Love Your Enemies (Luke 6:27-36)
What! Love for Enemies (Luke 6:27-36)
In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus delivers some of his most radical teachings, instructing his followers to love their enemies, bless those who curse them, and offer the other cheek when struck.
These words are not just revolutionary in the context of the world’s standards—they challenge the way we naturally want to respond to those who hurt us. To live out these words of Jesus requires a heart transformed by grace, one that chooses to embody the radical mercy of God, even when it’s hardest to do so.
Verse by Verse Breakdown of Luke 6:27-36 and Commentary
Luke 6:27-28: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you
“But I say to you that listen: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
Jesus begins with a command that flips human instinct on its head. We’re told to love those who hate us, to do good to those who harm us, and to pray for those who abuse us. This isn’t about passive tolerance; it’s an active love that reflects God’s love for us. In the Old Testament, we see echoes of this command. In Proverbs 25:21-22, it says, “If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.” The idea here is that showing kindness to our enemies can lead to their repentance or a change of heart, but it also reveals a profound trust in God to handle the justice.
This teaching to treat those who mistreat us without retribution is a gut punch. It’s a command that flips everything we know about responding to hurt and betrayal. When someone wrongs us, we naturally want to protect ourselves, to retaliate. Lamech, in Genesis 4, sums up the retaliatory-by-nature response we often have. But here, Jesus calls us to do the opposite—to love those who wish us harm.
This isn’t about a feeling of affection toward our enemies. It’s about choosing to act in a way that benefits them, even if they don’t deserve it. Loving our enemies means we don’t respond with hatred or bitterness. Instead, we actively choose to do good, even when they have done nothing but harm. This echoes God’s love for us. In Romans 5:8, Paul reminds us that God loved us while we were still sinners, sending Jesus to die for us. Jesus is inviting us to show that same kind of love—to give without expecting anything in return.
The next part is equally challenging: “Bless those who curse you.” To bless someone is to speak well of them, even when they’ve spoken ill of you. It’s not about pretending the hurt didn’t happen, but about choosing to pray for their well-being, to ask God’s favor on their life, even when they are the ones who have wronged you. Then, Jesus says to “pray for those who abuse you.” This isn’t passive forgiveness. It’s an active decision to bring those who hurt us before God, praying that the Lord would transform them, just as God is transforming us.
This isn’t easy. It’s a radically different way of living, one that requires us to put aside our natural instincts and embrace God’s way of love, even when it feels unnatural. But Jesus isn’t just asking us to do this because He’s looking for perfection. He’s asking us to reflect His own love—grace-filled, sacrificial, undeserved—because that’s what the world needs to see. Loving our enemies means choosing compassion over cruelty, mercy over judgment, no matter what others do to us.
This kind of love is not just for our benefit; it has the power to transform relationships and even hearts. When we love like this, it’s a witness to the world of the radical love God has shown us. And it’s through that love that we’re called to show the world what it looks like to live differently.
SERMONS ON FORGIVENESS, THE CROSS, AND NON-RETALIATION
In the following blog posts, I talk about the way of Jesus being better than the way of domination. I also include a post on What Forgiveness is and Isn't, which is a sermon my congregation responded to with great enthusiasm as they found it freeing and helpful.
The Three-Word Sermon: It Is Finished
It is Finished: The Gospel Versus Domination
Luke 6:29-30 Turn the Other Cheek
“If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.”
This radical generosity challenges us in two ways. First, Jesus asks us to resist the natural urge to retaliate when wronged. Offering the other cheek isn’t about encouraging abuse, but about refusing to participate in the cycles of vengeance that keep escalating. Instead, we choose to absorb the offense and act out of love rather than self-preservation.
Second, Jesus calls us to extraordinary generosity. In Matthew 5:40-42, a similar teaching appears, where Jesus instructs his followers to go the extra mile when someone forces them to carry a burden. The act of giving to those in need without expecting anything in return is a sign of God’s kingdom, a kingdom where grace abounds, and mercy flows without condition.
I. Howard Marshall notes that these teachings point to a deeper level of Christian discipleship, one that doesn’t merely reflect the love of friends and neighbors, but mirrors God’s love for all people—especially the undeserving (Marshall, The Epistles of John, p. 278). Jesus is preaching, encouraging the people to expand their level of concern to those beyond their initial liking.
Luke 6:31-34 The Golden Rule - Do Unto Others as You Would Have them Do to You
“Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.”
In these verses, Jesus reiterates the Golden Rule—treat others as you want to be treated. This is not a new concept in the Bible, but Jesus raises the stakes. It’s easy to love those who love us. But what about those who don’t love us? Jesus says that even sinners love those who love them, so the real test of Christian love comes when we extend that love to those who can do nothing for us in return.
This teaching is consistent with the law of love found throughout the Old Testament. In Leviticus 19:18, we are instructed to love our neighbor as ourselves. However, Jesus amplifies this command by calling us to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies. The true test of love is not whether we can love those who love us, but whether we can love those who don’t.
Stephen S. Smalley argues that Jesus’ call to love beyond natural human inclinations is not just moral teaching but reflects the very heart of God’s unmerited grace (Smalley, 1, 2, and 3 John, p. 240).
Luke 6:35-36 Love Your Enemies
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Jesus concludes this passage by reminding us that loving our enemies is a reflection of the very nature of God. God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, and as his children, we are called to reflect that same mercy and kindness. This is not about earning favor but about becoming more like God in our actions.
The call to reflect God’s mercy is echoed in the Old Testament as well. In Exodus 34:6, God self-reveals as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Our capacity to love our enemies is a reflection of God’s great mercy toward us, shown most clearly in Jesus, who loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
LUKE 6:27-36 Commentary and Meaning for Today
Jesus’ words in Luke 6:27-36 challenge us to move beyond superficial love and step into a radical, transformative love that reflects God’s own heart. In a world where revenge, anger, and bitterness often feel justified, the call to love our enemies feels impossible. But Jesus doesn’t ask us to do this in our own strength. He invites us to rely on the mercy and grace God has already shown us.
In a practical sense, this passage forces us to examine how we treat those who oppose us. Do we respond with kindness, or do we retaliate? Are we generous with those who have hurt us, or do we protect our possessions and hearts? By living out the radical love of Jesus, we reflect the gospel message to a world that desperately needs it.
In the face of injustice, we are called to be instruments of peace, to love without expectation, and to bless those who curse us. This love is not weak; it is the strongest force in the world because it comes from the heart of God. When we choose to love in this way, we participate in God’s kingdom and mission in the world.
Conclusion
To love our enemies is to live out the gospel in a world that often seeks revenge. It is to offer grace in the face of injustice, mercy to the ungrateful, and kindness to the wicked. This is the love that God has shown us, and it is the love He calls us to extend to others. As we follow Jesus’ command, we reflect the love of our Father, becoming more and more like him, as his children, in a world desperately in need of his mercy.
Sources
Marshall, I. Howard. The Epistles of John. New International Commentary on the New Testament, 1978, p. 278.
Smalley, Stephen S. 1, 2, and 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary, 1989, p. 240.
