Tuesday 2nd April
Read Matthew 5:43-48
“‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 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.46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (NIVUK)
The crude summary of the Law provided by the Pharisees is not far away from the actual attitude adopted by many Jewish people. Jesus could not tell the parable of the good Samaritan if it was entirely normal for people to help anyone in need rather than just their ‘own people’. ‘Neighbour’ was defined rather narrowly, and likely still is for most people.
Jesus’ final example of what it means to fulfil the law rather than abrogate it is the high point in the sermon. Jesus does not say ‘like your enemies’, which would be psychologically near impossible for most people. He doesn’t say widen your circle of ‘neighbour’ a little either. He calls for those in the kingdom who follow Him to love their enemies. This may involve acting as if you like them, but it definitely involves deliberate, conscious decisions to act in their interests when they are not remotely acting in yours.
Martin Luther King wrote an amazing sermon on this passage. From a jail in Georgia. It would be entirely natural to hate those who had put him there, but as he worked through the implications of Jesus’ words here, he saw their truth. That ‘hate multiplies hate’ whilst ‘love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend’. What are the practical implications of Jesus’ words for you in 2024?