HCCWG | 07.19.26 | Jeremy Cox | Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:38-48 sets up one of the hard sayings of Jesus with a command that does not come naturally: love enemies instead of paying them back. Jesus starts with “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth,” but that Old Testament law was a legal law, not a personal excuse for revenge. The law of retribution controlled repayment so that the punishment fit the crime, but Jesus moves the issue into personal life and says not to repay evil with evil.

Jesus gives four pictures of what that kind of response looks like. Turning the other cheek is not about letting abuse go unchecked, but about refusing to dishonor someone back when dishonor comes. Giving the coat also is a picture of generosity that is willing to give up something precious, even when someone does not deserve it. Going the second mile takes the hated Roman requisition mile and turns it into a willing act that goes further than expected. Giving and lending presses generosity toward the one in need, while not meaning that disciples become doormats, enable sin, ignore the law, or pretend consequences do not matter.

Jesus then makes the command even clearer: love enemies, pray for persecutors, do good to those who hate, bless those who curse, and pray for those who mistreat. Love is not just a feeling or a nice word. Love prays for the person who has caused pain. Love serves in practical, humble, sacrificial ways. Love blesses with words, both externally and internally, even when the natural response is to tear someone down.

God stands behind the whole command. Matthew 5 says the Father sends sun and rain on the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous. God’s children are called to look like their Father, and the Father returns good for evil. Romans 5 makes the point even heavier: God loved sinners while they were still enemies. Jesus lived, died, took sin and punishment on himself, and rose again before anyone had figured it out or earned it.

The call to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect points to God as the only real model. The disciple cannot manufacture this kind of enemy-love by sheer effort. The Holy Spirit must do that work in the heart. Loving enemies means responding how Jesus wants, praying for them, serving them, blessing them, and remembering that God has already done that for his enemies first.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Respond like Jesus, not instinct Jesus does not pretend that being wronged feels easy or natural. The text gives a real choice between the response that feels deserved and the response that looks like Christ. Enemy-love begins at the point where retaliation feels justified, but obedience refuses to let evil write the next sentence. [33:19]
• 2. Prayer stands beside the enemy Prayer for an enemy is not denial of pain or a shortcut around justice. Bonhoeffer’s line gives the weight of it: through prayer, a disciple goes to the enemy, stands by his side, and pleads for him to God. That kind of prayer moves the wounded heart away from revenge and into the strange mercy of the cross. [46:31]
• 3. Service makes love visible Jesus does not leave love as something claimed only with words. Doing good to those who hate turns love into practical, humble, sacrificial service. That kind of action does not excuse evil, but it refuses to let hatred set the terms for faithfulness. [47:06]
• 4. Blessing confronts hidden contempt Blessing those who curse reaches deeper than polite behavior. The hardest battleground may be the internal words, the thoughts that quietly tear down the person who caused harm. Jesus calls for a heart and a mouth that remember God loves that person, even when that person is not acting like it. [49:44]
• 5. God loved enemies first The command rests on the character of God, not on the worthiness of the enemy. Romans 5 says Christ died while sinners were still enemies, before repentance had cleaned anything up. Enemy-love is possible only because God has already shown what returning good for evil looks like.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:04] - Loving Enemies Begins
• [27:23] - Dishes, Anger, and Payback
• [30:29] - Matthew 5 and Hard Sayings
• [31:09] - Eye for Eye in Context
• [33:19] - Two Ways to Respond
• [34:17] - Turning the Other Cheek
• [36:49] - Giving the Coat Too
• [37:51] - Going the Second Mile
• [39:06] - Giving and Lending Wisely
• [43:22] - Love, Pray, Serve, Bless
• [45:12] - Praying for Enemies
• [47:06] - Serving Those Who Hate
• [48:20] - Blessing Those Who Curse
• [51:08] - Why God’s Children Love Enemies
• [58:30] - Steel Toed Boots and Response

Bible Reading

Matthew 5:38-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [30:42] [31:01]

Romans 5:8-10
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” [53:56]

Luke 6:27-28
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” [43:44]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 5:38-42, what are the four examples Jesus gives of refusing to repay evil with evil? [33:56]
2. What difference is made between “eye for an eye” as a legal principle and personal retaliation in everyday life? [35:03]
3. According to Luke 6:27-28, what four actions are named toward enemies and those who mistreat us?
4. In Matthew 5:45-48, what reasons are given for loving enemies, and what does the Father do for both the evil and the good? [51:58]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says not to repay evil with evil in personal life. How does that help explain what “turn the other cheek” means, and what does it not mean? [35:47]
2. Jesus commands love for enemies through prayer, service, and blessing. Why do these actions go deeper than simply avoiding revenge? [50:29]
3. Matthew 5 says the Father sends sun and rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. How does that picture help explain what it means to be children who resemble their Father? [52:08]
4. Romans 5 says Christ died for people while they were still enemies. How does that truth change the way a believer thinks about someone who feels undeserving of love? [54:39]

Application questions

1. When someone wrongs you, what kind of response feels most natural to you right away: getting even, shutting down, speaking sharply, or something else? What would it look like in that same situation to respond how Jesus wants instead? [33:30]
2. Is there a person in your life right now who is hard to love because of hurt, disrespect, or ongoing tension? What would it look like this week to pray for that person honestly and specifically? [45:12]
3. Jesus says to do good to those who hate you. Is there a practical act of service you could offer to a difficult person without pretending the hurt did not matter? What makes that hard? [47:06]
4. Blessing an enemy includes both spoken words and inward thoughts. Where is the greater struggle for you right now: what you say out loud or what you say internally? What would it look like to bless that person in both places? [49:34]
5. Some situations involve real harm, and loving an enemy does not mean becoming a doormat or ignoring consequences. Have you ever struggled to tell the difference between mercy and enabling? What wisdom would help in that kind of situation? [40:14]
6. God loved his enemies first. How does remembering your own story with God soften your heart toward someone who does not deserve kindness from you? [55:45]
7. Jesus points to the Father as the model, and this kind of love cannot be manufactured by willpower alone. Where do you most need the Holy Spirit’s help right now to love someone beyond your natural ability? [58:18]