Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

Jesus' Radical Teaching (Part II) | Series: Jesus-The Perfect Example | 03-30-08

Jesus' Radical Teaching (Part II)
Luke 6:17-49
Series:  Jesus - The Perfect Example

  I. Love your enemies by doing good to them.

       A. "Bless those who curse you."
       B. "Pray for those who mistreat you."
       C. When insulted, do not retaliate. 

 II. "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

III. Why should I love my enemies?

       A. "Your reward will be great."
       B. You will be like God.

Full Text 

How should this daughter respond to her father? 

Can you imagine both you and your spouse being fired just because you found out about your father’s sin?

How do you respond when someone stabs you in the back?

How do you deal with someone who hurts you?

After selecting the 12 Apostles, Jesus goes down to a flat area and begins teaching a huge crowd of people from all over.

He begins by giving 4 blessings to the masses who were following Him.  Then He turns to the Pharisees and gives them 4 woes.  The Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders, were there to find something wrong with what Jesus said. They were already trying to figure out what they could do to Jesus.  Jesus was just beginning his ministry and already He has enemies.  So in this next section Jesus tells us how to deal with those opposing us.  His teachings were radical.  His teachings go against human nature.  His teachings are counter-culture.  And Jesus lived as He taught.  You don’t get any more powerful than that.  Luke 6:27-31.  “27But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and  if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it  back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  Jesus tells us to love our enemies.  Talk about radical teaching!  Talk about going against human nature!  Talk about counter-culture!  Try to picture the shock of these people.  They hated the Roman solders who oppressed them.  They hated the Arab nations around them [Yes, that’s been going on for thousands of years.] Many of them had employers who abused them.  Some of them had friends and family that took advantage of them.  And Jesus is standing there telling them to love these people?  How ridiculous!  And because this is such a radical concept, Jesus has to tell us how we are to love our enemies.  The love Jesus is talking about is NOT some mushy-gushy feeling. Loving your enemy is demonstrated in actions.

I. Love your enemies by doing good to them.

How do we do good to those who oppose us?

1st Jesus says in Luke 6:28,

A. “Bless those who curse you.”

When someone is putting you down or even cussing you out, it is hard to wish them well.  In fact, it’s hard to not retaliate and put them down.  But that’s what makes us Christians different!

Then Jesus gives us a key to doing that in Verse 28,

 B. “Pray for those who mistreat you.”

Not only are we not to curse these people back, we are to pray for them!  Sometimes God doesn’t play fair.

Have you ever almost enjoyed being angry with someone?  You don’t realize how much you want to hate someone until you start to pray for them.  Let’s be honest.  How do you hate someone while praying for them?  It just doesn’t seem right praying, “God, make that guy trip going down the steps and have him break both arms.”  It just doesn’t appropriate to pray, “God, grow a big wart on the end of her nose.”  In fact, when you pray for someone, your heart melts.  You realize you are in need of God’s forgiveness.  So instead of asking for harm to come to the person, you ask God to change the person. You ask God to work out the situation. You ask God for wisdom and strength. You ask God to open the person’s heart so they can experience God’s grace.  And the anger and hatred dissolve.  When you pray for an enemy, you are changed. You become like Jesus. Remember, when Jesus was on the cross He prayed, “Father forgive them?”

Then Jesus says in Luke 6:29

C. When insulted, do not retaliate.

“If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the  other also.”  I’ve read that to be slapped on the right cheek  by the back of the hand was considered a horrible insult.  That would be like someone giving you an obscene gesture  or calling you a really bad name.  Matthew 26: 67-68 says that when Jesus was on trial before the Sanhedrin they blindfolded him and slapped Him in the face and they sneered at Him, “Tell us who hit you?”.  It was the ultimate insult.  How do you respond when someone deliberately insults you or intentionally hurts you?  Are you quick to insult and hurt back?  Are you like the poem that says, “Please forgive the words I uttered yesterday in haste. I thought of others today much worse and those seemed such a waste!”

Instinctively when we’re hit, we want to hit back. When we’re insulted, we want to respond with a zinger that goes even deeper.  In fact if you are good at returning sarcasm the world applauds you as being quick-witted!  Toots is a restaurant up on Fields Ertle.  They have signs up all over.  One of them says, “I don’t want to be successful.  I want to be just like you!”  We applaud those kind of verbal volleys.  But Jesus urged His followers to rise above that and not retaliate against evil.  He said, “If someone hurts you, don’t even try to hurt back. 

Now, we’re not talking about teasing each other.  We’re talking about dealing with people who want to destroy you. There are cases where people try to apply these words of Jesus, but they don’t really fit.  People take these words out of context.  For instance, a woman who is being physically abused by her husband.  If a man beats his wife, she is not obligated just to stand there and take it.  She is not to enable him to continually abuse her.  She needs to get out of the situation and demand that he repent and prove himself healed before returning to the marriage.

When Jesus’ enemies threatened to throw him over a cliff outside Nazareth, He didn’t passively let them hurt him.  He walked through the crowd and went someplace else.  Jesus’ words do not apply to a mate who is physically abusive, or to anyone being abused.  Remember, the slap was not considered physically violent in that culture.  It was an insult.  This whole idea of any kind of physical contact being considered violent is a very new thing.  For instance, when I grew up, it was rare to find someone who had never been spanked.  And often they used switches, belts, paddles, whatever was handy.  Ask anyone from my generation or older.  A spanking wasn’t considered abusive.  A spanking was a show of love.  Our parents cared about us and about our character.  We are all glad our parents loved us enough to discipline us so we would learn self-discipline.

Some other examples:
How many of you guys ever wrestled around when you were young? 
How many of you wrestled around with your kids?
How many of you traded punches in the arm, just friends horsing around?
How many of you have ever been pushed or pushed back  while in line when you were young?

These things were not considered violent back then. It was just being kids.  It doesn’t mean a teacher didn’t yell at you for pushing in line, But it was no big deal.  Now, I am not promoting violence. But what I am saying is that this was considered an insult, rather than a violent action.  So, Jesus is saying to take the insult.  He is not saying you have to put up with physical abuse.

II. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Luke 6:29-31:  “29If someone takes your cloak, do not stop  him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks  you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not  demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them  do to you.”

We love verse 31. We want people to treat us like they want to be treated.  In fact, when someone treats us wrong, we are quick to quote this verse so they will be nice to us!  Right???  Even though we love to quote this verse to others we don’t always like to apply it to ourselves.  Sometimes we want to be selfish or to get our own way.

Now, there was a difference between the tunic and the cloak.  The tunic was the garment worn closest to the skin.  it was kind of like a pair of heavy pajamas.  Most people had several tunics. The cloak was the outer garment that sometimes doubled at night as a blanket.  They took their cloak off when they worked in the field.  They threw them down in front of Jesus during the triumphal entry.  Blind Bartimaeus threw his coat off when he hurried to Jesus for healing.  Exodus 22 teaches that every person had an absolute right to his cloak since it was vital to existence.  You were not allowed to sue someone for their cloak. If that’s all the person had, he was considered bankrupt. 

Picture the scene. You’re working outside. It’s hot (we are just pretending here!).  So you take off your cloak and hang it on a tree branch near by.  You also brought an extra tunic to change in to after you are done working and getting all hot and sweaty.  As you’re working, you look over and see a homeless person.  He is literally wearing rags.  He is thin and filthy.  And he is stealing your cloak.  You don’t say anything.  You stand there watching.  As the homeless person begins to reach for your extra change of clothes, your tunic, he looks up and your eyes meet.  He knows you know what he’s doing.  He knows he’s been caught.  But you don’t move a muscle.  Suddenly he grabs your tunic and runs.  And you let him go.  How many of us could stand there and let someone take something that belongs to us?  Now, the context here concerns generosity.  It is helping the needy.

In Verse 30 Jesus said, “Give to everyone who asks you,  and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand  it back.”  That is so hard to do.  I don’t mind helping someone in need, but I don’t like it if someone expects it, or worse, steals it.  The need to steal to survive isn’t so great in our country.  Remember, their government had no social services.  This is millennia before the Salvation Army was even thought of or food stamps, or any other give away program.  So poor people sometimes became thieves to survive.  That didn’t make it right.  We’re not saying stealing is or was OK.  But there were more desperate people back then.  We’re not talking about someone breaking into your home.  We’re talking about someone trying to survive, literally!!  Jesus was saying His followers should be known for their generosity.  His followers should be known for following the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  If you were desperate, would you want to be thrown into a 1st century prison? Or, would you want someone to be merciful to you?  Would you want someone to help you out?  Of course we would.  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  We’re quick to apply that to others when we want a break, but when it comes to applying the Golden Rule to ourselves, it goes absolutely against our gut instinct.

Today we need to apply this principle in other ways.  When you tip the waitress, do you tip her the way you would like to be tipped if you were a waitress? “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  You purchase something that doesn’t work. When you return it, are you pleasant and grateful for the new one you get, just like you would want to be treated if you worked behind the returns desk?  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  Not long ago I was waiting on some tires to be put on Marsha’s car.  A guy came in wearing a church jacket.  When they told him what was wrong with his car,he went off on them.  I came very close to taking him outside and letting him know what he was doing to the cause of Christ.  But he calmed down and got friendly.  How did the owner and manager of that shop feel when  they got chewed out for something that wasn’t their fault?  Would that man like it if someone did that to him?  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

When you are dealing with people throughout the week, how do you come across?  Would you even realize it if you jumped on someone?  Is that type of behavior just part of your nature?  When you go to bed at night, as you talk to God, review the day and ask yourself, “Did I apply the Golden Rule to myself today?”  Don’t rationalize.  You can’t do a snow job on God.  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Now,

III. Why should I love my enemies?

Luke 6:32-36.  “32If you love those who love you, what  credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love  them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to  you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that.  34And 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. 35But love  your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them  without expecting to get anything back. Then your  reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most  High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  Jesus is calling you to a higher standard.  He wants you to be different than everyone else in the world.  Jesus wants you to be a bright light in this dark world.  And then He gives you 2 reasons why you should be different and love your enemies.

First, in Verse 35

A. Your reward will be great.

As the old song goes,  “This world is not my home.  I’m just a passin’ through.”  We look to the next life.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:17  “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for  us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”  There will come a time when there will be no more tears. No more mourning.  And we will be immortal.  And yet, sometimes we are rewarded in this life.  There was a woman in Michigan who was a true thorn in the flesh.  She was not shy about telling about everything that was wrong in the church, everything wrong about each person in the church, and everything wrong with me, the worst minister in history.

Sometimes you wonder why people go to a church if they really believe half of the things they say.  Well, she wound up in a hospital in Canada.  Even her own children wouldn’t visit her over there.  But Marsha and I did.  Over night she became one of our biggest supporters.  Sadly, all stories of enemies don’t end this way.  But even if they don’t, your reward in Heaven will be great.

Did you see the movie, “Bruce Almighty”?  Here’s a guy who wanted to be like God and got his wish!  Wouldn’t that be awesome!  What would you do if you could be like God?  Just say the word, and it would be 80 degrees outside.  Your car could turn into a Corvette or a Mustang.  You could travel around the world without a plane!  Wouldn’t it be awesome to be like God!  Well, Jesus says in Verses 35 and 36 that  you should love your enemies because.

B. You will be like God.

Luke 6:35-36.  “35Then your reward will be great, and you  will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father  is merciful.”

Jesus says you will be just like your Father, God!  No, you won’t be able to pull the full moon closer to earth.  No, you won’t be able to walk on water.  But you will have the ATTRIBUTES of God.  God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Jesus said something similar in Matthew 5:44-45 when He said, “44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. [Why?] He causes his  sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”  God gives good things to the evil people who oppose Him.  When we do good for people who oppose us, it makes us just like God!  What higher honor could you have?  We know first hand the mercy of God towards sinners,  don’t we!

Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While  we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Do you know first hand the mercy of God?  Has He forgiven you of all your sins?  If not, come forward as we stand and sing and we’ll help you confess your belief in Him and be baptized into Him.  Or maybe you’ve already done that and you would like to place your membership with us.  Come forward as we stand and sing.