Love Your Enemies: A Radical Command

The Bible verse, 'love your enemies' (KJV), is a challenging and radical command that can be difficult to understand and apply today. In the time it was first spoken, these words would have been shocking, especially coming from Jesus Christ who was thought by many to be the Messiah, the Savior who was supposed to free Israel from its enemies.

At that time, Rome was viewed as a major enemy of Israel. The Roman tax burden left many people in near poverty, and Roman soldiers enjoyed privileges and took liberties with Jewish citizens under their thumb. Dissent beyond established limits was savagely punished, and Israel experienced a form of peace under Roman rule, but only as long as they submitted to the Roman Empire's conditions.

Becoming part of the Roman empire brought benefits, such as relative freedom, but it also made it easy to forget how radical Jesus' claim really was. Especially for those who lived with daily threats from enemies, like the first-century Israelites, this teaching would have been difficult to understand and apply.

Jesus' command to love your enemies is not just about acting in love towards neighbors; it implies something much more difficult and more like God Himself. It requires a level of selflessness and sacrifice that can be hard to achieve. However, Jesus also declares that God's intent for the righteousness of His people goes beyond selfishness and legalism.

In contrast, the religious leaders were teaching that it was permissible, possibly even mandatory, to hate one's enemies (Matthew 5:43). But God's Word commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18), and Jesus' command to love your enemies is a reversal of this teaching.

In conclusion, Jesus' teaching to love your enemies is a radical command that requires a level of selflessness and sacrifice. It may be challenging to apply in today's world, but it is an important part of living out God's intent for our righteousness.

Love your enemies bible verse kjv