Daily Devotional For Monday, June 24, 2024

Well, your weekend has come and gone and now you are either back to work today or treating today as if it is still part of the weekend. We have been looking at questions asked in the Bible. Some by people and some by God. Today, we come to a passage in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus asks two questions back-to-back in Matthew 5. Let’s take a moment and look at these two back-to-back questions asked by Jesus. Look at Matthew 5:46-47:

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (ESV).

We read or hear these questions by Jesus in His infamous Sermon on the Mount and we praise Him for the depth of such questions. The question is: do these two questions penetrate our hearts, convict us to do what He is commanding here or do we simply ignore them and go our merry way? Jesus made it clear that He expects more from His disciples. These two questions by Jesus sit in the context of what Jesus says in some previous verses in this same chapter. Look at Matthew 5:43-45:

“(43) You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (ESV).

Why do we show love to those who persecute us? Why do we show love to those who hurt us? Why do we forgive those who mistreat us? Because this is one proof to the world that we are sincerely His disciple. Our hearts and minds are different from the world’s. It is easy to love those who love us. That comes naturally to us, but what doesn’t come naturally to us is to love those who are cruel, mean, and hate us. 

This is why Jesus often used tax-collectors as examples because other than Romans soldiers, Jews hated tax-collectors because they worked for Rome and often were dishonest and cheated Jews. If we love only those who love us, then we are no different than the world and we have no witness or testimony or reward. 

The command to love is found in Leviticus 19:18, but the command to hate is never found in Scripture. Those Jews hearing Jesus would have immediately knew He was talking about the Romans and tax collectors. Romans were their pagan oppressors and enslavers and tax collectors were paid Jewish employees of Rome who oppressed and enslaved them financially.  The Jews saw them as traitorous extortioners. Gentiles were considered by Jews outside of God’s love and grace. 

What Jesus taught actually ran counter to some verses in the Old Testament. Look at Psalm 139:19-22:

“Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!  O men of blood, depart from me! (20) They speak against You with malicious intent; Your enemies take Your name in vain. (21) Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? (22) I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies” (ESV).

This runs counter to the teachings of Jesus and the Old and New Testament. Look at these verses:

• Romans 12:1, 20-21, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep . . . (20)To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (ESV).
• 1 Peter 3:9, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (ESV).
• Luke 23:34, “And Jesus said, `Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide His garments” (ESV).
• Acts 7:60, “And falling to his (ex. Stephen) knees he cried out with a loud voice, `Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep (died)” (ESV).
• Exodus 23:4-5, “If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. (5) If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him” (ESV).
• Proverbs 25:21-22, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, (22) for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (ESV).

So, both the Old and New Testaments command us to love our enemies. What makes this so challenging is we can state what we consider to be legitimate reasons to hate our enemies or someone who has hurt or harmed us. But then, we are no different from the world. We are to love those who hurt and harm us because this is exactly how Jesus treats us. 

He has every reason to hate us, to send us to hell, and to let us die in our sin. But due to His love for us, He doesn’t give us what we deserve, but what we need. We are to be loving, merciful, forgiving, tender-hearted and compassionate to those who mistreat us because Jesus Christ is that way with us. Listen to the words of R.C.H. Lenski below:

“Love indeed, sees all the hatefulness and the wickedness of the enemy, feels his stabs and his blows, may even have something to do toward warding them off; but all this simply fills the loving heart with the one desire and aim, to free its enemy from his hate, to rescue him from his sin, and thus to save his soul. Mere affection is often blind, but even then it thinks that it sees something attractive in the one toward whom it goes out; the higher love may see nothing attractive in the one so loved,... its inner motive is simply to bestow true blessing on the one loved, to do him the highest good . . .  I cannot like a low, mean criminal who may have robbed me and threatened my life; I cannot like a false, lying, slanderous fellow who, perhaps, has vilified me again and again; but I can by the grace of Jesus Christ love them all, see what is wrong with them, desire and work to do them only good, most of all to free them from their vicious ways.” (Source: R.C.H. Lewski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel, p. 247).

The kind of reaction that Jesus wants from us His disciples is stated by John MacArthur quoting J. Oswald Chambers:

"When we love those who mistreat us, it throws them off. They have no explanation to make sense of it. It catches them off guard. Commenting on this passage of Scripture, J. Oswald Chambers writes this: “The Master expects from His disciples such conduct as can be explained only in terms of the supernatural” (Source: Quoted by John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 349).

Questions To Consider

1. When it comes to anyone who hurts or harms you or your family or friends, how do you normally read and why? What does this tell you about your appreciation for how Christ treats you? What are the ramifications of this in terms of your witness?
2. Who is it that when their name comes up or you see them, you are filled with rage and not love? You know what Jesus Christ is telling you to do about it. So, how can you go about being obedient to Jesus in this?
3. How does loving and forgiving someone who has hurt or harmed us prove Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be? 

Scripture To Mediate On: Luke 15:1, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, this is probably the toughest part of being a Christian. Loving those who are unloving and especially those who hurt and harm me. I know what I should do. I ask You help me do it. You say, “To whom much is given, much is expected” (Luke 12:48). I do not deserve Your love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and patience. Please help me to be Your witness to those who I consider do not serve mine either. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly