Luke 6:27-36
By Pastor Wayne Moore
High Point Baptist Church
Jesus’ command, in Luke 6:27, to “love your enemies” is a challenging imperative to keep at any time in history. It must have been a shock to Jesus’ first disciples who were used to hearing, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43). Even though Jesus corrected the false teaching that it was okay to hate your enemy, the idea still persists today. We live in a time when anyone who disagrees with you is treated like an enemy, and often that means with anger and hate. In this passage, Jesus teaches us the way He wants us to treat our enemies.
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 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. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 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. 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. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Jesus wants us to be like Him, not like our enemies. He gives us what we refer to as the “Golden Rule” in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. We usually paraphrase it like this: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Instead of retaliating and doing to others as they have done unto us, we demonstrate how we want them to treat us by treating them how we would treat ourselves. In this way, we give our enemies the opportunity to see the love of God through us and give them a chance to turn to the God who loves them. If they repent of their sin and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ, they are no longer our enemy, but our brother or sister in Christ. If we choose to retaliate, we deny them the opportunity to see and accept the love of God. Retaliation does nothing to advance the kingdom of God. Retaliation only destroys our enemy or escalates the conflict. To learn more about what Jesus does and does not mean in this passage, check out my sermon at https://vimeo.com/512045748.
In this remaining space, I want to introduce you to a man I just recently learned about. In all I have read about George Liele, he never expressed hatred for his enemies. He lived under circumstances that would have made it easy for him to hate his enemies. He was born to enslaved parents around 1750 in Virginia. He moved to Georgia sometime in his early childhood. He grew up attending the church where his master was a deacon. As good as he may have been treated, I cannot imagine how it felt to be owned by another person. Nevertheless, under the preaching of the gospel, George became convicted that he was a sinner who could not save himself. He trusted Jesus as his Savior and publicly professed his faith to the church and was baptized in 1773. Soon after, he began teaching and preaching to his fellow slaves. The church took notice of his call to preach and invited him to proclaim God’s Word from the pulpit at least quarterly. They even licensed him to preach. He was given his freedom along about the same time and started a church through which he influenced many people. In 1782, he went to Jamaica. It is debated whether he was the first missionary from America. Now, just think of the significance of that for a moment. It has been suggested that he was not only the first black missionary, but the first missionary period – black, white, red, yellow, brown, or otherwise. The reason this is debated is because he was not sent by a church or sending agency. He went to Jamaica due to the evacuation of Savannah, GA during the Revolutionary war and to pay off a debt he owed another man. What cannot be disputed though, is that he did the work of a missionary. He began to teach and preach God’s Word in Jamaica, and hundreds came to Christ through his ministry.
What strikes me most about George Liele is that, in a time when he could have easily been bitter and resentful, he chose to focus on preaching the gospel so that others could be set free from the bondage of sin. He chose to love others with the love of God rather than to hate his enemies. You can read more about George Liele by typing his name in the search bar of your internet browser. One site I recommend, because it gives the primary sources from which the author gets his information, is https://markfrancois.wordpress.com/2018/04/13/no-george-liele-was-not-americas-first-missionary/.
I pray that God will enable both you and me by the power of His Holy Spirit to live out the command of Jesus to “love your enemies.”
