Digging Deeper – A Radical Statement

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 4, 2026

 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 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. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 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. 35 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. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:27-36 (ESV)


A RADICAL STATEMENT

I think we often read the phrase “love your enemies,” and the words feel familiar. We have heard this before. This love is a common theme with Jesus and throughout the New Testament. We hear it, and we think of our enemies as people opposed to us ideologically or socially. But if we lived in the first century, when Roman-occupied Judea was under oppression, we might not hear this in the same way.

The Jewish community hearing this address was under Roman rule and at the tip of the Roman sword. The enemies of the Jews did not make social media posts; they crucified. “Love your enemies” is a radical statement! More than radical, it would have been an outrageous statement in the world in which Jesus was preaching.

Another aspect of the statement “love your enemy” is that it was something new, not taught by any religious leader before. Others had taught their followers not to harm their enemies or to refrain from fighting back against them, but the idea of loving your enemy seems to originate with Jesus.

Even though it is not explicitly stated before Jesus, God had been telling His people how to act toward their enemies from the beginning of their relationship. “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him” (Exodus 23:4–5, ESV). The writer of Proverbs also addresses how to treat an enemy: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away His anger from him” (Proverbs 24:17–18).

But Jesus wants His listeners to understand the heart of God explicitly toward people created in His image, even enemies. Not just to do no harm or even to do good to them, but to love them.

Love the ones who strike you.
Love the ones who oppress you.
Love the ones who cheat you.
Love the ones you do not even like.

And why should we love them and not pour out our wrath on them? Because Jesus wants us to act like the Father. God is “kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” Take some time today to make your list of enemies. But remember, you are not making a “hit list”; you are making a “love list.”

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *