Matthew 5:44
~4 min read
“…A Christian should not be an enemy to anyone but rather be a neighbour…”
A Christian should not be an enemy to anyone but rather be a neighbour.
An enemy is an adversary; someone who is hostile and opposed. A Christian should not be an enemy to anyone but rather be a neighbour. We may not be able to stop people from treating us as enemies, but it is important that we should respond to them lovingly as a good neighbour. We want to learn from our Lord Jesus how we ought to respond.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:43, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. The rabbis of old had perverted the truth of God’s Word in two different ways. Firstly, it was the sin of omission by removing the phrase as thyself. Leviticus 19:18, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Secondly, it was the sin of addition by adding the phrase hate thine enemy.
By the sin of omission, the rabbis had taught that the meaning of neighbours only included those people whom they had approved. By the sin of addition, they had taught that the Jews were honouring God by despising anyone who was not Jewish, or “sinners.” So, Gentiles, tax-collectors, criminals and prostitutes were not considered as neighbours, such people were despised as outcasts. That was the reason why the Jewish leaders were surprised and appalled with Jesus because He openly sat and ate together with the tax-collectors and sinners.
On top of that, by adding the phrase hate thine enemy, the Jews totally contradicted God’s truth (c.f. Exodus 23:4-5, Proverbs 25:21, Romans 12:20). Instead of hating “one’s enemy” Jesus taught us to love and help anyone who is in need (The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37).
Dear children, there are two important lessons we can learn from here. Firstly, never omit or add to the Word of God. There is a warning in the Bible to anyone who does that. God will add all the plagues that are written in the Bible and remove his name from the book of life (c.f. Revelation 22:18-19). That is a very serious warning! Secondly, when we do that, we will misunderstand what God’s Word really means. Like in the case here, God wants us to love our neighbour, and to treat everyone as a neighbour (not an enemy). Do you have any enemies? Please do not have enemies, and you must love everyone as your neighbour and friend! Are you a good neighbour?