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Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 5 - Law of Love

by Paul George  
3/26/2008 / Bible Studies

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect'" (WEB).

We are all driven by similar desires. One strong desire that is common to all of us is the desire to be loved, and we generally try to be lovable. Whether we are on our jobs, around our neighborhoods, or at church, we try to be friendly and make an honest attempt to treat people in such a way that they have positive feelings towards us. Unfortunately, there are those times when people decide that they really do not like us. Even though we have attempted to be kind to them, and are wonderful people ourselves, they, nonetheless, resolve to be hostile towards us. This is the reality of life. It can be very disappointing. It can also hurt.

Who knows why someone chooses to be our enemy? How do you respond to them when they do? Well, the tendency is to strike back. But what does this way of retaliating really produce? Often it produces further animosity and more bad feelings. It makes the hostile person more hostile, and leaves us feeling worse instead of better.

Jesus said that there was a better way. In fact, He gives us a radical solution to this ancient problem. Instead of retaliating against your enemy, you should love him. How can we love those who are treating us harshly and unfairly? Surely, no one could do that, or would even want to. Even Christians have their limits. There is no doubt that Christians do have limits. However, when it comes to love, the limits far exceed what we may think. The confusion comes when we adopt the thinking of the world. The world's way is to return evil for evil. Unfortunately, there is a tendency even with Christians to follow the way of the world. Those in the world would tell you that common sense dictates that you love those who love you and hate those who hate you. However, Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).

The scribes and Pharisees teachings concerning one's enemies was based on a misinterpretation of Leviticus 19:18. In Leviticus 19:18 it says that you are to love your neighbor "as yourself." The scribes and Pharisees conveniently left out this phrase. They also added to the commandment by saying that you were to "hate your enemy."

In the passage Matthew 5:43-48, the point Jesus wants to make is He Jesus does not want us to act like the world. He wants us to manifest a behavior based upon a supernatural principle of divine life. He desires that we live above the level of the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. He desires for us to live a life that in our own strength we cannot live.
The first thing He says, we are to love our enemies, and this is a powerful and radical teaching about the inclusiveness of love. To those listening to Jesus that day, this must have seemed impossible. How could anyone love his or her enemy? Enemies do not evoke love in anyone. Jesus, however, wanted to make a point that He considered our neighbor to include our enemies. In other words, no one is outside the scope of our love, and no one should be.

The love of which Jesus speaks is a particular kind of love. It is the love that we receive from God and give out to the world. It is the love empowered by God. It is not emotion, though it may involve emotion. It is love in action, a love that seeks the highest welfare of another, a love that manifests itself in deeds.

This is how we are to love our enemies. We are to love them by treating them in a loving way.

Next, Jesus tells us to "pray for those who persecute you." Now, He is not saying that we should pray for them to be struck by lightning or that a house should fall on them. Rather, He is saying that we should pray on their behalf to God. We should pray that God would begin to act in their lives and they see the truth and summit to God.

Jesus goes on to tell us that if we behave in this way we will be identifying ourselves as His children. We should do this in order that we may be sons of our Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45).

How do we manifest to the watching world that we are truly children of God? It is through our love and concern. We do not love others in order to earn salvation. Rather, because we are saved, we love others. We reveal who we are by what we do, and as children of God, we must love people.

Are you manifesting your identity as a child of God? You see, we should show this impartial love because God shows impartial love; He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45). The point is that God blesses everyone. He does not just bless those who love Him. He sends His blessing without regard to whether the one receiving the blessing deserves it.

He goes on to say that, we must live on a higher level than those around us; "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gathers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same" (Matthew 5:46-47).

We are not called to live on the same level as the world. Indeed, we are called to live on a level that is not only higher, but also impossible. The point of what Jesus is saying is that we must live by the power of God. He is asking us to do things that in our own strength we cannot do. The only possible way to truly love our enemies is to live by the power of God. He is calling us to allow Him to pour His strength into us. When we are weak then He is strong. He is calling us to be in the world but not of the world. Anyone can live in a belligerent, spiteful, revengeful way. It takes a child of God to live above the level of this and walk by the power of the Spirit.

Finally, Jesus tells to be like our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:48). The constant call to the Christian is to be like God. It is God's purpose to conform each one of us to the image of Jesus Christ. He is calling us to surrender our lives so that God can mold us into a Christ-like person.

While it is true that none of us will ever be perfect in this life, this does not diminish the force of Jesus' word. He calls us to be perfect because perfection is our standard. It must be. Imperfection can never be the standard for any believer. You see, our standard is God Himself. We must never judge ourselves by any other standard. When we do, we end up living far below what God has intended for us. While you may not hit perfection if you shoot for it, if you shoot for imperfection you will always hit it. Therefore, while we may never be perfect in this life, our standard can never be imperfection. Our standard, our desire, is to be like God.

Jesus is telling us that He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to love with the kind of love He has. When we see that kind of love, it makes us want to be someone who loves like that.

Our call is to be people who manifest the nature of the God we serve; it is a call to be like Jesus.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

King James Version

The World English Bible

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