LUKE 6:27-36 LOVE, PRAY FOR, DO GOOD TO YOUR ENEMY

LOVE, PRAY FOR, DO GOOD TO

YOUR ENEMY

Luke 6:27-36

Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Susan: Part of me wishes the Lord had left this passage out of His sermon.

Susie: Obedience to the command to love our enemies and be good to those who hate us can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit within the believer.

Susan: This command is right up there with thanking God in and for everything, even my pain, no matter what.

Susie: It is one thing to say, “I choose to love my enemies,” but another thing entirely to do good things for them.

Susan: This seemingly impossible task is only possible as we are God’s instrument of compassion in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Susie: By “pray for them,” I do not think Jesus means to pray they go away and leave me alone. I should pray for God to draw them to Jesus and bless them as objects of His grace.

Susan: We should pray that Jesus draws them into the transformative reality of salvation.

Susie: When we see that type of prayer answered, our enemies become our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Reading the stories at www.persecution.com is a humbling experience as so many of them express the desire to see the salvation of the very ones who persecuted them.

Luke 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

Susan: This is not a blanket statement that we are not to resist all forms of abuse. John MacArthur clarifies it well:

MacArthur Study Bible note on similar passage in Matthew 5:

5:39 not to resist an evil person. Like v. 38, this deals only with matters of personal retaliation, not criminal offenses or acts of military aggression. Jesus applied this principle of non-retaliation to affronts against one’s dignity (v. 39), lawsuits to gain one’s personal assets (v. 40), infringements on one’s liberty (v. 41), and violations of property rights (v. 42). He was calling for a full surrender of all personal rights.

Susie: In Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says if someone forces a person to go a mile, he should go two. Roman soldiers could force a person to carry their pack for one mile only. By going that second mile voluntarily, the Christian would be doing good for their enemy.

Luke 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

Susie: If someone has a need you are able to meet, give to them willingly without expecting anything in return. This was not a new concept. The Lord set up “Sabbath Years” through Moses in which all debts were canceled.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2 (VOICE) Moses: At the end of every seventh year, cancel all debts.  This is how it will work: anyone who has made a loan to someone else will just let the debtor keep whatever he’s borrowed. That is, if the loan was made to a fellow citizen, to another Israelite, the lender won’t demand repayment because it has been announced that the Eternal is canceling all the debts of His servants.

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Susan: This is the principle that we were taught as children called “The Golden Rule.”

Susie: Jewish rabbis and even other religions taught a similar concept but stated it negatively—Do not to something to others that you would not want done to you. 

Susan: Jesus, however, elevated this and taught it in the affirmative. We are to do good things to and for others like we would want them to do for us because it is the right thing.

Susie: This is placed in the passage on doing good to our enemies which tells me we do not make an exception to the Golden Rule just because we do not think a person deserves to be treated well. We are to treat everyone like we would want to be treated.

Luke 6:32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

Luke 6:32 (NIV) If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

Susie: Jesus is saying, “Don’t pat yourself on the back for returning love to someone who already loves you.” The greater love is to emulate the love of Jesus who loved us unconditionally even while we were His enemies.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Luke 6:33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

Susie: I think of a couple of common sayings, “One good turn deserves another” and “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” It is fairly common, even among non-believers, to do something good for someone who has done something good for us.

Susan: Even evil people will return a favor. Even among criminals there is a semblance of a code of honor.

Susie: However, Jesus teaches that we are to do good for people even if they never have and probably never will return the favor.

Luke 6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Susan: If you lend when you know you will get it back, what has that garnered in the Kingdom of God? If you lend generously to others with no expectation of return, God is able to give back to you according to His will.

Susie: Do not expect anything from others, but rely on God to take care of your needs when you are generous to others.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Susan: Giving generously, unconditionally and loving our enemies is foolproof evidence that we truly are the children of God.

Susie: In obeying these commands of Jesus, we are imitating His behavior because God gives generously to both believers and non-believers. For example, God provides sunlight and rain to grow crops for food not just for those who love Him but for all mankind.  This is what is known as “Common Grace.” It is the good that God does for everyone.

Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Susan: Mercy is a choice to be compassionate rather than punitive.

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Numbers 14:18a The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy forgiving iniquity and transgression

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ponder this and apply it: You may not have an obvious enemy in the sense of someone who is persecuting you or at war against you. However, is there someone you cannot seem to forgive? Someone who has hurt you deeply? Pray for them. Ask the Lord to enable you to forgive and perhaps even show kindness to them. Forgive as He has forgiven you—unconditionally and completely even though you did not deserve it.