Come Join us for Worship and Praise Service! In Matthew 5:43-47, Jesus challenges the traditional understanding of "love your neighbor and hate your enemy." He commands his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. The reasoning behind this radical teaching is that by loving only those who love you, you …
Come Join us for Worship and Praise Service!
In Matthew 5:43-47, Jesus challenges the traditional understanding of “love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” He commands his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.
The reasoning behind this radical teaching is that by loving only those who love you, you are no different from tax collectors (who were often seen as sinners) or pagans. Jesus asks, “What reward do you have?” He emphasizes that true righteousness, a characteristic of the children of God, involves extending love even to those who are hostile. By doing so, they will be acting like their Father in heaven, who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Essentially, this passage calls believers to a higher standard of love, one that transcends
