Supernatural Love

Luke continues the challenge Jesus gave in the beatitudes, and Jesus takes the life of a disciple to the next level. Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” That kind of love is not natural. It is supernatural.

The word love gets used for all kinds of things, from ice cream to family to God, but the love Jesus commands is agape. Storge is family love. Eros is romantic love. Philia is friendship love. Agape is sacrificial love, and it is not based on the merit of the person being loved. Agape love says love is a choice of the will, not a response to someone else’s actions or acceptance.

Jesus gives that love hands, words, and prayers. Supernatural deeds do good to those who hate. Supernatural words bless those who curse. Supernatural prayers want the very best for those who mistreat. Jesus is not asking for something creepy or boundaryless. Jesus is calling for a heart that seeks another person’s good instead of personal revenge.

The slap on the cheek and the taking of the coat show humiliation and mistreatment. The old world naturally says to pay it back harder, to make sure the other person never tries it again. Even the Old Testament law of “eye for eye” limited revenge, but Jesus changes the way the disciple thinks altogether. Jesus moves the heart away from retribution and toward love, generosity, and discernment.

Jesus also says there is no credit for natural love. Even sinners love those who love them, do good to those who do good to them, and lend when they expect full repayment. Gang members can take care of their own. Natural love does not make Jesus’ people different. Supernatural love shows the family resemblance of the Most High.

God is the reward. Jesus died not only for friends, but for enemies. The Holy Spirit makes possible what human nature cannot produce. Peter’s words about sharing in the divine nature point to a real transformation, not becoming God, but God working through a person until that person begins to think, want, and act more like Jesus.

The story of the Homers taking in the hated Honeckers shows what enemy love can look like in real life. They had real wounds. Their children had suffered because of that regime. Yet grace made them do good, bless, pray, and give shelter when no one would have blamed them for walking away.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Agape love is chosen love [05:13] Agape love does not wait for the other person to deserve it, ask for it, or return it. This love is rooted in the will, which means it can act even when feelings lag far behind. Jesus’ command exposes how much natural love depends on safety, affection, and mutual benefit. Supernatural love starts where natural love runs out. [05:13]
• 2. Prayer makes hatred impossible [10:45] True prayer for an enemy cannot sit comfortably beside hatred. A heart that honestly asks God for another person’s good is already being moved away from revenge. Twisted prayer can disguise bitterness, but real prayer seeks redemption, healing, and mercy. The act of praying becomes one of the Spirit’s tools for changing the one who prays. [10:45]
• 3. Revenge is not kingdom love [14:32] Jesus does not erase wisdom, boundaries, or self-care, but he does confront the desire to get even. The kingdom heart asks a different question than the world asks. Instead of asking how to pay back harm, it asks what love and righteousness require in that moment. That shift is not weakness, but Spirit-shaped strength. [14:32]
• 4. Natural love earns no credit [17:26] Love for those who already love back does not make Jesus’ people distinct. Even sinners can protect their own circle, return favors, and lend when repayment is certain. Jesus presses beyond ordinary human reciprocity into a love that looks like the Father. The mark of discipleship appears when goodness flows toward those who cannot or will not repay it. [17:26]
• 5. The Spirit makes enemies neighbors [23:30] Enemy love is not possible by human nature alone. The new birth brings the Holy Spirit into daily life, and the Spirit begins the long work of transformation. That work does not make a person divine, but it does make God’s nature visible through ordinary obedience. Love for enemies becomes evidence that Jesus is actually ruling the heart.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:22] - Continuing Through Luke
• [01:38] - A New Love Declared
• [03:12] - Four Kinds of Love
• [05:13] - Agape as Supernatural Love
• [07:07] - Doing Good to Enemies
• [08:36] - Blessing Those Who Curse
• [10:45] - Praying for the Mistreated
• [12:01] - Turning the Other Cheek
• [14:32] - Beyond Retribution
• [17:26] - No Credit for Natural Love
• [20:40] - Becoming Children of the Most High
• [23:30] - The Holy Spirit Makes It Possible
• [25:52] - The Honecker Story
• [29:23] - Willing to Love Enemies

Bible Reading

Luke 6:27-36
“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. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” [01:38]

Exodus 21:23-25
“But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” [13:44]

2 Peter 1:4
“by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” [24:20]

Revelation 21:7
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” [20:57]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 6:27-28, what four actions does Jesus command toward enemies and mistreaters? [01:38]
2. In Luke 6:29-30, what are the two examples Jesus gives of being personally wronged or humiliated? [12:01]
3. According to Luke 6:32-34, what kinds of love, good deeds, and lending does Jesus say even sinners can do? [17:35]
4. What differences were pointed out between storge, eros, philia, and agape love, and which one is Jesus calling for here? [05:13]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus commands people to love enemies, do good, bless, and pray. Why does this kind of love have to be supernatural rather than merely natural? [23:30]
2. Jesus says to turn the other cheek and not demand goods back. How should these examples be understood without turning them into a call to ignore all wisdom, boundaries, or self-protection? [14:43]
3. Jesus says there is no credit in loving only those who love back. What does that reveal about the difference between ordinary human love and the love that marks the children of the Most High? [19:21]
4. 2 Peter 1:4 speaks of becoming “partakers of the divine nature.” How does that help explain how a Christian can begin to think and act more like Jesus without becoming God? [24:20]

Application questions

1. Is there a person right now who feels more like an enemy than a neighbor? What would doing good to that person actually look like this week in a way that is wise, sincere, and not fake? [07:21]
2. When someone speaks harshly, spreads hurtful words, or clearly wants harm, what is the usual first reaction of the heart? What would it look like to bless instead of strike back with words? [10:10]
3. Prayer for an enemy pushes the heart away from hatred. Is there someone who needs to be prayed for by name this week, and what would it mean to ask God for that person’s real good rather than simply asking God to deal with them? [10:53]
4. Revenge feels strong in the moment, but it does not reflect kingdom love. Where is the pull toward getting even strongest right now—in family life, work, online, or somewhere else? What would a generous and discerning response look like there? [15:26]
5. Loving people who already love back is natural. Where might life be built mostly around safe, mutual, easy relationships? How might Jesus be calling for love that moves beyond that circle? [17:40]
6. The Holy Spirit makes possible what human nature cannot produce. In what situations is there the strongest sense of “I cannot do this on my own”? How might that become an invitation to depend more honestly on the Spirit? [24:02]
7. The world needs to see supernatural love through the people of Jesus. In a neighborhood, workplace, school, or family setting, where would enemy-love stand out most clearly right now? What small act of mercy could make that visible? [31:16]