Jesus on Hate
About this series
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle:
That requires obedience to him above all else.
That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil.
That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day.
About this talk
Matthew 5:38-48; cf. Luke 6:27-36
Jesus turns so many expectations upside down. In his kingdom that even extends to how we relate to those who cause us people tremendous trouble. In v 38 he quotes the Old Testament command, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,” which was given to ensure proportionate, rather than indiscriminate, punishment - in other words, a punishment should fit the crime, not exceed it through anger and vengeance. Jesus upends that principle with a call to his disciples to allow the person who mistreats them to make further requests and even dish out further mistreatment - it doesn’t get much more counter-cultural than that!
In v 43 he quotes another Old Testament command - “Love your neighbour” - and adds something commonly believed but not based in Scripture - “hate your enemy.” Instead, he calls his disciples to, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
But how difficult it is to have such an attitude! Our natural response is to want to get equal, to seek pay back for the offender - “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” All of which tells us that to love our enemies will only be possible if there is a super-natural power available to us - which is part of the wider message of the Sermon on the Mount, along with the fact that because we are incapable of being all that Jesus taught, we need one (Jesus) who has lived for us the righteous life that God requires.
The reasons Jesus gives for this counter-cultural attitude of love instead of hate are:
i) v 45: “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 your Father treats all people with grace, so should you. Hence, he adds, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
ii) vs 46-47: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” His kingdom is a sacrificial, gracious one and his people must therefore do more than simply love those who love them.
iii) Plus the implicit example of Jesus himself who loved his enemies (see Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21).
In Jesus’ day
Keeping a distance from those who were not like you was a basic part of life for the privileged. The famous prayer of a pious Jew - “Blessed are you O God, King of the Universe, who has not made me a Gentile, a slave or a woman” - highlights the contempt with which male Jews viewed others in God’s creation.
In our day
We live in a very judgmental age. For all the talk of tolerance, critical attitudes seem to be more abundant than ever, especially through the channel of social media. Every detail of the lives of public figures are scrutinised in great detail; popular news reports about politicians, sports stars and celebrities are filled with gossip; the average person feels increasingly emboldened to publish their judgements from the distance of their online accounts.
So what a contrast the counter-cultural people of God can be. To love instead of hate; to welcome those who are not like us and who disagree with us; to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” seeking, by the power of the Spirit, to respond graciously even when we are criticised and mistreated.
Audio only
