Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus then shared about “murder, adultery and swearing”, and He told His disciples, “Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.” Jesus went on to say, “You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow of you turn not you away. You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy”, and in chapter five and verse forty-four of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples to “love your enemies, and bless them that curse you” where we read:
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;
The verse reads, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, ...” Matthew began with the word, “but” which means “moreover and” “I say” which means “Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto you” or “to the disciples”, “Love” which means “welcome, entertain, be fond of and love dearly in an unconditional manner” “your enemies” which refers to “people who are odious, hateful, hostile and opposing to the disciples”, “bless them” or “praise, celebrate with praises and consecrate with solemn prayers” “that curse you” which means “doom and imprecate evil upon the disciples”, “do good” or “practice beautiful, fine, excellent, well, noble, commendable and comfortable right things” “to them” which refers to “to the people” “that hate you” which means “who are odious, hateful, hostile and opposing to the disciples”. Jesus told His disciples to “love, bless and do good” to people who are considered their enemies.
The verse goes on to say, “... and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew added the words, “and pray” which means “offer prayers” “for them“ or “on behalf of the people” “which despitefully use you” which means “who insult, treat abusively, accuse falsely, threaten, revile and use despitefully”, “and persecute you” or “and make the disciples run, flee, be put to flight, drive away and run swiftly”. Jesus instructed His disciples to “pray” for people who “insult, treat abusively, accuse falsely, revile and use them despitefully”.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see Jesus' solution to encountering “enemies”. Jesus said to “love, bless, do good and pray” for people who treat them wrong. This must have stunned the disciples because this was counterintuitive to their normal way of living. Only God who desires a relationship with everyone through His Son Jesus can enable a person to follow this directive, and those who are wise shall not only think through what Jesus said, but also ask Him to help them have the heart and mind to live this way.
Next time Jesus calls the disciples, “the children of your father which is in heaven”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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