Good morning everybody. I’ve been busy over this last week or so preparing the floor for sanding and varnishing. It is really hard work getting rid of the old glue and lino and it’s creating a lot of dust in the flat. I’ll be really happy when this process is done! At least it’s keeping me warm as the cold nights of winter draw closer.
Recapping from last week we began the Sermon on the Mount and learned the difference between a disciple and an apostle.
The Greek word for “disciple” simply refers to a learner and is used throughout the New Testament to refer to people who believed in Jesus and followed Him.
The Greek word for “apostle” literally means “one who is sent” and can refer to an ambassador or anyone sent on a mission. An apostle is given the authority of the one who sent him. All of the apostles were disciples—they were among the many believers in Jesus—but only a select group of disciples were chosen as the Twelve Apostles as described in this passage.
Luke 6:20-23
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
We noted that Jesus lifted his eyes towards his disciples when he said this. This Sermon on the Mount was primarily directed at you and me in Church today.
Jesus was emphasising to his disciples in his sermon that a life following him would not be easy. They would suffer, some poor, some hungry, some sad, some hated and persecuted. And he indicated that a life without any trouble may in fact mean we remain in the World no different to the unbelievers. So yes, belonging to the Lord means we have enemies in the World. Firstly, we are a threat to the Kingdom of Darkness and because of that we find opposition in this World. Secondly, we are not liked because we challenge people in their sin. They want to suppress the knowledge of God, but our faith shines a light on darkness. But Jesus said, that if we do suffer persecution for his sake, then we should rejoice because we truly belong to Heaven and there is a great reward waiting for us there just like all the other believers who have suffered persecution throughout history.
Our natural response to persecution is fight or flight. The first natural response is to strike back and hurt the enemy. The second natural response is to run away. But Jesus calls us to do something completely different as we shall read today. The message today is short but hits hard.
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.
Some of us have been victim of a crime, that person is as an obvious enemy. But it’s not always easy to spot an enemy, they quite often wear camouflage or a disguise. In New Zealand we are more likely to encounter someone who keeps their hatred hidden. It might only surface when we hear to our surprise of criticism behind our backs.
Maybe at work or school is where we will most likely encounter someone who we don’t get along with. Sometimes it might be a relative who turns hostile.
Can you think of someone who talks behind your back, who opposes you in some way at work, who is unfriendly for no good reason, who swears at you, who takes advantage of you, who even hits you. We don’t tend to keep people like that in our lives. We cut them off.
But Jesus taught a different response. To do good to them in return, to bless them and pray for them. To treat them as we would a friend. To not fight back with violence or fly away from the situation but to respond with a positive action.
In fact Jesus taught non violent resistance. In the first example of turning the other cheek, we avoid both extremes of violently retaliating and passively permitting others to do whatever they want to us.
In Matthew’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, it says if someone strikes you on the right cheek. To strike you on the right cheek with the right hand is actually a back handed slap and was considered a real insult. Has anyone publicly insulted you? I think we can think of some occasions like that. Last week we spoke about going into the marketplace and speaking the Gospel, speaking from the Bible. Then you will definitely encounter hostility and insults. Jesus was teaching not to insult back or to passively accept it but to offer the other cheek. How can I respond differently next time? That’s something to reflect on. What would I do or say differently if I were treating them as a friend?
Luke 6:29b-30
And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
Here Jesus is teaching the response to greed is another positive action, generosity. By doing this, you are letting them know that you know what they did, forgive them and are treating them like your friend by giving them something else. If they have a heart, if God is working in their life, your kind gesture won’t go unnoticed. Often it won’t be gratefully received, that’s very hard to take. Perhaps it’s hard to think of a situation in your life when this would have applied. Maybe it happened with a relative once who took from you way more than they should have. How would could you have responded in a way that was even more generous to them? These are not easy questions! But Jesus helps us with his next statement.
And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
Well you might say, I wouldn’t steal from them in the first place, that’s how I treat others how I want to be treated! But having already crossed that line, Jesus is teaching us what can I do that would show generosity to the offender. Erica Kirk did this when she publicly forgave her husband’s murderer.
Luke 6:32-36
“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
It’s easy to love people who are nice to us and who are a pleasure to be around.
Jesus said the the 2 most important commandments are to love the Lord Our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbour as ourself. The Pharisees had classified neighbours as fellow Jews, they did not include people they didn’t like like the Samaritans. When they heard the parable of the Good Samaritan to love even our enemies they were shocked and even offended. Loving someone like us is easy, loving someone who hates us is not our normal human response.
Here’s the point of what Jesus was teaching. To love our enemies is to show we are like God our Father. He is kind to the unthankful, the evil, he shows mercy to the undeserving. We quickly forget that we are underserving also. We don’t deserve God’s kindness to us, but he forgave us at a time when we barely gave him a second thought when we were living only for ourselves.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Anyone need to pray for an enemy today?
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