The True Meaning of Jesus’ Command to “Love Your Enemies”
In these last days, the human world is filled with darkness, evil, greed, jealousy, hatred, violence, lies, conflict, war, and many other problems. How, then, did Jesus teach people to overcome these problems and live according to the will of God?
1. Love Your Enemies and Pray for Those Who Persecute You
Matthew 5:43–44
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:45–46
“That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love only those who love you, what reward will you receive? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?”
Matthew 5:47–48
“And if you greet only your own brothers and sisters, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
2. Do Good to Those Who Hate You
Luke 6:27–28
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.”
Luke 6:29–31
“If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other also. If someone takes your outer garment, do not withhold your inner garment from him. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Luke 6:32–34
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? 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? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.”
3. Be Merciful, Just as Your Father Is Merciful
Luke 6:35–36
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend without expecting anything in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
4. Do Not Take Revenge, but Leave Room for God’s Wrath
Romans 12:17–19
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Beloved, do not take revenge, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
5. Do Not Be Overcome by Evil, but Overcome Evil with Good
Romans 12:20–21
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
From these Scriptures, we can see that Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who persecute and mistreat us, refrain from taking revenge, refuse to repay evil with evil, and instead overcome evil with good.
But how can those whose hearts remain attached to the world truly understand and live according to these teachings?
6. Jesus’ Definition of Love
What, then, is the difference between what Jesus means by “loving your enemies” and the way human beings ordinarily understand love?
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever continues to believe in Him should not perish but continue to have eternal life.”
From this Scripture, we see the ultimate expression of God’s love: He gave His only begotten Son so that people might come to know Jesus, receive Him, believe in Him, and receive eternal life.
Therefore, loving our enemies should not be limited merely to treating them kindly or refusing to retaliate against them. The highest spiritual expression of loving our enemies is to desire their eternal good—to help them come to know Jesus, receive Jesus, believe in Jesus, and receive eternal life.
But how can those whose hearts are set on the world understand the spiritual meaning of such love?
7. To Love Jesus Is to Keep His Word
John 14:21
Jesus said: “The one having My commands and keeping them is the one loving Me. The one loving Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
True love for Jesus is therefore not merely an emotional feeling or a verbal confession. To love Jesus means to receive His commandments and continue to obey His words.
8. Those Who Keep Jesus’ Word Experience His Abiding Presence
John 14:23
Jesus answered:
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
Jesus teaches that those who truly love Him will keep His word. The Father will love them, and the Father and the Son will come to them and make Their home with them.
9. Jesus Opens the Minds of His Disciples
Luke 24:45
“Then He opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures.”
The disciples had heard the Scriptures, but Jesus opened their minds so that they could truly understand them. Spiritual understanding, therefore, is more than simply reading words; we need the Lord to open our minds to understand His truth.
10. Abide in Jesus
John 15:4–5
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
From these Scriptures, we see the importance of abiding in Christ and keeping His word. Those who abide in Christ can increasingly understand, receive, and live according to the words of Jesus. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, we cannot bear true spiritual fruit apart from Christ.
Conclusion
Only when a person loves Jesus with all his heart and soul, keeps His word, and abides in Him can he experience the abiding presence of Christ. As Christ abides in him, the Lord opens his mind and heart so that he may understand the Scriptures, enter more deeply into the truth of Jesus’ words, and live according to them.
Jesus’ command to “love your enemies” therefore goes far beyond human affection. It means refusing hatred and revenge, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, praying for those who persecute us, showing mercy, and overcoming evil with good.
Yet Christian love also seeks the eternal good of another person. Therefore, one of the highest expressions of loving an enemy is to desire that the enemy come to know Jesus Christ, receive Him, believe in Him, and receive eternal life.
If a person’s mind and heart have not been opened by Jesus, how can he fully understand and enter into this spiritual meaning of “love your enemies”—not merely refusing to hate an enemy, but desiring that even an enemy may come to know Jesus Christ, believe in Him, and receive eternal life?
This is the love revealed by God in Jesus Christ: not returning evil for evil, but overcoming evil with good, seeking the salvation of others, and desiring that even those who oppose us may ultimately receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
