9. Love Your Enemy [Matthew] - Tim Mackie (The Bible Project)

We’ve been walking with Jesus through the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and today the mountain peak comes into view: agape that crosses enemy lines. Jesus isn’t after behavior tweaks; he’s after a people formed from the inside out—people who refuse to let resentment, contempt, and retaliation corrode relationships. Last week’s rejection of retaliation and today’s call to love enemies belong together. When slapped by Zacchaeus or conscripted by a Roman, the way forward isn’t passivity or payback. It’s an unexpected, active third way—turning the other cheek with dignity, carrying the bag farther than demanded—an embodied protest of grace that refuses to mirror the evil it meets.

Jesus roots this in Scripture and creation. Leviticus 19’s command to love your neighbor was often narrowed to “your people,” but the chapter also insists the immigrant be loved “as yourself.” Jesus stretches the line past every boundary: friends and enemies alike stand under the same sun and rain. God’s generosity is indiscriminate; the weather is a parable of divine grace. If that’s what the Father is like, children of the Father must choose the same posture.

This isn’t sentimentality. Agape isn’t a feeling; it’s a chosen way of seeing and acting. I may not feel warmth for the one who wronged me, but I am commanded to recognize their God-given dignity and to do concrete good. In that moment, Jesus says, we are teleios—mature, complete—most like our Father. This is not a call to enable abuse; it’s a call to resist evil with creative, nonviolent generosity that tells the truth and seeks the other’s good.

History bears witness to the power of this love. Think of Dr. King, standing over a burned cross in his yard, praying blessing over his attackers. He understood that hate cannot drive out hate; only love can transform an enemy into a friend. This is the way of Jesus, who loved us when we were his enemies, and who invites us to his table so that his agape toward us can flow through us.

So here is the invitation for this week: put one face in your mind—the coworker, neighbor, family member you can’t stand and who can’t stand you. Receive Jesus’ agape at the table, and then ask, “What is one surprising, concrete act of kindness I can do?” Step across the line. See what God does—in them, and in you.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Enemy love is active, not passive [09:13] Choosing agape means refusing both violent retaliation and doormat submission. It looks like courageous, creative action that dignifies the offender and exposes injustice without mirroring it. Turning the other cheek and going the second mile are not weak gestures; they are a bold disruption of evil’s script that invites repentance. [09:13]
• 2. Redefining “neighbor” breaks tribal lines [15:52] Leviticus 19 required love within Israel and extended it to the immigrant, but Jesus pushes past even that to include the enemy. In a world of entrenched us/them boundaries, this reframing is not theoretical—it’s costly and concrete. Love’s scope is not set by shared blood, beliefs, or benefits, but by the Father’s heart. [15:52]
• 3. God’s indiscriminate generosity leads our ethics [22:34] Sun and rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous; creation itself exposes our transactional instincts. If the Father gives life-giving gifts to those who despise him, his children cannot withhold goodness from those who despise them. Ethics rooted in grace refuse to calibrate kindness to another’s merit. [22:34]
• 4. Agape is a chosen attitude and act [28:57] Feelings may follow, but obedience comes first. Agape begins by seeing an enemy as an image-bearer and then doing concrete good for their sake. In Jesus’ kingdom, we don’t have the right to treat as unloved those for whom Christ lived and died. [28:57]
• 5. Maturity means boundary-crossing benevolence [35:37] “Be perfect” (teleios) points to wholeness—love that has become complete by reaching past the circle of reciprocity. When we bless those who curse us, we participate in the very life of God. This is the moment when our humanity is most aligned with heaven’s reality. [35:37]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:35] - Love those you cannot stand
• [05:49] - Non-retaliation and enemy-love together
• [09:13] - Active responses: cheek and second mile
• [12:34] - “Love your neighbor”: where from?
• [15:52] - Who is my neighbor in Leviticus?
• [19:09] - Jesus expands love beyond boundaries
• [22:34] - Weather as a window into God
• [25:44] - Psalm 145 and divine generosity
• [28:57] - Agape defined: not a feeling
• [32:17] - Beyond reciprocity and tribal comfort
• [35:37] - Be teleios: mature, complete love
• [38:27] - Participating in God’s own heartbeat
• [41:50] - Dr. King: love transforms enemies
• [44:55] - Communion and one concrete act

1. In Matthew 5:43 Jesus cites the common saying “love your neighbor” and then commands, “love your enemies.” What difference does Jesus point out between how the command has been heard and how he interprets it? [12:34]
2. Jesus gives concrete images — being slapped by Zacchaeus, being forced to carry a soldier’s pack — as examples of real-life insults and coercion. What specific non‑retaliatory responses does Jesus (and the sermon) describe for those situations? How do those responses refuse both passivity and revenge? [09:13]
3. Jesus points to the sun and rain falling on righteous and unrighteous as an argument for indiscriminate generosity. How does that image function as evidence about God’s character and the ethic God’s children should imitate? [22:34]
4. The command “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (teleios) is read as a call to maturity. What behaviors or moments does the sermon say most clearly show someone becoming teleios? [35:37]

1. Jesus expands “neighbor” beyond the immediate community. How would redefining “neighbor” to include enemies reshape ordinary decisions about justice, hospitality, and loyalty in a local church or family? [15:52]
2. Jesus links loving enemies with praying for persecutors and becoming “children of your Father.” How might praying for someone who hurts you change your intentions or the shape of your actions toward them? [19:09]
3. Agape is described as a chosen way of seeing and acting rather than a warm feeling. How does framing love as a deliberate choice affect the way a disciple discerns when to act, when to set boundaries, and when to refuse to enable harm? [28:57]

1. God’s generosity is indiscriminate (sun and rain). Who is one person you instinctively exclude from your kindness because you think they don’t deserve it? What one small, concrete act of unexpected kindness could you do for them this week? [44:55]
2. Turning the other cheek and going the second mile are presented as active, dignity‑preserving disruptions of evil. Think of a recent conflict: what would a “third way” response (neither revenge nor doormat) have looked like in that situation? Be specific about words or actions. [09:13]
3. Loving enemies begins by choosing to see their image-bearing dignity even when warm feelings are absent. Name a boundary you must keep so you don’t enable abuse or harm. Then describe one nonviolent, generous act you could offer that honors both the boundary and the other person’s dignity. [28:57]
4. Prayer for persecutors is tied to becoming like the Father. What concrete, short prayer habit can you try this week for the difficult person on your list (for example, a two‑minute prayer each morning asking God to bless them)? Commit to a specific time and length. [19:09]
5. Maturity (teleios) is shown when love crosses the circle of reciprocity. What spiritual practice (confession, accountability with one person, scripture reading, or service) will you adopt to help you act in that mature, boundary‑crossing way? Describe when you will do it this week. [35:37]
6. The sermon invited imagining one surprising, concrete act toward a person you can’t stand. What act will you try this week? Who will hold you accountable to follow through, and when will you report back to the group? [44:55]