Matthew 5:43-48

Good morning. Open up your copy of God's Word to Matthew 5.

So those of you who are kind of new on the scene, we've been going through a series for quite a while now,

! Just an exposition on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

And it has been challenging. It's been, let me think the right word,

it has made me really care about not just what I do, but why I do it.

And God has used it to really work in the hearts of the people here.

And today we'll pick up in verse 43 of Matthew 5.

And previous weeks, a lot has been talked about.

Nathan has, I guess, explained this very well, but just by way of review,

following his baptism by John and following the calling of his disciples,

Jesus began his earthly ministry in Galilee.

And Galilee roughly had a population of around 300,000, roughly, in a bunch of towns and villages.

And he's teaching in the synagogues and he's proclaiming the gospel,

the good news about the coming of the kingdom of God.

And he is healing diseases among the people.

As we see often in the scripture, Jesus combines, like his earthly ministry,

with teaching and acts of mercy and meeting the needs of physical ailments and physical needs.

And Jesus himself has come as the embodiment of the kingdom of God.

He is the king and he has come in humiliation,

walking among those created in the image of God.

And as we see, the word of Jesus spreads all over the place.

The acts that he's doing, the sick and the afflicted and the demon-possessed,

everyone is coming to encounter him and to hear him in hopes that he could heal them.

We read in chapter 4, verse 25,

If you skip ahead in chapter 5,

Seeing the crowds, he went up on a mountain.

And when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them.

So standing on a high plain overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum,

Jesus began teaching his disciples and expounding on the reality of what it meant to be a citizen in God's kingdom

and living in his presence in the context of everyday life.

So that's what we hope to accomplish here.

Here, some of you again who are sort of new at this church,

we don't just want to teach from the Bible.

We just don't want to tell you what we want to say from the Bible.

We hopefully preach the Bible itself.

And that's what the power behind the word of God is.

It will impact our daily living.

So those who belong to Jesus, those who belong to the King and His kingdom,

are characterized by certain things that are so countercultural to a sinful world around us.

And a couple of the main themes that you'll pick up on in the Sermon on the Mount.

Throughout His discourse, Jesus is constantly seeking to teach His listeners

the difference between external and internal righteousness.

And He does this by contrasting the outward or external righteousness

of the Jewish religious leaders of the day.

And He contrasts that against the true inward righteousness that God desires.

And there's a huge difference between the two.

There's a huge difference between just outward holy living

and what really is on the inside.

People can look really great on the outside, as we all know.

A lot of us are really good at putting on a show for other people

and kind of displaying how moral and upright we are, humanly speaking.

Yet, apart from God, inwardly we are full of pride, anger, envy, sin.

Jesus is pushing the point that it's not just on the outside what we see in somebody's life,

but what really matters is what God is doing on the inside of someone.

And He rebukes the Jewish religious leaders constantly for their wrong thinking about external righteousness,

what true righteousness is.

In Matthew 23, verse 27, He says,

Matthew 23:27

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You're like whitewashed tombs.

You look great on the outside.

You're nice and clean.

But inwardly, you're dead men's bones.

And that's the outward appearance that they were seeking to put on,

as they have everything put together.

But inwardly, they were full of hypocrisy.

So, as our Lord points out, the righteousness of the religious leaders was purely external

and insufficient to be a part of God's kingdom.

Astoundingly, we see this as the measure constantly in the Scripture,

definitely in the Sermon on the Mount,

that God demands perfect righteousness,

which, humanly speaking, cannot be achieved by any of our own good works, our morality.

Nothing can achieve this righteousness.

So, again, some of you here today may think of yourself as a very good, moral, and upright person.

And you might be compared to most humans.

If you would just, you know, pause and think about the most upstanding person you know,

the best person you can think of,

who's very moral and works very hard to do a lot of things for other people.

But in truth, even they cannot measure up to the righteous, holy, perfect standard of God Almighty.

This is why Jesus says a little earlier in Matthew 5, verse 20,

Matthew 5:20

I tell you that unless this righteousness that you're seeking exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And that's scary because they were the best.

They were the most upstanding.

They were the most moral.

They were the most religious.

And Jesus is saying, you have to even go way above that

because even what they do falls short of the righteousness that God requires.

So it's not an outward righteousness to show how good we look.

It's an inward righteousness that shows how powerful and gracious God is.

So that is one of the main themes in this is not just how to be a good person,

how to treat other people,

but it's how to actually be righteous in the sight of God

and what righteousness looks like in everyday living.

The second thing that's kind of pointed out by Jesus throughout the Sermon on the Mount

is the religious leaders of the day were twisting.

They were perverting God's actual commands.

In Jesus' time, there were many misinterpretations and twistings of the Old Testament Scripture.

And multiple times throughout this sermon, verse 21, 27, 33, 38,

you'll see Jesus kind of saying this,

you have heard it said,

and then he'll refer to something that the religious leaders taught.

And then he'll go on and he'll actually correct that and say,

but I say to you.

And that is kind of where we find ourselves today

in the midst of another commandment that they have twisted.

And today is clearing up the misconception that you're to love the people that are close to you

and to love your neighbors, but you're to hate and despise your enemies.

So it's a perversion of God's command to love.

And so we will read our text today.

Finally, right?

So Matthew 5, verse 43.

Matthew 5:43

You have heard it 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 son rise on the evil and on the good,

and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

For if you only love those who love you,

what reward do you have?

Do not even 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.

Just join me in prayer.

Father, we come to you this morning

very needy,

very broken,

and we're in need of Jesus this morning.

And I pray that

whether we know him

or we don't know him,

he would be

working in our minds,

in our hearts,

speaking life into us

through your word.

And so, Lord,

we just offer this time

as an act of worship,

and I pray for those here

who may not know you,

who are separated from you

because of their sin,

that they would see very clearly

the love that you have displayed

through the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

I ask that in his name.

Amen.

So, in our text,

we see very clearly

that Jesus is saying,

you've misunderstood

this commandment.

You've heard it said

to hate your enemy.

And this is, again,

a twisting

of what the Scripture says.

So, does the Scripture

actually say that

in the Old Testament?

No, not at all.

Actually,

quite the opposite

in a lot of ways.

But in the Law of Moses

in Leviticus,

Leviticus 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19,

you read in verses 18 and 34,

this is the actual commandment.

You shall not take vengeance

or bear a grudge

against the sons

of your own people,

but you shall love

your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord.

You shall treat the stranger

who sojourns with you

as the native among you,

and you shall love him

as yourself.

For you were strangers

in the land of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God.

And somehow,

they had figured out a way

to kind of twist this

into justification

to have hatred

towards their enemies

when that's not

what it says at all.

But to be sure,

before we kind of stand

in our context today

and look back at

the scribes

and the Pharisees

and a bunch of religious

hypocrites,

we definitely do

the same thing.

We, all the time,

we do the same thing.

We twist what God's word

actually says

to make it fit

a lifestyle that we want.

So, we need to be clear

about what God says

about certain things.

And so, Scripture never says

that anyone should maliciously

hate his or her enemy.

Quite the opposite.

God's hatred of sin

and God's hatred of evil

is a theme

in the Old Testament.

And he often chooses,

as we can read,

to execute judgment

on those people

that are against him.

So, here's a mystery,

though, to me.

It's a mystery,

and it's something

that we should just

stand in awe of.

Even though God chooses,

at his appointed time,

to execute judgment

on sinners,

there is something

in the heart of God

that still does not

delight in just

destroying people.

Let me be clear.

God says in

Ezekiel 18.23,

I have no pleasure

in the death

of the wicked.

The Scripture indicates

that God does destroy

the wicked,

but it's not done

in like a giddy

spirit of excitement.

It's not done

with like maniacal

enthusiasm.

He destroys the wicked

with a noble

and heavy heart.

It's not something

he's just jumping

up and down about.

But he does it

because he's going

to be just,

and he's going

to display his righteousness

and do what's right.

But just think about that.

He is destroying

those who

were created

in his image,

but are now broken

and shattered

because of sin

and are rebelling

against him.

It is a mystery,

but God takes

no pleasure

in the destruction

of the wicked.

He feels something

for them.

There's immense

complexity

in the heart

of God.

Not contradictive,

but something

that we as

fallen,

broken human beings

can't really

understand.

So there are

full,

many different

exhortations

in the Old Testament

to care for

one's enemies.

Proverbs 24,

17 says this,

Do not rejoice

when your enemy

falls,

and let not your

heart be glad

when he stumbles.

Even King David

expresses such a

heartfelt grief

towards his enemy,

King Saul.

He has broken

over the man

who is seeking

to kill him.

So,

Jesus is pointing

out that the

Jewish religious

leaders have

figured out a way

to look at

people who are

non-Jews and say

they are not my

neighbor,

they are my enemy,

and I should hate

them.

They saw that

your neighbor was

only your fellow

Israelite.

Jews should love

other Jews.

Everyone else

was considered

considered an enemy,

a Gentile

treated as an

enemy.

So,

as we begin

to unpack this,

Jesus is correcting

this false teaching.

And so,

as Nathan kind of

said last week,

this is not about

the state's

authority to

defend itself

and declare war.

This is not about

whether or not

you should have

the right to

defend yourself

if attacked.

This is not

the context of

what we're

talking about.

Those are topics

that we could

talk about

another time.

If you ask me,

we'll talk about it.

But this is not

the main point

of what Jesus

is emphasizing

today.

So,

I want you to

examine your

heart as we

unpack this.

And here's why.

This commandment

to love our

enemies

reveals every

potential

deficiency

in our

understanding

of the

gospel.

And it also

reveals every

potential

deficiency

in our

obedience

to that

gospel.

Are you

tempted to

think that?

Are you

tempted to

think,

yeah,

okay,

but what

about those

people?

Or what

about this

guy?

I get it,

but still,

should I love

this guy?

Surely there's

some sort of

exception to

the rule.

And when we

seek to wiggle

free of those

words,

of this command,

we're minimizing

the gospel

behind that

command.

So,

pay attention

and examine

your hearts.

Ask God to

search you.

So,

we're going to

unpack this

in asking

three questions.

Number one,

who is our

enemy?

Right?

Who is our

enemy?

We can see it

in verse 34

that in one

sense,

it's those

who persecute

you.

People on

whose account

you are

suffering

because of

Christ.

Those who

are acting

hostile

towards you

because of

your relationship

with him.

The word

actually kind

of implies

people who

are pursuing

you,

actively pursuing

you with

great hostility

in order to

inflict harm

on you

or mistreat

you,

in the hopes

that they will

cause you to

flee,

or drive

you away.

That's kind

of what

persecution

means,

at least in a

grammatical sense

of the word.

And it's done

because of your

faith in Christ.

It's because of

your attachment

and relationship

to him.

We know

that during

the past

century,

there have

been more

Christian martyrs

in the world

than all the

previous centuries

combined.

Just in

2018,

okay,

three days

ago,

in Sri

Lanka,

a pastor,

his wife,

and two

other believers

were walking

home from a

birthday party

of a fellow

believer,

and they'd

been experiencing

some hostility

from local

Buddhists.

And as they

were walking

home,

attackers began

yelling things

at them

and began

throwing really

big stones

at them.

It struck

his wife

and one

of the

other women

with them

injured

them severely.

April 10th,

just April

10th,

Hindu

activists

burned down

the home

of a pastor

who had a

wife and

three children.

and they

were on

their way

home from

an all-night

prayer meeting

and they

were getting

angry at the

evangelistic work

that he was

doing among

the Hindus

there,

and so they

burned down

his house

and have

been trying

to force him

out of that

area.

This past

July,

in Nigeria,

militant

Muslims

attacked Christian

villages,

killing around

200 and

forcing thousands

to be displaced.

And very

recently,

in Columbia,

where we sent

a dear brother

of ours

recently,

a pastor

there who

was doing

gospel work

in one of

the most

dangerous,

poorest areas

in Columbia,

he constantly

received death

threats from

paramilitary

groups and

guerrillas and

members of

street gangs.

So he's been

warned you'll

be killed if

you don't

leave,

if you

don't

stop this,

but he's

remaining

faithful among

the other

Christians who

are there to

lead them.

And they've

chosen to

stick it out

there because

they say

Christ has

taught us

to love

our enemies.

And it

goes on that

since they've

stuck it out

and really

asked God

to work,

they're starting

to change the

attitude of the

community around

them.

People are

starting to

respect them

and wonder

why in the

heck they're

there.

So according

to Jesus

in our

text,

persecution

doesn't

necessarily

have to be

violent,

meaning it

might not

put you in

the hospital

or in

prison or

in the

grave.

Earlier in

the discourse,

Jesus lumps

in insults

and slander

with persecution.

Verse 11,

blessed are

you when

others revile

you and

persecute

you and

utter all

kinds of

evil against

you falsely

on my

account.

So many

American

Christians,

we're so

weak and

we're so

soft and

we're so

overly

sensitive that

that would

seem like the

most violent

thing in the

world to us,

but put in

perspective in

many other

places in the

world and in

the context in

which Jesus

is speaking,

it's not

really worthy

to be

compared.

But he

says,

nonetheless,

Paul said,

when we are

reviled,

we bless.

And so,

persecution,

those who

persecute you

are in the

category of

an enemy,

but we are

to love them.

To go on a

little further,

if you look at

our text,

it could really

just mean

those who

oppose your

desires,

those who

are set

against you.

Many

Christians,

I've heard

it even

this past

week,

someone who

would say

that they

are a

follower of

Jesus,

quote,

I hate

those darn

liberal

Democrats.

And on

the other

side,

I hate

those

conservative

Republicans.

Some of

you wouldn't

consider

Republicans

conservative,

but nonetheless,

we have all

these divisions

that take

precedence over

who we are

in the

kingdom of

God.

And that's

total nonsense.

There's so much

junk like that

in the church

today.

We love or

despise someone

based on their

political views,

their social

background,

or their

ethnic background,

instead of our

identity as

children of the

Most High.

God

and the

gospel demands

that we

love all

who oppose

our personal

desires.

It's a

demand.

For God

himself is

kind to

those who

oppose him.

So,

to carry it

one more

step further,

if you kind

of look at

our text,

an enemy

could really

be summed

up as

those

who don't

love you

are someone

who is not

your brother.

another

illustration

of an

enemy.

If you

love those

who love

you,

what reward

have you?

Do not

even tax

collectors

do the

same.

And if

you greet

your brothers

only,

what do

you do

more than

others?

So,

you might

consider

yourself

a loving

person.

You might

consider

someone you

know to

be a

very loving

person.

But,

how far

does that

love extend

to those

who oppose

you,

those who

are different

than you?

Jesus

presses this

point with

unusual force,

as if he's

saying,

yeah,

even the

tax collectors,

the people

that you

despise and

consider to

be outsiders

and traitors,

even they

love the

people who

love them.

What's so

special about

this kind

of love

that you

think you

have,

if that's

where it

stops?

Then he

goes on

and says,

even pagan

non-believers

who don't

even know

God,

they care

about the

people who

care about

them,

and they

greet those

who love

them.

He is

saying that

the gospel

demands a

different kind

of love,

that is an

extraordinary

godly love

that is to be

demonstrated by

believers.

If you

consider

someone

on the

news,

we always

seem to be

pittered against

different

countries a

lot of

the time,

Muslim

countries,

for example,

we should

see them

as captive

to the

enemy and

be broken

hearted for

them.

I have a

couple of

dear friends

of mine

who were

in the

army,

they served

in the

ranger

regiment,

and they

have been

deployed

multiple times

to Iraq,

Afghanistan,

other places,

and because

of these

brothers'

love for

Jesus,

they realized,

man, this

is not

going to

solve the

real problem.

And now

that they

are out

of the

army,

they have

moved

themselves

and their

families to

closed,

dangerous

places in

the Middle

East to

share the

gospel with

Muslims.

that's

loving your

enemy.

So, to

go on, the

second question,

that is, the

first question

was, who

are our

enemies?

The second

question, what

does this

look like?

What kind

of, how

does this

love look,

look, excuse

me, what

does this

love look

like, is

the question.

All right, so in

other words, how do we

manifest this

love?

How do we

actually carry

out this

love?

Well, first

of all, we

see in our

text, to

pray for

them.

Praying for

our enemies

is a

humble

recognition

from God's

saving grace

towards us.

We would

be just as

evil as

they are, and

just as

lost as

they are, had

not God

saved us.

And it

recognizes

that unless

God acts

grace and

grant them

mercy, they

will remain

in that

place of

judgment.

So nothing

will transform

your heart

towards the

one you

consider to

be your

enemy than

getting on

your knees

before God

and pleading

with him on

their behalf.

Nothing will

change your

heart more.

When you're on

your knees

praying for

them, you

might do nice

things for

them, kind

of on the

surface, but

then behind

the scenes,

you're kind

of grumbling

about them and

despising them.

but praying

for them, getting

on your knees

in the presence

of God, who

knows your

heart and

has full

awareness of

your intentions

towards those

people, that

changes you.

Paul prayed

for his fellow

Jews that

hated him.

He says,

brothers, my

heart desire is

for them to

be saved.

And in doing

this, we

portray our

suffering,

crucified Lord,

when he

prayed.

for his

enemies.

Even in the

worst possible

position, Father,

forgive them, for

they know not

what they do.

So, the

first way we

actually can

manifest out love

towards those

that we might

consider an

enemy is to

pray for them, to

intercede on

their behalf before

God.

And then to go

on, it is

simply dismeaned

from our text,

just to greet

them.

If you greet

those who only

greet you, right?

To greet

someone means

to warmly

welcome them,

to receive

one joyfully.

To greet

someone does not

just mean that

you kind of

begrudgingly shake

their hand and

put on a fake

smile and a fake

conversation and

then forget about

them.

It's not just a

touch-and-go

thing.

It means extending

a friendly welcome

to one who you

consider to be an

outsider, to

someone who is

opposed to you.

So who do you

welcome and

greet into your

life and

welcome into

your home?

Is it those

who you know

that will repay

you and greet

you as well and

love you as well

or someone that

you know would

not love you in

return?

So if that's the

case, like,

where and what

kind of love are

we displaying to

the world?

What's so special

about us?

to go on.

A third way we

can manifest the

love of Christ to

other people, also

seen in the word

here, is to meet

their needs.

Know that true

love for others

actually takes

action on behalf

of that person.

We all know

that.

We don't just

want lip service.

We actually want

what we say to

manifest itself in

real life in

action.

not just words.

And so though

God hates evil,

he still brings

many blessings

in the life of

his enemies.

Jesus says,

for he makes

his son rise

on the evil

and on the good.

And he sends

rain on the

just and the

unjust.

It says in

verse 45.

And in Luke's

account of this

gospel passage,

this is what he

says,

this,

God himself is

kind to the

ungrateful and

evil.

So this is what

we would call

theologically

speaking,

common grace,

meaning that it's

the grace of God

and the blessings

of God that

extend to all

people,

regardless of

whether they are

saved or not.

God graciously

extends his love

to his enemies.

So as true

children of God,

we're to imitate

such love

towards our

enemies.

And in such a

way where it

leaves them

puzzled,

asking why,

like what kind

of power is

behind this

person to

enable them

to love me

in this way,

asking them

why.

Paul says

in Romans

Romans 12:17

12,

verse 17,

he says,

to the contrary,

and then he

goes on to

quote from

the Old

Testament and

Proverbs.

He says,

if your enemy

is hungry,

feed him.

If he's thirsty,

give him

something to

drink.

For by doing

so, you will

heap burning

coals on his

head.

Do not be

overcome by

evil, but

overcome evil

with good.

Have you ever

done that for

someone who

opposed you,

done something,

an act of

kindness to

serve them to

meet your need

and they were

astonished?

This is the

kind of

lower to

display.

And so,

the third

question,

the last

question,

is how can

we love

our enemies?

So, in

other words,

like, what

enables us,

what is the

power behind

this to

motivate us to

do such a

thing as love

our enemies?

That's a good

question, because

humanly speaking,

it's impossible.

I'm not good

at loving

people I

don't like,

or that are

opposed to

me.

I've even

gone through

seasons in

my life,

and this

has convict

me, where

I walk

around just

sizing people

up that I

think look

either hostile

towards me or

different than

me, instead

of feeling a

heart of

compassion towards

them.

This kind

of love

cannot be

faked.

It cannot

be imitated

in a false

way.

The love

that we need

to have for

these people

comes only by

the gospel

alone, and

only by the

power of

Jesus Christ

working through

us alone.

So, here

are three

things,

under this

question,

of motivations

or powers

behind the

ability to

love our

enemies.

Number one

is, God

will carry

out justice.

All right?

We're always

afraid to

think if we

just let

this go, if

we don't

repay them

for the

wrong they've

done to

us, they're

just going

to get

away.

They're

going to

go unpunished

and justice

will not be

done.

But what God

is saying is

be confident,

I will

handle this.

I will

deal with

this person.

Turn to

Romans 12.

We're going to

look at a

couple passages

in Romans

before we

close.

Romans 12,

go to

verse 17.

So, we're

unable to

love our

enemies because

we know at

the end of

the day,

God is

going to

carry out

justice.

Even if

they get

away with

things in

this life,

they won't

in eternity.

They will be

brought before

the judgment

seed of

God and

he will

deal with

it.

Romans 12,

Romans 12:17

verse 17.

Repay no

one evil

for evil,

but give

thought to

do what is

honorable in

the sight of

all.

If possible,

so far as it

depends on

you, live

peaceably

with all.

Beloved,

never

avenge

yourselves,

but leave

it to the

wrath of

God.

For it is

written,

vengeance

is mine.

I will

repay,

says the

Lord.

That is

a big

struggle for

me because

I always

want to

see justice

done.

If someone

has wronged

me, I

want to

see them

paid back.

Some of

you are

just better

than me,

I guess,

but I'm

very quick

to want

justice to

be done,

not forgetting

that if

God treated

me that

way, I

would be

separated.

from

him.

So we

are to

repay evil

with good.

God will

settle it.

Just trust

him.

We can

put that

in his

hands.

He will

carry out

justice.

With such

a holy

and sovereign

vow from

Almighty God,

we can

believe that.

Don't feel

like someone

is going to

get away

with their

sin.

And then

secondly,

another

motivation,

another

empowering,

so that

you'll

prove your

sonship.

Look at

verse 45.

We don't

have to

because you

just turn,

but verse

45,

Jesus says

about loving

your enemies

so that

you may be

sons of

your Father

who is in

heaven.

So loving

others the

way God

loved doesn't

make us

his children,

but what

it does

do is

it proves,

it evidences

that we do

belong to

God because

that kind

of love,

again,

can't just

be faked.

It can't

be created

by human

ability so

that if we

love the

way that

God does,

we evidence

ourselves to

be his

children.

It proves.

It stirs

the heart of

any parent,

though one

day I hope

to experience

this,

to be a

father,

but it

stirs any

good parent

to have

someone say

of them,

you are so

like your

father,

you are so

like your

mother.

And it is

our spiritual

DNA to

love other

people the

way that

God loves.

A supernatural

empowering kind

of love so

we can prove

our sonship.

And then

lastly,

and this is

huge,

another

motivation,

give what

you have

received.

And here

it is,

we can

love our

enemies

because we

have experienced

being loved

as an

enemy.

Many of

you have

come from

different

backgrounds

where you

are taught

God is

all-loving

and he'll

never do

anything to

hurt you

or he

won't judge

you.

On the

other side,

you might

have been

taught God

is holy

and God

is going

to destroy

you and

there's no

love in

him at

all.

And both

of those

are wrong.

Romans 5,

we'll end

things here,

but look at

Romans 5.

And I want

you to see

that God's

love is not

opposed to

his justice.

What kind

of love

God has

shown us?

Romans 5,

look at

verse 8.

It says,

God shows

his love

for us

and that

while we

were still

sinners,

Christ died

for us.

Since

therefore we

have now

been justified

by his

blood,

much more

shall I

be saved

by him

from the

wrath

of God.

So in

two verses

you see the

idea of

God's love,

you see the

reality of

God's wrath

right side

by side.

Then it

goes on in

verse 10,

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.

And more

than that,

we also

rejoice in

God through

our Lord

Jesus Christ

through whom

we have now

received

reconciliation.

So this

so extraordinary

is the love

of our

father.

It extends

beyond his

kingdom to

his enemies.

God

demonstrated

his great

love in

the while

we were

rebelling

against him,

not while

we were

all put

together

and good

people,

but while

we were

his enemies,

while we

were still

in that

place of

rebellion,

God

demonstrated

his love

towards us

by sending

his beloved

son to

die the

death that

we deserve

and to

give us

the life

that we

cannot

live.

He died

in our

place.

God

demands

that we

recognize

this as

those who

belong to

him.

We were

separated

from him

and Jesus

restored us

back to

him so

that we

can know

him,

have

relationship

with him,

that we

can once

again reflect

who he

was and

glorify him

as we

were created

to do.

So if

God were

not that

generous and

merciful to

sinners,

we would

perish.

And so we

are to

reflect this

kind of love

that we

see in

the gospel.

And there's

no debate.

God loves

his enemies.

So,

in conclusion,

we see

in verse

48,

he ends

up by

kind of

summing up

this whole

section of

the Sermon

on the

Mount by

saying,

you,

therefore,

must be

perfect as

your heavenly

Father is

perfect.

So in

case anyone

was there

listening,

saying,

that still

thought,

I can

still be

good on

my own,

I can

still achieve

right standing

with God

on my

own,

he kind

of just

throws that

out there

to sum it

up.

You must

be perfect

as your

heavenly

Father is

perfect.

Which would

have

devastated

them because

God demands

total perfection.