Love and Pray for Your Enemies and Be Perfect
Photo by Malachi Cowie on Unsplash
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45 NIV) [see full text in button/link below]
When Divisions Create Enemies
The American Civil War ripped apart a nation. It brought division among friends and tore families apart as they chose sides. The war turned lifelong friends into enemies, shattering family bonds. All civil wars do this. This animosity and hatred lingered on long after the war for many. It still does. All because of loyalty to a cause over love, relationships, and personal respect.
The political, religious, and social animosity of our times is no different. When we allow causes and opinions to hold sway over the value of personal relationships, we lose perspective. This perverts our values and beliefs, leading to a superficial appearance of goodness.
Prejudice and social class systems exist within all populations. Those who have economic and political power, and those who see themselves as superior to others because of religious beliefs or political values, establish these prejudices and social divisions.
In the time of Jesus, Israel was an occupied nation under the oppressive Roman Empire. However, within Jewish culture, the religious elite and wealthy were the dominant social class who oppressed the poor. Jesus challenged this religious and privileged hierarchy.
It’s no different today than it was then. And yet, within the spectrum of those who claim to be followers of Jesus, each denomination or sect sees themselves as better or more spiritual than others. Even the non-denominational, independent groups hold to some sense of spiritual superiority.
The nature of God’s Kingdom is humility, not pride or superiority. As said in the Beatitudes— “The poor in spirit … those who mourn … and the meek …” are the ones whom God considers blessed.
Insights
God birthed the Jewish nation through the descendants of Abraham. He trusted God implicitly, and God honored his faith. Despite the promise of a homeland, Abraham and his descendants remained nomadic tent-dwellers for centuries. Later, they became slaves under Egypt’s grand empire for many generations. They finally gained their promised homeland through successive conquests over various tribal groups. 1
Their covenant relationship with God, outlining their beliefs, practices, and worship, was to help them become a distinct people group among all other nations. They were to be God’s people, governed by God’s Law as a testimony to other nations.
But they didn’t remain faithful to God or His Law, later enduring many cycles of idolatry and slavery because of their unfaithfulness. They became occupied and oppressed by the nations whom they were to influence with their worship of the One, True, and Living God—YAHWEH or Jehovah.
They believed that those who were not with them were enemies. They saw themselves as special to God and superior to everyone else and blessed by God, while others were cursed.
After their exile of 70 years, when God removed Israel from their homeland, they interpreted God’s Law to suit their way of life. 2 They developed their own sense of righteousness, a form of spiritual perfection some thought they could fulfill.
Today, we who consider ourselves God’s people have crafted our own sense of righteous perfection. We—the church, followers of Jesus, Christian believers—love those who are like us, who believe and behave like us. And everyone else, not like us, can easily become enemies in some sense. If not enemies, outsiders.
Jesus challenges us to leave the kingdoms we make for ourselves to live in His Kingdom.
Redefining the Nature of God’s Kingdom
This is the last time Jesus uses the expression, “You have heard … But I tell you ….” These teachings of Jesus were His way of redefining the Law back to its original intent. These last verses in Matthew 5 are like the Lord’s previous teaching, but go beyond the Lord’s admonition about murder in the heart.
Later in the gospel narrative, Jesus declares loving your neighbor as yourself to be the second great summary commandment of the Law of Moses. Over the centuries, various teachers of the Law interpreted it to include the admonition to hate your enemies as a corollary to love your neighbor. 3
Jesus addresses and expands on this amplification of God’s Law. He not only redefines it, but redirects it. This redirection of “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” reaches back to the Beatitudes.
In the book of Acts, we see this take root in the hearts of the early church. It is just as relevant now as then. Citizens of God’s Kingdom are not to despise and hate their enemies, but to love them and pray for them. If we only love and accept those similar to us, then we aren’t any different from those we might despise or look down upon.
Jesus opens the door to the Kingdom to include others who are not like us and may even hate us. He shines the sun and sends the rain upon all without distinction. God’s love and forgiveness are impartial. This was hard for the Jews to accept. It’s still difficult to accept for many believers now.
As followers of Jesus, we are not to be a closed society or a restrictive cultural clan. We are to reach beyond our own sense of goodness and rightness. We are to love and accept others with the extension of God’s mercy and grace, His forgiveness and redemption, as declared by the Lord in the Great Commission, found at the end of the Gospels of Luke and John (see Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23).
And here’s the kicker. Citizens of God’s Kingdom are to be perfect, just as the heavenly Father.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 NIV)
How is this possible?
This isn’t a call to perfect behavior but to perfect union with God. We are to be like our King Jesus. We are to be of the same nature as Him. As Jesus becomes the genuine ruler of our hearts, the more we can become like Him in nature. 4
The Lord calls His followers, the citizens of His Kingdom, to live a life different than the lives of those around us. We are called to follow Jesus and be like Him in nature, so those outside His Kingdom may know what God is like and come to know Him personally.
In the following chapter of Matthew, we’ll consider what Jesus sees as true religion and true faith. Until then, consider the following question and declaration of truth.
If you are striving for perfection in any way, whose measure of perfection is it?
God’s Kingdom is made up of those who forsake their own kingdoms to choose Him above all.
Reflections for Prayer
Jesus challenges us to leave the kingdoms we make for ourselves to live in His Kingdom and become like Him in our hearts and minds. Love and acceptance towards others characterize His Kingdom because of His mercy and grace.
When you find yourself at odds with others, ask the Lord for help to see them as He does. When you find yourself struggling with things in life, seek Him personally in prayer and worship.
Footnotes–
See Genesis 12:1-3; 15:6
To understand Israel’s early history, read Genesis chapter 12 and on through the books of Exodus, and also through Joshua in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah the prophet warned Israel of their coming exile, but they did not heed God’s warning. See– Jeremiah 25:11
Psalm 137 is a lament about Israel’s time in exile. See this post for more insight–
Kimball, T. (2024, May 15). When we don’t have a joyful song in our hearts. Word-Strong With Trip Kimball. https://tripkimball.com/home/when-we-dont-have-a-joyful-song-in-our-heart
See Matthew 19:19; 22:37-40
Also, see Chapter 7 regarding the various interpretations of the Law over centuries, Redefining and Fulfilling the Law
See John 3:16, 30, and 2 Peter 1:2-4.
This is an excerpt from a soon-to-be-published book called The Heart and Soul of God’s Kingdom. Look for it on Amazon with my other books— Trip Kimball on Amazon
