5) Love Your Enemies: Matthew 5:42 48

V. Love Your Enemies: Matthew 5:42-48

Scripture 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to 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 children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

46For 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 and sisters,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Literary Context This passage from Matthew’s gospel comes from a famous speech called the Sermon on the Mount, which details how Jesus expects his followers to live. The themes in this section center on self-sacrifice and unconditional love for all. These statements conclude a section of the sermon known as the “antitheses” (5:21-48) in which Jesus explains that his followers have a responsibility to live a life of exceptional morality: in addition to not killing, they should not express anger; in addition to practicing a form of retribution equivalent to the harm suffered, they should exhibit gratuitousness. Moreover, it is not enough to love the people who show the same love to you: love even your enemies, an uncommon sentiment in the ancient world but one designed to have Christians look through the hate of their enemy and break the cycle of hatred and violence. The last statement of the passage encapsulates Matthew’s view of the Christian ethic: strive for the perfection found in God.

Matthew’s Jesus thus establishes a new interpretation for key passages in the Jewish law. In this he see himself as an authority whose views represent a fulfillment of these scriptures (5:17), and followers who listen to and practice his commands should expect an eternal reward (7:24). Such ideas fit well with Matthew’s historical context, a time of great division and conflict between various forms of Judaism. Matthew seems to be saying, then, that his group’s ethic, grounded in Jesus’ authoritative words, is consistent with God’s will for his people; conversely, other forms of Judaism fall short of achieving God’s desire for people to demonstrate completely the virtues of

kindness and love. This sentiment is distilled clearly in the sermon’s “Golden Rule”: In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (7:12).

Contemporary Application: Saint Francis of Assisi Chapter 5 in the gospel of Matthew teaches us to “Love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (5:44). Saint Francis seems to have taken this idea to heart when he set out to meet Malik al-Kamil, the Muslim Sultan of Egypt, in 1219. This was a time of the Crusades, a series of hostilities between Christians and Muslims that erupted during a period of over two hundred years. From the Christian perspective, Muslims were enemies and evil. During the Fifth Crusade, Francis traveled south to Egypt with the goal of introducing the Sultan to the spiritual perspectives of Christianity with the ultimate hope of converting him to the faith. During his meetings with the Muslim leader, both figures entered into respectful dialogue about each other’s religious views.

Although he did not achieve the specific goal of his mission, Francis’s spiritual zeal impressed the Sultan, who allowed him to return to Europe in peace. The Sultan too seems to have left a deep impact upon Francis, whose later writings speak positively about the Muslim understanding of God and their rigorous attention to prayer (“A Letter to the Rulers of the People,” 7; “A Letter to the Entire Order,” 4.9). The encounter thus represents a moment of positive interreligious exchange in a time when great animosity and contempt for “enemies” more often led to violence and suffering.

Reflection Exercise In Jesus’ own day, it was easy to love one’s friends but difficult to show that same attitude toward rivals or opponents. Perhaps people living in today’s society also share a similar outlook. What emotions are activated in us when we show animosity toward others? How could love counteract these negative emotions? Think about a time when you experienced conflict with someone else. What was the situation? What could you have done to put Jesus’ teaching on love into practice at that time? How would you have to transform your thoughts, words, and actions? What results do you think your efforts would have achieved?

Dig Deeper

Harrington, Daniel J. The Gospel of Matthew. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2007.

Powell, Mark Allan. Fortress Introduction to the Gospels. 2nd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2019.

Rout, Paul. “St Francis of Assisi and Islam: A Theological Perspective on a Christian-Muslim Encounter.” https://core.ac.uk/reader/2732890.

Wright, N.T. Matthew for Everyone. Part 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004.