Love of Enemies

Biblical Text and Content

Love of enemies is a teaching of Jesus Christ. In Matthew it appears in Matthew 5:43-48, part of the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke it appears in Luke 6:27-36, a passage commonly called the "Sermon on the Plain."

In Matthew, Jesus first says, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy," and then teaches, "Love your enemies … and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). As the basis for this command, he points out that God "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). He observes that loving only those who love you is something even the publicans do, and he concludes, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Luke describes the required actions more concretely: do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. These are followed by the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) and the instruction to lend without hoping for anything in return, and the passage closes with "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36).

Background and Vocabulary

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour" comes from Leviticus 19:18. "Hate thine enemy," however, is not a command found verbatim in the Old Testament. Scholars often regard it as reflecting a popular interpretation of the time that narrowed "neighbor" to one's own people. In this connection, comparison is frequently drawn with the Qumran community documents among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain language calling for hatred of the "sons of darkness." The Greek word for "love" is agapaō, whose noun form is agape. The word for "enemy" is echthros, which covers a broad range, from a personal adversary to a persecutor.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The Old Testament also contains the command to return an enemy's straying ox or donkey (Exodus 23:4-5) and the instruction in Proverbs 25:21-22 to feed an enemy who is hungry. Paul quotes this proverb in Romans 12:17-21 and urges believers to overcome evil with good. On the cross Jesus asked forgiveness for those who crucified him (Luke 23:34), and Stephen offered the same prayer at his martyrdom. The New Testament grounds love of enemies theologically in the fact that God reconciled people to himself "when we were enemies" (Romans 5:6-10). The Parable of the Good Samaritan extends the scope of "neighbor" even to members of a hostile people.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Emotion or action: Many interpreters hold that the passage's demand lies less in feelings such as affection than in concrete actions such as doing good, blessing, and prayer.
• Justice and governmental authority: The Anabaptist tradition (including the Mennonites) and the Quakers read this teaching as a basis for nonviolence and have put it into practice through conscientious objection to bearing arms, among other ways. Most churches, including Lutheran and Reformed churches, distinguish between personal ethics and the coercive authority of the state (Romans 13:3-4). They accept the just war theory that has been held since Augustine.
• The meaning of "be ye perfect": The Wesleyan tradition reads Matthew 5:48 in connection with perfection in love, that is, the doctrine of Christian perfection. Other traditions often understand the verse as indicating the direction or goal of growing in likeness to God.
• Distinguishing the text from added interpretations: The text tells believers to pray for their enemies and do good to them. It does not say to cover up wrongdoing or to exempt wrongdoers from punishment. On this basis, some argue that the passage should not be used to pressure victims into unconditional reconciliation with those who have harmed them.

In the Korean Church

The figure most often presented in Korean churches as an exemplar of love of enemies is Son Yang-won. Son is known for interceding to spare the life of the young man responsible for the deaths of his two sons during the Yeosu–Suncheon incident of 1948 and then adopting him as his own son; this earned him the nickname "the atomic bomb of love." The teaching is frequently cited in sermons on forgiveness and reconciliation and is repeatedly invoked in sermons addressing national division and the wounds of war.