Sermon Transcript

All right. OK, Church, let’s read. Stand with me as we read Matthew 5:43-48.

“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, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (CSB)

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

Heavenly Father, I praise You so much that that we as imperfect children that we can come to You and still exude Your glory, even in the state of our brokenness and our fatigue and technological difficulties, that we can still come together and radiate the majesty of God. Father, I ask that right now that You would come and fill this place with Your presence, with Your glory and radiance so that we can see You on Your throne, so that our eyes and hearts would be catapulted to the heavens, so that we can see Your worth, Your value, Your glory and the love that You have for us, so that we in turn can love the world in the way that You love us. Father, every single one of us struggles with the pain of having enemies. Though we may not hate them, every one of us is hated by someone else. And Father, I ask that You give us strength and vigor to love them in the same way that You do. We need You, Lord. And Father, I pray that You would please grant me mercy for my brain is so tired from all the activities yesterday and this week that I need an extra heap of grace to do what only Your Spirit can do. So please take over my brain waves, all of my brain cells, take over my tongue and my heart, and just use me as Your vessel to speak to Your people what they need to hear today. And Lord, I ask that You would please protect our people from the enemy, protect them from distractions, protect them from physical ailments, and I pray that You would give them ears to hear and eyes to see so that we can be made a little bit more like Jesus before we leave here today. We love You, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Oh, and also bless the children’s ministry. Amen.

Introduction

OK, so Church, there’s a time in your life where you’re going to come across somebody and they’re going to look at you and they are going to say, can you tell me a little bit more about what you believe? You know, it’s rare sometimes, but it happened to us this week. My wife is on Facebook and this woman named Marissa, she just reaches out to Stephanie and she says, “I’m looking for answers. Can you tell me anybody? Is there someone who can reach out to me and just tell me a little bit about God? You see, my son was he became a Christian recently…” and she just wants to make sense of what’s happening. The world recognizes that there is a God and that He is out there and that He loves us. And it’s hard for the world to comprehend. And so they got to find answers. Who do they look to? Well, they look to the Church. The Church is the institution that God has put on the earth to be the vessel to answer that question. Who is God and what is He like?

In fact, the entire point of this whole sermon series is called Who is Jesus and what does He want? In Church, it’s very important for us to take seriously the teachings of Jesus, because through the teachings of Jesus, we are able to show people who God is. Every time I would leave the house as a kid, if my mom and dad were smart, they would look at me and tell me the reminder: “Boy, remember when you leave these doors, you represent me and your daddy. So, everything you do out there, you tell the world what your mom and dad are like based on how you behave.”

Church, it is no different for us. We have a direct impact on what people think about God and who God is. What is He like? Does He love us? Does He hate us? Does He judge us? Or does He desire that we are changed? Does He desire to help us completely based on how we comport ourselves out in the real world? And we’ve got to ask, how did Jesus do it, right?

Jesus revealed the Father. We see this in John 8:19. Jesus says, “If you knew me, you would also know my Father” (CSB). In John 12:45, he says, “And the one who sees me sees him who sent me” (CSB). And this is because Jesus and the Father are one. And then Jesus even prays in John 17:20-23 that we would be one with the Father and the Son, just as they are one. So in the same way Jesus revealed the Father—Church, we are called to reveal the Father and the Son.

When the world looks at us, God has equipped us for the world to see us and really see God the Father. That’s an incredible blessing that we are bestowed upon. Something that should humble us, make us feel privileged and blessed. And yet really stop us in our tracks before we do or say anything. So just like Jesus revealed the Father, we too are revealing God.

Our call to reveal the Father is no secret to Christians. Week in, week out, we come in here and we talk about making disciples. And making disciples is all about the business of revealing the Father to people. But we reveal the Father in more than just the ways of speaking words. Because primarily, that’s what we most often think about when we say “Let’s make disciples.” We think that we are just imparting words. But you see, Jesus today, He’s going to call us to make disciples by being visual teachers.

Our behavior also makes disciples, and that’s how we reveal the Father. And the greatest way that we can teach people what God is like is how we love our enemies. And that’s the main point on today’s sermon. So follow along in this church bulletin leaflet. You’ll see the sermon notes. The main point of today’s sermon is that we must reveal God the Father by seeking the physical and spiritual well-being of our enemies.

1. Everyone has an enemy (John 15:18-21)

At this point you might be saying to yourself, I don’t have any enemies. I love everyone. And that might be true. I don’t think that’s true, because I guarantee you, every single person here has gotten upset or aggravated with someone. But even if you don’t have an enemy because you love everyone, I guarantee you, while you may love everyone, not everyone loves you.

And because of that, everyone here has an enemy. And that’s the first point. Everyone has an enemy. You see, Jesus promised that everyone, if you are a Christian, will have an enemy.

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me. (John 15:18–21, CSB)

 They will persecute you. Every Christian in the world has an enemy. And we may not see it in America as blatantly as our brothers who are being persecuted in Nigeria, the Congo, and in China right now.

(Lord Jesus, I pray that You please strengthen the martyrs in Africa and in Asia. Please, Lord Jesus, save them. And I pray that You would turn the governments in their favor. Rescue them, Lord.)

Even though we may not be suffering right now as they are in Africa and in Asia—even though—I guarantee you the enemy is after you. And if your eyes are not opened, you will let him attack you in ways that you didn’t see coming. Your marriage will struggle. You might fall into temptation to dark media on the Internet. You might cheat on your wife, watch movies you shouldn’t. Or just overeat. The enemy will come at you in ways that you never see coming. The more comfortable your country is to Christianity, the sneakier the enemy’s attacks.

The more comfortable your country is to Christianity, the sneakier the enemy’s attacks.

Now, how do I know the enemy is after you? Even in America, where Christianity is legal and we’re not yet locked up. That is because Jesus says to the scribes and the Pharisees who were trying to kill Him, “Your father is the devil and your will is to do your father’s will” (John 8:44, paraphrased). Everyone who does not belong to the Lord belongs to Satan. And every single one of us desires to do our master’s bidding. If you belong to the Lord, you desire to do righteous things. You might make mistakes and sin, but you do desire it. In the same way, if you do not belong to the Lord, you also desire to do your master’s bidding. And that is why in John 8:44, He said, “Your will is to carry out your father’s desires.” Therefore, everyone has an enemy.

The question that we must ask, though, is what do we do with our enemies? Do we have a us-versus-them mentality as Christians? Do we see ourselves at war with our enemies? What does Jesus want us to do with them? And the answer is actually very simple. Jesus wants us to love them. But we must be very careful with this word love, because the age that we live in, the world has taken this word love and has redefined it. It’s some pretty insane definitions. First of all, we must understand that the Bible understands love to be much more than a feeling. The Bible defines love as an action. And the greatest love in the Bible that we see that a friend might have for another is to lay down his life (John 15:13). The very crucifixion of Christ Jesus encapsulated that greatest love. And it’s not too far off from the kind of love that we’re called to have for our enemies.

2. By loving our enemies, we…

a. Reveal that our Heavenly Father can be trusted (Matthew 5:43)

But, Church, it’s incredibly important for us to love our enemies, because by loving our enemies, we reveal that our heavenly father can be trusted. This is clear in Matthew 5:43. You see, Jesus is beginning now to challenge their oral tradition. The oral tradition was they have heard it said, “You shall love your neighbor, but hate your enemy.”

They had an oral tradition that called them to hate their enemy. Why would they hate their enemy? They didn’t want to bless their enemy. They didn’t want to pray for their enemy. Why? Because they believed that if they took care of their enemy, their enemy would have an upper hand, and it would put them at a disadvantage that would not favor them in their outcome.

They needed to hate their enemy because anything other than hating their enemy was essentially the same as handing them a loaded gun and pointing it back at me. Why would I give my enemies weapons, especially loaded ones that are pointed directly at myself?

That oral tradition of loving your neighbor, they were actually taking a verse from Leviticus 19:18, which says “love your neighbor,” but they were beginning to twist it. And this is because in first century Judaism in Israel, they were constantly oppressed by others. And you see, before it was the Romans, they also had the Persians and the Seleucids. I mean, the Jewish people have always been oppressed by their neighbors. And it hasn’t stopped. And it still goes on today. But because of that, when you’re constantly oppressed, you risk the danger of hating your enemies. And this is what had culminated in the culture that Jesus is now addressing.

You see, for them, their enemy in this passage, we see this in verse 44, their enemy was defined as somebody that persecuted them. It was anybody who was evil and unrighteous in verse 45. It was tax collectors and Gentiles in verse 47. That’s what makes an enemy.

So that didn’t leave very much left over to define as a neighbor whom they were supposed to love. That only left their neighbor to be anybody who was just a fellow Jew basically. So Jews hated everybody who was not a Jew. And then the Gentiles hated the Jews. So it’s a world that’s just going to kill itself.

Until God entered the world in the form of a man, who said, “love your enemy,” it was impossible for us to understand what kind of God really exists. And it’s a God that also loves His enemies. But mostly in this point, I want us to walk away and realize we don’t have to be like the world. We can love them because even if they kill us, we still reign with Him forever. God can be trusted. Therefore, you can love your enemies. God can be trusted. Therefore, you can love your enemies. As God’s children, we can love our enemies because we know that we can entrust our well-being to God the Father.

b. Reveal that our Heavenly Father desires sinners to be saved (Matthew 5:44-45a)

But that is not all. The next point is that when we love our enemies, we reveal that our Heavenly Father desires sinners to be saved. This is clear in 5:44-45. Jesus calls us to replace the hatred for our enemies with love and prayer for them. So He counteracts their culture mandate to hate the enemies. He says, “but love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” The way He words this in Greek, He is saying it in a way that while they are persecuting you in the midst of being stabbed, shot, mutilated, and raped, you pray for them in the act. This is what Jesus did on the cross. “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Not just Jesus, but also Stephen. We see this in the book of Acts. They drag Stephen out of the city and they begin to stone him. And Stephen says, “Lord, receive my spirit.” And he’s on his knees and they are picking up the rocks to stone him. And he says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60). This isn’t the perfect sinless Savior. This is a sinner who is filled with the Spirit of God, just like every Christian in this room. If Stephen can pray for those who are stoning him while they are stoning him, then so can you.

But Church, you cannot claim that God loves sinners and wants to save them through the Gospel while you’re talking bad about your enemies. You are a walking contradiction. If we truly believe that Jesus wants to save sinners, we have to act that way in every facet of our life. So if you disagree with someone politically, do not let that overshadow the love that you have for them and their desire to be saved. When we love our enemies, we are showing them that the Heavenly Father loves our enemies as well. And this is true. We see this even in Ezekiel 33:11:

As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord GOD—I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! (CSB)

The Lord even desires it. Therefore, Church, by our love, we show that God can be trusted and that He desires them to be saved, but that is not all.

c. Reveal that our Heavenly Father cares for the body and the soul (Matthew 5:45b-47)

When we love our enemies, we also reveal that our Heavenly Father cares for the body and the soul. That’s the next point in your bulletin. When Jesus gave this correction to the culture, He said that we need to love our enemies just the way that God does. And how does God love His enemies? It says that He brings on the righteous and the unrighteous, both rain and sunshine. Now, both of these things were actually good. If we just thinking from today’s standpoint, we might think that rain is dark skies and thunderstorms, so that’s not a good thing. But the truth is, they’re both good to the first-century reader. Why? Because there was no irrigation like we have today. They needed all the rain. So for them, rain was a blessing, but they also need the sun. The sun is a blessing. In other words, when Jesus says so that you may be children of your father who is in heaven because He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous, He is saying that God is holy and good to every person on earth.

i. God’s children tend to the physical needs of others (Matthew 5:45b-46)

You see, as creatures, we like to make little of God because they’re suffering an evil in the world. But you also forget about the plentiful blessings like rain and sun. And this is the same kind of love that we’re called to give to our enemies. And these blessings, Church, are blessings of the body. They take care of the physical needs. And that’s how we’re called to love, just in the same way God does.

We must love them in a way that says, “I don’t expect you to give me anything back.” You see, when God the Father gives them sun and rain, He doesn’t expect them to return the goods to Him. He’s giving them something they cannot give back. And so we too. And it’s not just to all people. It is specifically to our enemies because Jesus says, “if you only love those who love you, what better are you doing than the tax collectors?”

Now, why is this significant? It’s significant because we must understand that the tax collectors were the worst of the worst in first-century Israel. You see, the tax collectors were not paid salaried men of the Roman government. They were Jewish civilians, a lot of them, who the Roman government was oppressing. And they were given a small commission. So for every tax dollar they collected, they would get a small commission. But they were notorious for taking more than they needed to. And so, according to early writers in the Mishnah and the Talmud, they were basically licensed robbers.

They were so hated by the Jewish people that they said, if you touched anything that a tax collector touched, you are now ceremonially unclean and can no longer go to the temple. And now, ceremonially unclean and can no longer go to temple. In other words, they were basically saying, if you fellowshiped with a tax collector, God hated you and wanting nothing to do with you. And you were seen as a traitor for even being friends with the tax collector. Tax collectors were the worst.

And guess what? Jesus just said, if you only love those who love you back, you’re no different than them. Can you imagine the clamor and the sheer anger that His non-Jesus-following hearers of His sermon at this point, how angry they must have been? Because everyone in this room is guilty of loving only those who can give them something back. Every one of us. Especially in America, where one of the biggest temptations for American life is pragmatism. We like to do things that give us maximal return on investment. So we tend to pick our friends in a way that lifts us up and not the other way around. And Church, we must never be a church that only loves the disciples of Jesus who are easy to be around. We must be like Jesus and pour into every single person who comes here because that is how we are better than the tax collectors, than the people who are only pragmatic Christian followers. Or people like we talked about last week, who only serve the Lord with their mouths and not their hearts.

And just a friendly reminder: If you think others are bad, just recount your own sin and then remember that the Lord loves you anyway. Okay? If other people annoy you, it’s only because you have forgotten what a wretch you truly are. Including me. So everybody’s stuff stinks and Jesus loves us anyway. So let’s love our enemies likewise.

I love what Dr. Quarles says here. After commenting on the tax collectors in his commentary, he writes,

The love and loyalty of the tax collector was for sale to the highest bidder. Their love was inspired by schemes to get ahead. But the love God displays and that Christian disciples are to emulate is unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial.

That’s the love of God’s people. But we can do that, Church, because we know that God will reward us. God comforts us by reminding us that what we lose by loving our enemies, we will be repaid much better in the next life. That brings me comfort. And with that comfort, I can seek a different element of my enemy’s well-being.

ii. God’s children tend to the spiritual needs of others (Matthew 5:47)

You see, sometimes it’s much easier to just hand people money so that I can just go about my day. Right? “Oh, my enemy needs something. Here are some shirts and other garments. Please just take it and go.” That way, I can feel a little bit better knowing we’re not breathing the same air. That’s a sinner’s disposition, right? But Jesus calls us to do something better than that, and He says, “Pray for them.” When you pray for your enemies, you’re actually kind of inviting them into your mind in the most private and safest places in your life: your prayer closet. We go there to feel the peace and the presence of God, and Jesus is telling you, “Bring your enemy in there with you and lift him up.” That can be very uncomfortable. The people that might have abused you as children or sexually assaulted you, murdered your children, you are to bring them into your prayer closet and lift them up to the Father, because that’s what Jesus did for you.

God’s children, next point in your bulletin, we are called to tend to the spiritual needs of others. This is illustrated by Jesus when He says, “If you only greet your brothers, what more are you doing than others?” When He says this, we have to understand that the type of greeting Jesus is talking about is when we say “Shalom.” And when you say “Shalom,” you’re actually pronouncing a blessing on them. You’re basically saying, “May God’s peace be upon you.” So when Jesus is talking about them not wanting to greet anyone that’s not their brother, they are basically saying they’re scared to pronounce peace from God over them.

They are avoiding saying a blessing on their life. In other words, they are avoiding giving them spiritual blessings and fulfilling their spiritual needs. Jesus says at the beginning of this section, “Pray for your enemies.” Now He also tells us, “Greet everyone.” He’s saying, “Do not be afraid to say, ‘Peace be upon you,’” or, “May God fill you with peace,” or, “May God fill you with joy in His presence.” The people who hurt you, steal from you, persecute you, stab you, stone you, attack your character, and mock you because you follow Jesus are to be looked at and told, “May God bless you.” God’s children aim to care for the physical and spiritual well-being of all people, especially our enemies.

3. Therefore, we must reveal God by modeling His love for our enemies (Matthew 5:48)

With all of the love that we have for our enemies, you see, we reveal a lot about God. We reveal that God can be trusted. We reveal not only that, but also that God cares for the body and the soul. And that He desires sinners to be saved. With that Church—last point—we must reveal God by modeling His love for our enemies. And Church, I want to remind you that everything that we are called to do, we do because Christ died for us first. Romans 5:8: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (CSB).

If we do not love our enemies, Church, you are preaching the wrong sermon. We mimic the Father because we are His children. So how we act and behave is a direct reflection of what they are to believe about God. We believe God loves everyone. I don’t care what your sexual orientation is, what your voting party is, what your ethnic background is. It doesn’t matter what your socioeconomic status is, whether you’re a high school dropout. I don’t care what kind of crimes you committed. God loves you. Are we preaching that with our actions? What actions can you change in your life towards those who oppose you to make sure they know the truth? Let me say that again.

What actions in your life can you change so that people really believe God loves them?

Because if we do not love our enemies, we tell the world that you are on your own, God cannot be trusted, Jesus did not die for sinners, and good luck in a dog-eat-dog world. But praise be to God, that’s not the case. So let’s show the world that God loves them tremendously by loving those who hate us.

Let’s go to the Father.

Father, we thank You so much that You love us and that You sent Your son to die for us on our behalf, and that we have great hope for the future. Please help us to lay down our lives like Stephen, like Jesus, and love those who persecute us. And I pray that our eyes and our ears would be sharply attuned to the attacks of the enemy. As Peter reminds us, our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, we must be sober-minded and be ready to face the future. Help us to be that people, Lord. And help us reach our neighbors and love them as Christ does. In Jesus’ name, Amen.