Love Your Enemy
Jeff Wells   -   July 12, 2026

Love Your Enemy 

Key Passage: Matthew 5:43-48 

 

This is possibly the most difficult and disorienting command that Jesus ever gave His followers. And yet, this became one of the most quoted commands in the writings of the early church fathers. For the first three centuries, the hallmark of Christian behavior was tied directly to the love of others- even when the person to be loved was considered unfriendly or hostile to Christianity itself.

 

What’s going on with this strange command? And does it really work in the modern world? In today’s message we will dive into the origins of this passage to better grasp Jesus’ ideas for his audience of that day. And then we will look for some simple ways that we can apply this challenging command.

 

Background

  • General Idea of the Sermon
  • The Six “you have heard it said…” Sayings

 

  1. Jesus is not dismissing the content of the Old Testament. He is demanding a correct understanding of the Old Testament (5:43).
    1. The saying “love your neighbor” appears three times in the OT
      1. Leviticus 19:18 – Love your neighbor as yourself
      2. Leviticus 19:34 – Love the stranger/foreigner as yourself
      3. Deuteronomy 10:19 – Love the stranger/foreigner
    2. The statement “hate your enemy” does not
    3. This final statement is most likely a Jewish idiom and accepted understanding from the text (but it’s not in the text).
  2. So, love your enemy (5:44-47)
    1. Love –
    2. Enemy-
    3. Pray for them
    4. Why? Because this is the path to godliness.
      1. Jesus, not you or me, gets to decide what godliness looks like.
      2. This separates you from all other worldviews and religions. Shouldn’t our love better than the pagans?
    5. Greet them.
  3. Be Perfect (5:48) 

What “Love for our Enemies” is not:

  • A world without justice
  • A world without law and order
  • A world that condones toxic people
  • A world that excuses sinful behavior

 

Two Ways to Apply This Command

  • Who do you disagree with?
  • Who has stood in your way?

 

Final Word:

Obeying Jesus is not without risk.