dogs. They were enemies of the Jews. But in Jesus’ story, it was the Samaritan who showed mercy and love to a Jew. He treated him as he would a neighbor or fellow Samaritan. But the two Jews in the story refused to do anything to assist their fellow Jew.

So what does this story have to do with what Jesus had to say that day on the hillside in Galilee? In essence, Jesus was telling the Jews in His audience that they don’t get to choose who they love and hate. He was presenting a new paradigm, a new way of life, in which those who are approved by God will love in the same manner and with the same intensity as they had been loved by God. And the apostle Paul reminds us of just how great God’s love really is:

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

And he tells us we are to imitate God, following the example of love He provided through His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. – Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

And Jesus takes this kind of love one step further, encouraging his listeners to pray for those who might persecute them. The natural human response would be to curse them and ask God to bring down hurt and heartache on them. But Jesus says,  don’t curse them, don’t wish ill on them and don’t seek revenge against them. And Paul would pick up on Jesus’ strange-sounding counsel, telling the believers living in pagan Rome:

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. – Romans 12:14 NLT

Peter would also echo the words of Jesus:

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. – 1 Peter 3:9 NLT

It would be natural to ask Jesus, “Why?” What purpose is there in loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us? What possible good could come out of living and loving like that? And Jesus gives us the answer.

…so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven… – vs 45

This takes us back to verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” 

Those who are blessed or approved by God will emulate Him. They will reflect His character. They will love like He loves. God is indiscriminate is His goodness, “For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45 NLT). He shows His love even to those who hate Him. He bestows His blessings on those who curse Him. He sent His Son to die for all who had rebelled against Him. Jesus Himself, while hanging on the cross, was able to pray, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NLT). And while He prayed that prayer, the Roman soldiers who nailed His hands and feet to the cross gambled over His clothes right beneath Him.

The love Jesus came to reveal was not a reciprocal kind of love. To love those who love you is an insufficient, earthly love. It is a selfish, what’s-in-it-for-me kind of love. But Jesus would later say, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NLT). And Paul would clarify that even our friends are undeserving of the kind of love to which Jesus is referring.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:6-8 NLT

Jesus is calling for a love that emulates the love of God Himself. It is a selfless kind of love. It is a non-discriminatory kind of love. It is not based on the loveliness or lovableness of the other person. We are called to love as we have been loved by God. And our love is not to be reciprocal in nature, but redemptive. Our goal is restoration and reconciliation, not so much with us, but between our enemy and God.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Day 33 – Luke 6:20-49

/ kdmiller55 / 1 Comment

Say What?

Luke 6:20-49

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” – Luke 6:27-28 NLT

Whenever I read some of the message of Jesus, I can almost hear those in His audience looking around at each other with confused looks on their faces, and shrugging their shoulders, as if to say, “What is He talking about?” Most of us have heard these messages a thousand times and we have grown used to them. But those in Jesus’ audience on the day He delivered these words would have been shocked at what they were hearing. Some of what He said probably sounded like nonsense. How in the world could the poor be blessed by God? For those in the crowd who were hungry because of a lack of food or funds, Jesus’ talk of blessing and satisfaction would have contradicted their experience. If you happened to be in sorrow that day due to the circumstances surrounding your life, having Jesus tell you that a time of laughter was on its way would have sounded hollow. Oh, and it gets better. “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy!” (Luke 6:22-23 NLT). Now let’s be honest. Think about just how ridiculous that sounds. Now imagine how it must have sounded to the common Jew sitting listening to Jesus speak that day. They were already hated, excluded, mocked and cursed in so many ways. Their own religious leaders looked down on them. Yet here is Jesus promising them more of the same if they would simply follow Him.

Then Jesus really confused them. He began to contradict their long-held concepts regarding prosperity and righteousness. Their faith system had taught them that the blessings of God were materialistic in nature. To be wealthy and prosperous was a sure sign of God’s blessing. Yet Jesus pronounces a series of woes on the rich, fat and happy of His day. He paints a completely different picture on how to view these things. Basically, Jesus says that those who find their fulfillment, happiness and satisfaction in the things of this world, instead of in God, will someday be sorely disappointed. The tables will be turned. The justice of God will set all things right. This message would have been a shock to the system of His hearers. All they had been taught and believed would have been turned on its head by Jesus’ words.

And then He really rocked their boat by giving them a whole new way of relating to their enemies. For the Jews, enemies were everywhere. They were then, as they are now, a despised people. They were under the iron-fisted rule Rome. Their entire history had been one of constant wars, living as a conquered people, putting up with oppression, captivity and the degradation of living as little more than slaves in their own land. But Jesus tells them to love their enemies, to do good to those who hated them, to bless those who cursed them, to pray for those who hurt them. This was radical stuff. Not only that, it was impossible. These requirements would have seemed onerous and off-setting to the Jews in Jesus’ audience. His suggestion to turn the other cheek would have sounded ridiculous and repulsive to their middle eastern sensibilities.

But what Jesus was doing was clarifying the standard by which God judges. Jesus tells them, “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!” (Luke 6: 32 NLT). Doing good to those who return the favor takes no special capability. Anyone can pull that off. What Jesus is suggesting is impossible. It goes against our very nature as human beings. But it is the very nature of God. Which is why Jesus told them, “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:36 NLT). He is the standard. And what God wants from His people is godliness, not just more humanness. Our humanness is what got us into trouble in the first place. It is our very humanity that will be the death of humanity. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells them “Imitate God, therefore in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ” (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT). What Jesus is describing for His listeners is the life of a believer. But He was still in His incarnate or earthly state. He had yet to die, be resurrected or ascend back to heaven. The Holy Spirit had yet to be given. The lifestyle He was describing WAS impossible. Apart from a relationship with Christ, none of these things would be possible. Later on in His ministry Jesus would say, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT). But those who placed their faith in Jesus Christ would be given the power to pull off what Jesus was saying. Their live would be marked by a new set of rules, new power, a new nature, and new capacity for living in the difficult surroundings of this fallen world. Jesus closes out his message with a promise. Those who would listen to His teaching and follow Him, all the way to the cross, would have a firm foundation on which to stand amidst the storms of life. They would receive the power to thrive in this world and live a distinctively different life just like the one Jesus describes in this passage. And we who are in Christ today, are the recipients and beneficiaries of that promise.

Father, even today, some of what Jesus said sounds so impossible. But never let me forget that all of this is only possible through Your grace and mercy. I need Your power to pull it off. If I try to do it in my own strength I will fail. But with You all things are possible and apart from Christ I can do nothing. Amen.

Ken Miller

Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org