‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor …’ and then some

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44) N ewspaper columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. “I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even.

Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me.” Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan “Go home and act as if you really love your husband.

Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that your’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him.”

With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!” And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting “as if.” For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn’t return, Crane called. “Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?”

“Divorce?” she exclaimed.

“Never! I discovered I really do love him.” Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds.

As Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount, He addresses teachings from the Old Law, which was still being observed as the New Law would not be established until Jesus gave His life on the cross (Col. 2:14), and after stating the Law or the traditions being taught from the Law, Jesus would address the proper attitude that was needed.

Each of these statements (Matt.

5:21-48) begins with Jesus pointing out “Ye have heard it said …” which will be followed by “but I say unto you …” Jesus uses six opportunities to show the attitude of the people and then impress upon them the proper attitude they should have as if to say “do this and then some.” In these statements, Jesus challenges the conventional wisdom of His day and offer a profound perspective. The final of these “and then some” statements is found in Matthew 5:43-48 and in this passage, Jesus discusses the love that was required from the Law to love thy neighbor but Jesus adds that we are not only to love our neighbors but we are also to love our enemies.

This statement begins by stating the “easy part.” The command was given from God to love thy neighbor as self (Lev.19:18). This is the common understanding of love.

Normally, we tend to love our family, friends, neighbors, etc and have no need to be reminded to love one another.

Most people are selective and exclusive with the love they have for others, and if someone is outside of the parameters, we may set for ourselves of accepting someone, then typically we will not be as loving towards them as we might those that do.

If Jesus’ teachings on the matter were to only include the love that we are to have for those close to us, then, I suppose, we might be able to feel confident about our fulfilling the Law of Christ, but Jesus did not limit the love we are to have for only our close loved ones.

The “hard part” of this passage is found in verse 44 as Jesus commands to love our enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you. Did Jesus understand what He was saying? Did He really mean that we are to have the same type of feelings for our enemies that we do our friends and family? Not only did Jesus understand what He was saying, but He practiced what He preached. Jesus is the perfect example of the type of love we are to have for others and proved His love for all mankind when He gave Himself on the cross for the sin of the world. Jesus understood that neighbors, enemies, families, and everyone else was created by our heavenly Father, and our Father in heaven extends His love, care, and concern to all mankind, giving rain to the just and unjust, and is no respecter of persons. When we make the choice to love those who might oppose us, we begin to align ourselves with the divine standard as boundless love seeks the well-being of all.

Furthermore, Jesus provides an explanation for such radical love, stating, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” Here, he emphasizes the transformative nature of love. The true essence of love lies in its ability to break the chains of kinship and extend beyond the expected boundaries. By doing so, individuals become agents of change, contributing to a world where love triumphs over hatred and animosity.

Following the days of the attacks on America in September 2001, there were many that were ready to retaliate and to take vengeance on anyone that may have been involved in taking the lives of so many U.S. citizens. During these days, how many took the time and opportunity to pray for those that were involved in the attacks? Jesus says the greatest command in all of Scripture is to love God and others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39ff.), and we may be able to fulfill this command to some extent but what kind of love do we have for others?

Jeremy Thornton is Minister of Highway 77 Church of Christ in Marion, Arkansas.

Jeremy Thornton

Minute with the Minister