{"id":408,"date":"2014-09-29T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=408"},"modified":"2014-08-30T21:41:02","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T21:41:02","slug":"matthew-543-48-love-for-enemies-cross-reference-comparisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/09\/matthew-543-48-love-for-enemies-cross-reference-comparisons.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 5:43-48; Love for Enemies (Cross-Reference Comparisons)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor and hate your enemy\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This quote from Matthew 5:43 reveals\u2014again\u2014how religious leaders in Jesus time had unwittingly distorted the Mosaic Law they claimed to hold supreme. The distortion was not intentional or arbitrary\u2014scribes and Pharisees were genuinely trying to discern and fulfill God\u2019s Law. It was just that in their determination to understand truth, they sometimes reached false conclusions\u2014with devastating results. Case in point was God\u2019s sacred command to love our neighbors. In this case at least, Jesus decided to publicly correct that error.<\/p>\n

In the first part of Matthew 5:43, when he said \u201cLove your neighbor,\u201d Jesus pulled a direct quote from Leviticus 19:18, which reads in full, \u201cDo not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice anything missing?<\/p>\n

Yep, it\u2019s the second part of the common saying Jesus quoted: \u201c\u2026and hate your enemy.\u201d Religious leaders over the centuries had added that little phrase, and taught it for generations until it eventually came to be accepted as truth on par with God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n

Fact is, the Law didn\u2019t command anyone to hate an enemy, and it specifically forbade hating any \u201cenemy\u201d who might also be a fellow Israelite (see Leviticus 19:17). What\u2019s more, the wisdom of Solomon instructed kindness and generosity toward adversaries: \u201cIf your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you\u201d (Proverbs 25:21-22).<\/p>\n

Still, among Jewish thinkers in ancient times, it was a natural progression of thought to assume that the command to love your neighbor included the corollary command of hating an enemy. It was a well-intentioned application of simple logic. But it was simply, heartbreakingly, wrong.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[NNI, 1150]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor and hate your enemy\u2026\u2019\u201d This quote from Matthew 5:43 reveals\u2014again\u2014how religious leaders in Jesus time had unwittingly distorted the Mosaic Law they claimed to hold supreme. The distortion was not intentional or arbitrary\u2014scribes and Pharisees were genuinely trying to discern and fulfill God\u2019s Law. It…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[169,168,111],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cross-referencecomparisons","category-matthew","tag-leviticus-1918","tag-love-your-enemies","tag-sermon-on-the-mount"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 5:43-48; Love for Enemies (Cross-Reference Comparisons) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/09\/matthew-543-48-love-for-enemies-cross-reference-comparisons.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 5:43-48; Love for Enemies (Cross-Reference Comparisons) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor and hate your enemy\u2026\u2019\u201d This quote from Matthew 5:43 reveals\u2014again\u2014how religious leaders in Jesus time had unwittingly distorted the Mosaic Law they claimed to hold supreme. 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