Few words from Jesus cut against the grain of human instinct like His command to love our enemies. In the Sermon on the Mount He tells disciples to love those who hate them and to pray for those who persecute them, so that they may be children of their Father in heaven, who sends sun and rain on all (Matthew 5:44–45). These words do not ask us to deny injustice or pretend that evil is harmless. They call us to refuse the cycle of payback and to answer hostility with a love that reflects God’s own heart (Romans 12:17–21).
This teaching is hard because it is holy. By nature we love those who love us and draw tight circles around “neighbor.” Jesus redraws the circle around Himself and fills it with grace. He gives a command that only grace can keep and then gives the grace to keep it. The result is a people who live differently in a divided world, who entrust final justice to God, and who overcome evil with good because they belong to the crucified and risen Lord (Romans 12:19; John 13:34–35).
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Historical and Cultural Background
When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’” He exposed a common distortion of the law’s intent (Matthew 5:43). God had commanded, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” a word that forbids grudges and revenge inside the covenant community and points beyond it to a life shaped by God’s character (Leviticus 19:18). Over time, some narrowed “neighbor” to “people like me” and smuggled in the counter-command to hate those outside. Jesus unmasks the error by returning to the law’s true spirit.
The Old Testament does not teach hatred of enemies. It commands surprising mercy. If your enemy’s ox strays, you return it; if his donkey collapses, you help him lift it, even when you dislike him (Exodus 23:4–5). Wisdom says that if your enemy is hungry you feed him and if he is thirsty you give him water, and that such kindness heaps burning coals on his head—a picture of pricked conscience and possible repentance—and God will reward you (Proverbs 25:21–22). David refused to kill Saul when he had the chance in the cave and again in the camp, leaving judgment to God and appealing to the Lord who judges between men (1 Samuel 24:12; 1 Samuel 26:9–11). These scenes show that mercy toward enemies was not new with Jesus; He fulfills what the law and the prophets already implied (Matthew 5:17).
The social world of Jesus sharpened the challenge. Tax collectors were seen as traitors. Romans enforced order with the threat of the spear. Sectarian lines ran through villages and synagogues. In that setting Jesus told His hearers to bless those who curse them, to do good to those who hate them, and to pray for their abusers, promising that such surprising love marks the children of the Most High who is kind to the ungrateful and wicked (Luke 6:27–36). He tied the command to God’s daily kindness in creation: the same sun warms both the just and the unjust; the same rain waters the fields of the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). That everyday kindness, often called common grace, is the pattern His children copy when they extend good to those who do them wrong.
Biblical Narrative
Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 press into the heart. He exposes the narrow love that loves friends and family but freezes out enemies, and He calls for a love that acts and prays for the good of those who oppose us (Matthew 5:44–47). The aim is likeness to the Father, not mere moralism. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” He says, meaning complete and mature in love, not sinless in this life, but whole in reflecting the Father’s generous care (Matthew 5:48).
Luke records the same ethic with living color. Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” “bless those who curse you,” and “pray for those who mistreat you,” then adds a line that stings: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:27–33). He tells disciples to lend without expecting return, for “then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High” (Luke 6:34–35). The pattern is action first, feeling later. We bless, pray, and do good because our Father is good.
Jesus embodied His own command. On the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” even as soldiers cast lots for His clothing and leaders mocked His claims (Luke 23:34; Luke 23:35–36). Peter says that when He was reviled He did not revile in return; when He suffered He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly, and in doing so He bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:23–24). The early church walked in His steps. Stephen, as stones flew, cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” even as he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56–60). Paul, once a persecutor, later urged believers to bless those who persecute them and to repay no one evil for evil, but to leave room for God’s wrath and to feed enemies when they are hungry, for in doing so they overcome evil with good (Romans 12:14–21).
Other threads in Scripture weave the same fabric. Joseph forgave brothers who sold him, saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” subjecting his pain to God’s providence and using his power to save them rather than to crush them (Genesis 50:20–21). Jonah bristled when God spared Nineveh, but the Lord asked whether Jonah should be angry when God pitied a great city with many people who did not know their right hand from their left, revealing a heart that loves even enemies when they repent (Jonah 4:10–11). James warns against bitter zeal that mimics the world; he calls believers to a wisdom from above that is pure, peace-loving, and full of mercy, a wisdom that sows peace and reaps righteousness (James 3:14–18). The Bible’s story lines meet in Jesus, who loved enemies at cost to Himself and who makes enemies into sons and daughters by grace (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21–22).
Theological Significance
Loving enemies begins with God. He made all people in His image, so even those who oppose us bear a dignity we must honor in speech and deed (Genesis 1:27; James 3:9–10). He shows daily kindness to the ungrateful and the wicked by giving food and breath and time to repent, which reveals His patience and sets the pattern for ours (Acts 14:17; Matthew 5:45). He loved us when we were still sinners and reconciled us when we were His enemies through the death of His Son; that is the fountain from which our love flows (Romans 5:8–10). We do not love enemies to earn God’s favor; we love because we have received it.
From a dispensational perspective, it is important to keep God’s programs in view. Israel as a nation had civil and military obligations under the theocratic law, including God-directed wars in specific times and places (Deuteronomy 20:1–4; 1 Samuel 15:1–3). The church is not a nation-state. In this present age our calling is to proclaim Christ among the nations and to adorn the gospel with good works, including surprising love toward enemies (Matthew 28:19–20; Titus 2:10). The command to love enemies shapes personal and congregational ethics, while civil governments still bear the sword to restrain evil as God’s servants in the common sphere (Romans 13:1–4; 1 Peter 2:13–17). Personal non-retaliation does not cancel public justice; it guards the heart from vengeance while honoring the role God assigned to rulers.
This love also points forward. In the coming kingdom the Prince of Peace will judge with righteousness and end oppression; swords will be beaten into plowshares, and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 11:9). Until then, the church previews that future by living peaceably as far as it depends on us, by praying for rulers and enemies, and by refusing to answer insult with insult, so that Christ’s name is honored among the nations (Romans 12:18; 1 Timothy 2:1–2; 1 Peter 3:9). Loving enemies is not naive. It is eschatological hope at work now.
Finally, loving enemies is part of sanctification. Jesus calls us to be perfect as our Father is perfect, which in context means complete in love, not partial or tribal (Matthew 5:48). The Spirit produces that love in us as fruit. He teaches us to put off anger and malice, to forgive as the Lord forgave us, and to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Galatians 5:22–23; Colossians 3:12–14). The command reveals our need and drives us to the cross, and from the cross we receive both pardon and power to love beyond our strength.
Spiritual Lessons and Application
The first lesson is to pray before you speak. Jesus ties love for enemies to prayer for persecutors, because prayer reshapes the heart before the tongue moves (Matthew 5:44). When wronged, begin with God. Tell Him the truth about the hurt. Ask Him to guard your mouth and to give you words that bless rather than curse, since “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). Pray for your enemy’s good, not their ruin. Ask for repentance if they are in sin, justice in God’s timing, and reconciliation if possible (1 Timothy 2:1–4; Philemon 15–16).
The second lesson is to answer small wrongs with visible kindness. Jesus’ commands in Luke 6 are practical: do good, bless, lend, give (Luke 6:27–36). Begin where you live. Send a kind note when you are slighted. Refuse to return sharp words online. Offer help to a difficult neighbor. Paul says to feed an enemy if he is hungry and to give drink if he is thirsty, trusting God to use mercy as heat on a cold conscience (Romans 12:20). These acts do not excuse evil; they witness to grace and keep your heart soft.
The third lesson is to keep clear lines about harm. Love does not enable abuse. Scripture tells us to rescue those being led away to death, to expose the deeds of darkness, and to honor the civil authority that punishes wrongdoers (Proverbs 24:11–12; Ephesians 5:11–13; Romans 13:4). If a situation involves danger, call for help and move to safety. Jesus’ call to love enemies never asks the vulnerable to remain in harm’s path or the church to hide crimes. Loving the abusive person best includes insisting on truth, consequences, and the hope of real repentance (Luke 17:3–4).
The fourth lesson is to pursue peace without pretending. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone,” Paul says, which admits that peace is sometimes refused (Romans 12:18). You can forgive from the heart and still set wise boundaries. You can seek reconciliation and still wait for fruit that shows repentance is real (Matthew 3:8; Luke 17:4). Love hopes all things and also rejoices with the truth; it is not gullible and it is not cruel (1 Corinthians 13:6–7).
The fifth lesson is to let the cross set the pace. We love because He first loved us, and we give because He gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (1 John 4:19; Ephesians 5:2). When love feels impossible, remember that while we were God’s enemies Christ died for us, and that same grace is now at work in us by the Spirit (Romans 5:8–10; Romans 8:11). Ask Him for the fruit of love and for the wisdom that knows what love should do in the moment. Sometimes love is gentle; sometimes it is firm; it is always holy.
The sixth lesson is to make enemy-love a church habit, not a private hobby. Pray by name in gathered worship for those who oppose the gospel and for those who have wronged you, without slander. Support ministries that serve people who may scorn the church. Teach children to bless classmates who mock their faith. Commit to speak with grace in public debates so that outsiders see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us (1 Peter 2:12; Colossians 4:5–6). When a congregation is known for surprising kindness, its message about a Savior who loved His enemies rings true.
The seventh lesson is to keep your eyes on the reward. Jesus promises great reward for those who love their enemies and act like children of the Most High, and He tells us that our Father who sees what is done in secret will reward openly (Luke 6:35; Matthew 6:4). This frees us from the need to be understood or praised now. The Judge sees. The King comes. The harvest will arrive in due season if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9; Revelation 22:12).
Conclusion
To love enemies is to take up a cross in the shape of daily life. It is to trade the quick win of revenge for the long joy of resemblance to the Father. It is to trust God with justice and to give people what they do not deserve because that is how God treated us in Christ (Titus 3:3–7). Jesus’ words are not a slogan for the naive but a pattern for the faithful. They call us to pray for our persecutors, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to greet those outside our circle, so that a watching world sees a family likeness that can only be explained by grace (Matthew 5:44–47; Luke 6:27–28).
This path will sometimes be bitter, but it will never be wasted. The Father is making sons and daughters who bear His likeness. The Son is gathering a people from every tribe and tongue, many of whom were once enemies, and He will present them faultless with great joy (Revelation 7:9–10; Jude 24). The Spirit is producing love in hearts that once knew only grudges. And one day the King will judge with righteousness and make peace unbreakable. Until that day, we answer hate with holy love and trust the God who loved us first.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44–45)
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For Further Reference: A Detailed Study on the Entire Sermon on the Mount