Love Those Who Do Evil Against You

So if you have a Bible, and I hope you do, or somebody around you does, you can look on with. Let me invite you to open it at Matthew 5. Matthew 5, and as you’re turning, feel free to use that table of contents to find Matthew 5. And I do want to welcome those of you in other locations all across Metro DC or others online who are physically unable to be with us today. If you’re visiting, my name is David Platt. I’m one of the pastors here, and we want you to know we are honored to gather together with you in this moment to read. So for the next few minutes to look at what one author called some of the most difficult, controversial, radical commands Jesus ever uttered, and that’s saying something. Another writer said, “These words are the summit, like the height, the mountaintop of Christian love.”

So let’s hear Jesus’s words that close out this first chapter in his sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:38. Jesus says, “You’ve heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil, but if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles, give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven,’ for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same. And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Loving People Selflessly

All right, let’s unpack this. So remember Jesus is telling us throughout this sermon a better way to live. You see it again twice. Jesus saying, “Okay, you have heard that it was said this, but I say to you that. You have heard that it was said this, but I say to you that.” So here’s how I would summarize the better way Jesus is calling us to live according to in these verses. So if you’re taking notes, you might write this down. Jesus is saying, selflessly love the people in this world who, as expected, do evil against you. And every word there counts. Selflessly love the people in this world who, as expected, do evil against you.

Now before we unpack this teaching from Jesus, I want to bring in teaching from other parts of the Bible to make sure we are clear on what Jesus is not saying here.

What Jesus is NOT Saying in this Text

And this is important because Jesus’s words here could be easily misunderstood. And Jesus is not saying, don’t resist evil. Later in the Bible, James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” That’s the same word that Jesus uses, resist, here in Matthew 5:39. It’s used again in 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober-minded, watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him.” So the devil is the author of evil and the Bible makes clear we’re to resist him.

So Jesus is not saying, don’t resist evil. He’s also not saying, don’t hate evil. Romans 12:9, “Abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good.” Jesus is also not saying, don’t oppose evil. Galatians 2:11, Peter, who’s also known as Cephas, was not acting in a way that was consistent with the Gospel. So Paul writes, “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.” So Jesus is not saying, don’t oppose evil, and he’s not saying, don’t call out evil. Starting even with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Later in Matthew 18, Jesus tells us, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

So Jesus is outlining a biblical process here for calling out and addressing evil in brothers and sisters who may be in the church. And Paul later tells the church in 1 Corinthians 5 to do exactly that. And then in 1 Timothy 1, Paul calls out two people that this happened to by name. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Jesus is not saying, don’t call out evil, which leads to the next one. Jesus is also not saying, don’t separate from those who do evil. The Bible actually teaches to separate from some people who are doing evil.

Titus 3:10-11. “As for a person who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self-condemned.” Romans 16:17, “I appeal to you brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you’ve been taught. Avoid them.” Verse 18 goes on to say, “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. And by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive.” Which leads to this next one. Jesus is not saying, don’t protect others from evil. In the church Acts 20, God calls elders to responsibly protect God’s people from evil and we have that responsibility for all people. If someone is hurting another person, we should protect that person.

Psalm 82:3, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless. Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Which leads to the last two things I’ll mention Jesus is not saying. He is not saying, don’t practice justice in government. So Romans 13, which I mentioned earlier when we were praying, God gives government to promote good and to protect from evil. Verse 3, talking about governing leaders says, “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. But you have no fear of the one who’s in authority. Then do what is good and you will receive his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrong doer.” God gives government to promote good and to protect against evil.

Finally, Jesus is not saying, don’t pursue justice for others. We could quote many places in the Bible where God calls us to do justice, pursue justice for others. Isaiah 1:17 would sum them up, “Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression.” So all of this to say, when Jesus says, “Do not resist the one who is evil,” he’s not saying any of those things we just walked through. So what is he saying?

What this Text Actually Means

Well look at the context. So right before this, Jesus quotes from Old Testament law that said “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” which was a principle of justice in the Old Testament legal system. But what had happened is people had used that legal picture as justification for taking personal revenge. Here’s the way I would put it, where God had given restrictions in civil law, they were taking revenge in their personal lives. And Jesus said, “No, I’m calling you to selflessly love the people who do evil to you.” Now we’ll get to that word love just a couple minutes, but just look at the illustrations here. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, which is very likely a reference to someone saying something to you or about you that’s evil, or false, like a backhanded slap. Jesus says, instead of taking revenge and speaking to or about them in a way that’s evil, just absorb it and turn the other cheek.

Then if someone wants to unjustly sue you and take things from you, don’t take things from them, be generous to them. Then if a Roman soldier unjustly forces you to carry their equipment for a mile, offer him a second mile. Then the picture of begging and borrowing here doesn’t specifically mention people doing this from an evil heart. Though many Bible commentators think that’s implied because of the way this is all framed under how we respond to those who do evil. And I would also mention this obviously doesn’t mean that if anyone asks you for any amount of money that you should always give it to them. No, the picture in all these illustrations is clearly selflessness. Think about it. The only person who can react these ways is someone who has died to themselves. When someone speaks evil against you or about you, that strikes at you and your reputation, at your life, the only way you can turn your cheek is if you are more concerned about that person than you are this person.

These illustrations all show a willingness to sacrifice your reputation, your rights, your resources, your life for someone who is doing evil against you, which is exactly what God says in his Word later. Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God for it’s written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he’s thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

Do you see this? One of the reasons we want revenge, we want to avenge ourselves is because we feel like people are getting away with evil that they’ve done to us, but the follower of Jesus realizes no one gets away with evil.

Believe that and leave that to the judgment of God. Now, again, this is in personal offenses. This is not in civil crimes or injustice, which we’ve seen the government under God should punish. And as we’ve also seen, there are biblical ways to address evil in the church. But remember, the goal of even those steps is to gain your brother or sister to bring them back to Jesus. Jesus is saying, “Look to the one who is doing evil against you and love them selflessly.” Which is the exact word he then uses in the next verses, verses 43 and 44. “You have heard it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies.” And the word Jesus uses for love here is “agape”, which is the highest possible form of love. It’s committed costly self-sacrifice to seek and work for another person’s highest good.

Jesus says that’s how you should respond to your enemy. Now to be clear, the Old Testament, which Jesus has been quoting from at different points, never says hate your enemy, but people and specifically religious leaders had basically taken God’s command to love your neighbor as license to hate anybody who’s not your neighbor, whether that’s the Samaritan down the street or the sojourner from another country. And the word here for enemy focuses on hostility and hatred. This is the person who is hostile toward you. Jesus says, “Love them with the highest kind of love.”

Now, I put in this sentence that summarizes these verses, so, “Selflessly love the people in this world who, as expected, do evil against you.” Why say “as expected”? Well, Jesus is clearly saying here, and in many other places, that there will be people in this fallen world who will be hostile toward you, who will do evil toward you, so don’t be surprised when it happens. Obviously don’t pursue that, but do expect that in this world.

Jesus has already said this earlier in Matthew 5 when he talked about the blessing that will come when people persecute you, or revile you, or say all kinds of things falsely against you on his account. We don’t have time to turn there now, but you look over in Matthew 10, Jesus makes clear. He sends out his followers that as they follow him and boldly proclaim him, he doesn’t say if they persecute you. He says, when they persecute you. He says, you’ll be hated, you’ll be betrayed. Those are the words Jesus is using. So he’s saying, don’t be surprised.

We looked at this a few weeks ago, 2 Timothy 3:12. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” That does not say some may be persecuted. It says all will be persecuted. Everybody. Do you want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus? Identify with him, proclaim him in the world? You will experience hostility in this world. In fact, look at what Jesus says in Luke 6:26, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” In other words, if everyone only says positive things about you in this fallen world, you’re probably not taking a true stand for Jesus and you’re not in good company.

How to Love Our Enemies

So all of this to come back to this truth from Matthew 5, Jesus says, you will have enemies in this world, people who are hostile towards you. So don’t be surprised when someone speaks ill or falsely against you or opposes you, instead be ready to love them in return.

So how do we do that? Well look at the text. Jesus says through the words we speak to them. Don’t just greet your friends with kindness, greet your enemies with kindness. And through the words we speak to God about them. Jesus says, pray for those who persecute you. Dietrich Bonhoeffer who suffered, was eventually killed, in Nazi Germany, wrote in his book The Cost of Discipleship. “This is the supreme command through the medium of prayer, we go to our enemy, stand by his side and plead for him to God.” What a picture. Anybody you might think of as your enemy or has been hostile towards you, go to them, stand by their side and plead before God for them. And we love our enemies through the works we do for them. Verse 45, “God provides every day for the needs of his enemies.” So you provide for their needs. Just like Romans 12 said, “If he’s hungry, feed him. Thirsty, give him something to drink.”

Why Do We Love Our Enemies

Which leads to the why. Why do we love our enemies like this? And here’s the answer Jesus gives. It’s fourfold and it’s beautiful. All of them are right here in the text. One, love your enemies like this because we’re loved by God like this.

Let’s not forget we were all once his enemies.

This is the Gospel. It’s the foundation of our faith in our life that we have all been lovingly created by God for relationship with him and all of us have rebelled against him. We’ve all turned aside from God, his ways, to ourselves and our own ways. We’ve defied the Holy God of the universe. And as a result, we deserve eternal, holy judgment from him. But God loves us.

he loves his enemies so much that he sends his only son to selflessly die on a cross for our sins, for all of our offenses against him. And then to rise from the grave in victory over death so that any enemy of God, no matter who you are or what you’ve done, if you will simply trust in the divine “agape” love he has for you, the Holy God of the universe will wipe away all your sins, just like that, gone. You’re not held accountable to any of those. I’m going to restore you to me for all of eternity.

And this is Romans 5. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man, someone might possibly dare to die.” God demonstrates his love for us in this while we were still sinners. Christ died for us. Then you get to verse 10 and it says, “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Now that we are reconciled, we’re saved by his life. His life in us.” So now make the connection because now the love of Jesus and the life of Jesus is in us, the one who … So now follow this. 1 Peter 2:20. “If when you do good and you suffer for it,” so that’s a when it’s going to happen. “You’re going to do good and you’re going to suffer for it, expect it and endure through it. Know this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.”

Wow. It’s a grace to do good, and suffer, and endure anyway. For to this you have been called, God’s called you to this because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten but continued in trusting himself to him who judges justly. And the beauty is his Spirit now lives in you and me. As followers of Jesus, we love our enemies first because of how we’ve been loved by God. And second, because they’re loved by God. Every single day God raises the sun and sends the rain to bless people who hate him.

Think about it. Every single moment God is causing hearts to beat and lungs to breathe in people who defy and despise and disparage him. And his Spirit is in you, so you love them the same. And we do this because we’re different than the world. Like anybody in the world likes, those who like them, anybody in the world can speak on social media about the people that are in their group. But how do you speak about the people in that group over there? We’re totally different. We actually love people with the highest form of love possible, who are hostile toward us. We’re different than the world.

And ultimately love them because we’re living for another world.

Think about this, first for their sake, more than you want your reputation or your life to be saved on earth. You want their souls to be saved for eternity.

That changes the way you love when you’re living for their sake in another world, and not just for their sake, for your own sake in another world. Remember earlier in Matthew 5, when Jesus said, “Rejoice and be glad when they persecute you or revile you or say all kinds of false things about you.” Rejoice and be glad. How do you rejoice and be glad when that happens? For great is your reward in heaven.

If you’re living for another world, then your response to enemies is leading you to reward.

Love Like God Loves

Which then leads to the end of Matthew 5:48. Look at this last verse, verse 48, “You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” What’s that about? Well, in the context here, Jesus is clearly saying, live your life so focused on your Father in heaven that day after day in this hostile world filled with enemies, you keep your focus on following him, becoming more and more like him, growing closer and closer to him on loving like he loves because you know he is your reward.

So just keep looking to him, not to them, him.

How do you selflessly love them? The people in this world who, as expected, do evil against you? Well, you don’t look to them for your joy, your security, your stability, your esteem. No, you look to your heavenly Father whose love, and joy, and security, and stability, and esteem, and satisfaction far outweigh anything this world could ever offer you. You keep your eyes fixed on him, knowing one day you’re going to be with him perfectly conformed to his image. Free not only from all sin in your life, but free from all the effects of other sin on your life. You’re going to be with him and all who know him in pure and perfect enjoyment forever and ever. Rejoice and be glad.

And you now have freedom in you to love those who are hostile towards you. John Piper said, “The command to love your enemy is a command to set your mind on things above, not on earth. The command to love your enemy is a command to find your hope and your satisfaction in God and his great reward, not in the way people treat you in this world. Loving your enemy does not earn you the reward of heaven. Treasuring the reward of heaven empowers you to love your enemy on earth.”

Observation: What does this passage say?

1) Read Matthew 5:38–48 aloud as a group. Let group members share observations. Try not to move into interpretation of the passage or application of what you read quite yet. Simply share what you observe.

• What commands do you find in verses 38–42 and how would you summarize them?
• What great contrast does Jesus establish in verses 43–47 and what people does He use to illustrate the contrast?
• How is perfection defined in verse 48?
• How would you summarize Matthew 5:38–48?

Interpretation: What does the passage mean?

1) Matthew 5:38–42 

_{(For what Jesus is NOT saying, refer to James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8–9, Romans 12:9, Galatians 2:11, Matthew 18:15–17, Titus 3:10–11, Romans 16:17–18, Psalm 82:3–4, Romans 13:3–4, and Isaiah 1:17)}

• How does Jesus illustrate the difference between the way that Old Testament Law in verses 38–42 was interpreted, with the way He intends it to be interpreted?
• Read Romans 12:18–21. How does this passage steer us to live as Jesus intends?

2) Matthew 5:43–48

• How are verses 43–44 counter-cultural and why should we strive to obey these verses?
• How do verses 45–47 describe a faithful believer and how might these specific, often convicting examples challenge us?
• Verse 48 commands us to be perfect, like God is perfect – What would it take for us to show His perfect love in a world that desperately needs it? (Refer to 1 Peter 2:20–23)

Application: How can we apply this passage to our lives?

1) Living by loving our enemies

• How would you characterize your love for your enemies today – are you honoring God, or glorifying self?
• As you consider the words that you use with others, where might you be more loving?
• If someone is persecuting you in some way, how could you honor them with acts of service?
• As you consider your prayers for others who might persecute you, how can you lift them up in a way that honors them and glorifies God?
• How can your Church Group help you to be more loving towards those who persecute you?

2) Loving as God loves us

• How has God’s love changed you?
• How is God’s other-worldly love for you evident in the other-worldly way you live your life?
• How can God’s love for all image-bearers guide your love for them?
• How can striving for heaven help you to live more like Jesus intends on earth?
• How is God calling you and your Church Group to love differently today locally and for the nations?

Matthew 5:38–48 ESV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Sermon Recap

• Selflessly love the people in this world who, as expected, do evil against you.
• Jesus is NOT saying:
  • Don’t resist evil. Don’t hate evil. Don’t oppose evil. Don’t call out evil. Don’t separate from those who do evil. Don’t protect others from evil. Don’t practice justice in government. Don’t pursue justice for others. 
• How we love our enemies:
  • Through the words we speak to them.
  • Through the words we speak to God about them.
  • Through the works we do for them.
• Why we love our enemies:
  • Because we’re loved by God.
  • Because they’re loved by God.
  • Because you’re different than the world.
  • Because you’re living for another world.