Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt 5:43-48)

I wonder if you have ever had an enemy. Somebody who opposes you, tries to hurt you, someone who takes delight in discouraging you; maybe they have even bullied you in some way.

Here, Jesus instructs us to love them and one way, he says, to do that is to pray for them. We may not feel we have love for an enemy, but we can choose to do love - by praying for them. That might seem difficult to do but sometimes praying for a person can have surprising results. Here’s how it works. Praying for a person we struggle with can potentially achieve two things:

First, it can soften our heart towards forgiveness and away from retribution. It can help us to see the person as broken and needing Jesus. The person who has not shown love or respect to us is still loved by the Lord. He died for them too. If we can make a decision to pray for the person instead of nursing our wounds, or entertaining ways of getting even, the Lord uses such prayers to change our hearts to be more like Him. Praying for an enemy invites the Lord to have His way in us.

Second, it may be your prayer or my prayer that God chooses to bless and bring that person to repentance and faith in Him. If your enemy is going to change, it is more likely to occur on the back of compassionate prayer than from anger

Think of people in your life now or people you have known in the past. Those who have hurt you. People who have made your life difficult. Pray that they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Or, if they are believers, pray that they come to a deeper understanding of the Lord and His ways.

If you can, pray these words over them from Numbers 6 v 24 – 26.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matt 5:38-42)

Have you ever wanted Payback?

There are literally hundreds of movies about revenge. In fact, IMDB (the go-to website for information on any movie) has even created a list of the “50 best Revenge movies of all time” – including several that many would call classics.

People love to hear stories about someone getting what they deserve. But is this what things look like in Jesus’ new world – the Kingdom of God?

Imagine a Roman soldier in Jesus’ day forcing an elderly gentleman or a young mother to carry his heavy bag for a mile. Or imagine today an unfair boss expecting an employee to work extra hours for no extra pay, doing an unpleasant job that the manager was too lazy to finish himself.

I am sure we can all think of many other unfair scenarios. Perhaps you have experienced some yourself.

Even worse, now think about the Roman soldier striking an innocent person on the cheek in Jesus’ day. Or a business owner suing a person living in poverty for the only garments they have for the cold winter nights.

At first glance these words seem like Jesus is saying, “just be weak; just be a victim; don’t stand up for yourself; let people walk all over you!”

Is Jesus encouraging a victim mentality? Is he promoting injustice?

The answer is no; he isn’t! There are times when we do need to defend ourselves, speak up when something is wrong or stand up for others, but there is a difference between defending yourself, and exacting revenge. If we have the power to protect somebody in danger, we must do so. If we can diffuse a bad situation peacefully (even if it means refusing to hit back, or blessing somebody with more than they deserve), it is surely better than letting anger and retribution rule the day.

Jesus’ words here are about overcoming evil with good, responding to hatred and anger with mercy and grace.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather be in a world like that - a world of mercy, grace, kindness - than one where revenge is unrestrained.

Continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matt 5:33-37)

Would you say that you are a truthful person? Would you say you are an honest person? Most of us would agree that lies often have the potential to be destructive or hurtful and can easily break trust. In today’s passage, Jesus is encouraging honesty. To lie for our own gain or to hurt another is clearly wrong. A person of integrity will be truthful.

“I swear on my mother’s grave!”, we have all heard people say. Or “On the life of my children, what I am telling you is true”.

In Jesus’ day, people would swear oaths in a similar way to emphasize that what they are saying is true. So, they might use the name of God.

But, some leaders, lacking integrity, might swear an oath in the name of something less than God, like Heaven or the city of Jerusalem, or something created by God, if they planned on not quite speaking the truth.

It might have sounded good and even convincing (for example, “I swear it’s true on the name of our beautiful city Jerusalem”, or “this is as true as the hairs on my head”), but they may not be telling the whole truth.

So, what is Jesus teaching here? Jesus is teaching that “swearing” is not necessary if people know that you are a truthful person. A simple statement or answer to a question, like yes or no is enough.

What about so called “white” lies – withholding truth because you don’t want to hurt somebody? Do we say yes or no, tell it as it is, regardless of the effect the truth might have on a person. A good rule of thumb is to say that truth must always be balanced with genuine love. Paul encouraged us to speak the truth in love in Ephesians 4 v 15. If a truth will hurt another, perhaps we need to ask first if God’s wisdom counsels us to stay quiet; or maybe we can find a way of sharing the truth in a way that is kind.