The Golden Rule: I love my enemies because I want them to do the same to me

I will now begin to apply an extended passage from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain,” recorded in Luke 6:27-40. Jesus’ message in this passage can be summarized as:

1. I should love my enemies and do good to them because this is what I want them to do for me (even though I don’t expect them to);
2. showing love to those who don’t love me is acting the same way toward them as the Heavenly Father acts toward me (so He models the “Golden Rule” for me);
3. being merciful as God is merciful means withholding judgment and condemnation the same way he does;
4. I find my own freedom in setting others free;
5. I will ultimately receive the same things I give, and in the same measure; and
6. I learn this only by letting Jesus train me, not by following other people’s practices (“blind guides”).

The passage starts:

Luke 6:27-30 (WEB)

Here we are given a list of commands about how to treat those who hate, oppose or use us. But, by Jesus own words. these commands are not for everybody. They are only for “those who hear:” his disciples, then and now. These are the people who living their lives with him, those are willingly learning from him to live in the same way he does.

The one thing all of these commands have in common is that they are the exact opposites of what we naturally want to do. They are also the exact opposites of what other people, including religious and social leaders then and now, tell us we ought to do:

What should I do about my enemies? Even the Jewish religious leaders of that day agreed with human nature and said we should hate our enemies. See, Matthew 5:44, where Jesus quotes the religious saying about this. But what did Jesus tell me to do with my enemies? Love them. Not just be nice to them, love them–agapate–love them with the same kind of love God has for me, explained in Strong’s Lexicon this way:

Agapé is a term used in the New Testament to describe a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It is the highest form of love, often associated with the love of God for humanity and the love that believers are called to have for one another. Unlike other Greek words for love, such as “eros” (romantic love) or “philia” (brotherly love), agapê is not based on emotions or feelings but is an act of the will, characterized by a commitment to the well-being of others… In the Greco-Roman world, various forms of love were recognized, but agapé was distinct in its emphasis on selflessness and sacrifice. Early Christians adopted this term to describe the love that God demonstrated through Jesus Christ, particularly in His sacrificial death on the cross.

Strong’s Lexicon on Biblehub.com.

This is a very tall order indeed! When someone speaks ill of me and treats me with spite as an enemy, the world says I should hate them back–and my human nature really wants to do just that! But Jesus says I am to show them selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that puts their wellbeing first, ahead of my own. I am to show them the same kind of love that moved Jesus to endure the cross for me!

But it gets worse. When people openly hate me, what am I to do to them? The world and my flesh say that I should return hate for hate and should act preemptively to prevent them from hurting me. The normal human way to respond to hate is to do evil unto them before they have a chance to do evil unto me. But what does Jesus say? Do good to them! Don’t do evil preemptively. Do what is good, noble and honorable. Do what I would do to my friends.

When an enemy curses me, trying to call down God’s wrath–or the wrath of the authorities or of others’ opinions–on me, what am I to do? I want to return the curse on them and see who God actually judges harshly. (I believe this half verse also covers my own personal question about people who have declared that I no longer exist.) There’s nothing quite like a good mud-slinging fight! But what does Jesus say? Bless them. Eulogize (eulogeite) them: speak well of them. Do not descend into slander, into blaspheming (speaking evil of) them. Only say good things about them.

And what should I do about people who mistreat me? Should I fight them or retaliate, like I want to? Or, if they are mistreating me because I am powerless, and cannot defend myself or retaliate, should I pray to God to smite them and remove them from the Earth quickly? What does Jesus say? I should pray FOR them. I should actively take my prayer before God–the verb is that strong about being intentional in my prayer. And, when I actively pray about them, that prayer should be a prayer for their good, not a prayer against them, for their judgment or destruction. Jesus’ prayer on the Cross was “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. And Stephen’s prayer when he was being stoned was “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” Acts 7:60. My prayer for those who mistreat me should be like these.

The next two verses are often misunderstood. As is usually thought, Jesus is teaching that I ought not resist those who mistreat me where only my own rights, pride or honor are at issue. But that is not all that he is teaching. It is not even the main lesson of the teaching. The main lesson is that, in showing non-resistance, I ought to do so in a loving and calculated way that will bring home to the people misusing me that their actions are really dishonoring them, not shaming me.

Take Jesus’ first example, turning the other cheek. Slapping another person on the cheek–specifically, their right cheek–was a common way of expressing contempt, or of demonstrating that the person slapped was thought to be inferior to the person doing the slapping. This was true in all of the major cultures that were found in Galilee and Judea in Jesus’ day. But this shaming slap was always performed with the open palm of the right hand on the victim’s right cheek. The left hand was considered inferior, and slapping with it would dishonor the person doing the slapping. A backhanded slap was also considered dishonorable. So, when a person who had been given a shaming slap on their right cheek did as Jesus said and turned their “other”–left–cheek toward their attacker the attacker had only three choices. They could slap their victim’s left cheek with the open palm of their left hand–which would be considered a dishonorable thing for the attacker to do. Or they could strike the victim’s cheek with their right hand, backhanded, which would also bring dishonor on them. Or they could stop attacking and let the one slap suffice.

So, by turning the ither cheek, the victim was saying, essentially, “I will not resist you, but you will have to demean yourself if you want to strike me again.”

Similarly, compelling someone to give up a personal object–like a cloak–was done as a demonstration, to the person compelled and all watching, that the person compelling the sacrifice was superior to the person being required to make the sacrifice. It was a way of reminding everyone involved who was in charge. Jesus does tell me not to resist in this situation. But he also tells me to do something else–give what is required AND THEN give MORE. This turns the tables on the one who is misusing me. By giving MORE than required, I am showing my misuser, and all watching the event, that the person demanding something from me really isn’t in control. I am. I can still decide how much I will give!

Jesus’ example of giving to those who ask me for things and not even asking for anything in return is of the same type. The idea that the righteous person lends freely to those in need without expecting anything in return are found throughout the Old Testament. So, if this were all Jesus was saying, it would be nothing new. The righteous person lends freely and expects nothing back from the poor but still asks for the loan to be repaid. It is expected that the lender will ask for repayment, then mercifully forgive when the poor person has nothing to pay. This maintains respect in the social order, and it was expected. But Jesus was saying give, and don’t even ask for the loan to be repaid. And when someone steals from me–simply takes without asking–don’t ask for them to return it. This places me morally above the taker. It should lead the taker to see that they have dishonored themselves, not me. It is non-resistance, done in a loving and calculated way.

This leads into what has since been termed the “Golden Rule:”

Luke 6:31 (WEB).

This is the heart of Jesus’ ethics. But, in Luke, it is presented in the context of how I should treat my enemies. I should treat them in exactly the same (homoiōs) way I want (thelete) them to treat me. I should do for them exactly what I would want them to do for me, if the roles were reversed. If I would want kindness and love to be shown to me by my enemies, I should show my enemies kindness and love. This will not cause my enemies to reciprocate by showing me kindness and love–and I should not expect that it will. But it will. ultimately, show everyone watching, including my enemies, that I am the disciple of Jesus in the situation, the one who is right with God.

Email me: Ian Johnson

Next (soon): The Golden Rule: To be like my Heavenly Father, love those I know will reward me for it with hate. Luke 6:31-35