What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, Love Your Enemies?
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Atheist Bill Maher is wrong about Christians.
Jesus said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44).
Atheist Bill Maher is within his rights to take whatever view he wants, but before he ridicules Christians, in all fairness, he should at least make an effort to understand the theology. However, usually when atheists do get it, they are no longer atheists.
Mr. Maher quoted the verse above and said Christians are hypocrites if they want to kill the enemy, referring to Osama Bin Laden and his Muslim radicals. He said Jesus taught that you should love your enemies.
Understand four things to clarify the meaning of what Jesus meant when He said Love your enemies:
1. Understand the point he is making
2. Understand whom he is referring to as enemies
3. Understand the context of what he is saying
4. Understand the use of hyperbole.
First: The point Jesus was making is that his disciples need to express the same kind of radical love he expressed for his enemies. Jesus loved his enemies, but he also bravely stood his ground in their presence, unafraid to tell them where they were wrong. Being a loving Christian does not mean to be weak. To the contrary, it means standing for that which is right even in the face of danger. Standing for that which is right requires bringing offenders to justice.
Second: He was talking about personal enemies: The co-worker that hates us, the ex-wife or ex-husband who hates, or the disgruntled neighbor.
Third: Jesus is teaching his disciples to love, which does not include pacifism in war, as Maher was applying it. Jesus was not talking about allowing a national enemy to destroy us while we sit unconcernedly and do nothing.
When I was a boy, occasionally a mad dog would come into the neighborhood. People in the neighborhood loved dogs and there were plenty of them, but someone would shoot and kill the mad dog because the dog meant only harm. Ben laden was a mad dog whose intentions were to bring great harm to anyone who disagreed with his radical theology. He would soon as kill children as anyone to make his point. There was only one alternative to protect the innocent, and that was to search him down and kill him like a mad dog before he did greater harm.
These words of Jesus are not about crime or pacifism in war. Jesus was not talking about national enemies who would destroy us and enslave us. Understand who Jesus is. He is God. He made it clear that those who saw him had seen the Father also. He said,“I and my Father are one,”( John 10:30) .
How did God deal with the enemies of his chosen people, the children of Israel? He commanded Israel to defeat their enimies and kill them and even helped on occasions by raining down stones from heaven.
How did Jesus deal with the unholy moneychangers who dishonored the Temple? He drove them out with a cat of nine tails and overturned their tables.
If we seek to make a new law because of what Jesus is teaching on this occasion that overrides the civil law in Exodus against violent crime, we miss the point entirely. Laws are strictly upheld in Bible times. Lawbreakers were often executed with Gods command. We are to love our enemies, but we are also to uphold the law and punish the lawbreakers. We are to defend our nation form ruthless enemies who want to destroy our freedom and us. We are also to defend ourselves when threatened.
It is a matter of understanding what Jesus meant and what he did not mean. He meant that we are to love but He did not mean that we are to allow criminals to run free and let them do violence as they please. He did not mean that we should never call on the police when wrong is done to us by criminals. He did not mean that we should allow someone to be assaulted without offering help.
Fourth point: Hyperbole is often used to stress a point. Hyperbole is intentional exaggeration for emphasis only. For example, we say, “I almost died laughing”, or “He would kill me if he knew I said that.” We do not mean for these sayings to be taken literal. Jesus is using hyperbole to emphasize the point that we should make every effort not to take revenge, not respond to hatred with hatred, not to mistreat others when they mistreat us, but to plan ways to return goodness for unkindness. Hyperbole is not misrepresenting something, rather; it is understood by all that it is for emphasis only.
Jesus did not mean that when someone took your coat to give him or her the rest of your clothes and be nude. He meant not to take revenge on those who want to cheat us or steal from us. Neither did he mean that we are to turn a check if we are attacked by someone. He meant to try every measure to avoid conflict.
Jesus is teaching to love your enemy. It would be foolish if we applied what Jesus said here to suspend the law, or allow attackers get by with causing bodily harm, or let our national enemies conquer our nation while we sat idly by. President Ronald Reagan was a believer, but he also believed in having a strong national defense and he was not going against Bible teaching.
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and author who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for more than 30 years. There are hundreds of articles to help you on this website (Website Contents) in your personal growth.
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