From Gethsemane to the Cross How To Deal With Enemies

Matthew 5: 43-48 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Dealing with the enemies we face. Not an easy subject to grapple with. The dictionary defines enemy as an opponent. Someone in opposition to us. The world; the unbelievers. It is always a source of great sadness for me to see how some fellow believers deal with the people who do not share our beliefs. Unfortunately, too often there is a general display of disdain, superiority, and arrogance. The world is treated as a cesspool of sin while the church is lauded for its purity. But for the grace of God go I beloved. I was once in that cesspool and so were you. I might add that the church is not always so pure. I want to take a walk today with our Lord and Savior as His life was drawing to a close here on earth. Within the last three stops of His life we can see how He intended for us to deal with our "enemies."

The first stop is in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had prayed to God to take this cup of wrath that was approaching Him but God's will would be done and Jesus knew it. He had prayed so hard that He literally sweated blood. His 33 year life was coming to its end. His three year ministry was reaching its apex. His rag-tag band of followers would soon abandon Him and He would have to bear the burden of the sins of the entire world upon Him. He is approached by a band of men seeking His arrest, led by Judas who had betrayed Him. The mob was armed to the teeth with swords and clubs. Peter, impetuous as always, draws his sword and cuts off the ear Malchus, the slave of the High Priest. Can you imagine this scene? Jesus set to be arrested and here is this slave with his ear on the ground, blood everywhere. Does Jesus just go quietly into that goodnight with His enemies? Does He fight back? Does He curse the ground they walk on? Does he quote Scripture to them? No. He shows His compassion towards them:

But Jesus said, "No more of this." And he touched the man's ear and healed him. Luke 22: 51 (NLT)

Once again, picture this scene! Jesus could have done anything He wanted! He could have called down ten legions of angels and destroyed His enemies! He could have told them how wrong they were and how righteous He was. But He did none of those things. His last act on this earth, before being brought to trial for crimes He never committed, was to pick up the severed ear of one of the people there to arrest Him and re-attach it miraculously! No indignation. No anger. No malice. Just the compassion to pick up the bloody ear and heal one of the men who would take Him to the cross. You would think that would give His arresters pause but nonetheless, they took Him to the Sanhedrin.

So the first instruction from God in dealing with those who are in opposition to us is to have compassion towards them. It seems in vogue to blame the world for the ills we all face. To look upon them with contempt. Telling someone they are going to hell is not witnessing. Reflect to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Here we have a Jewish man who is mugged and left for dead along the roadside. Lying in a pool of blood, two very religious people walked right by him, offering no help. In fact, they passed by on the other side of the road to not even be near him. But a Samaritan, and outsider, stopped and treated his wounds. He took him to a local inn where he paid for his lodging as he recovered. Jesus ends the parable as such:

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." Luke 10: 36-37 (NLT)

The world is dying beloved. They are lying on the side of the road in a pool of blood and they are dying. Unless they come to salvation they will spend an eternity separated from God. Too often Christians are like the overly religious people in this parable. Crossing the street to avoid having to come into contact with the dying. We have what they need beloved! What did Jesus say we are to be?

"You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5: 14-16 (NLT)

Jesus did not say we were to let our morality be seen by all. He did not say to let our piety be seen by all. He said our good deeds. When dealing with people opposed to us, Jesus first says to have compassion on them.

Secondly, we travel with Christ to when He stands accused before the Sanhedrin and eventually Pilate.

Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. Jesus replied, "Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said." John 18: 19-21 (NLT)

Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true." John 18: 37 (NLT)

The second concept Jesus teaches us is that we must never compromise the Gospel with unbelievers. No matter how serious the setting, conditions, or whatever cost it might have to us personally. Jesus does not sway from His message just because of where He is. Pilate actually reminds Him that he has the power to sentence Him to death but Jesus does not swerve from the message He was sent to bring. We must be equally ready:

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! 1Peter 3: 13-17 (NLT)

The Bible is a double edged sword not a blunt instrument. Sometimes we can take things to the extremes. We either hit people over the head with the truth or we massage it to avoid confrontation. Too much modern Christianity is like this. The Gospel message has been perverted in so many ways in these last days. We have a prosperity message designed to make you think that God is an ATM for our whims and that blessings are somehow materially found on this earth instead of our riches being found in Christ Jesus. Or we have a feel good Gospel which is really self-help or motivational. Matters such as sin, repentance, and hell are barely mentioned if at all. We have a bloodless Christianity lest we offend anyone. We have a Spirit-less Christianity lest we confuse anyone. We are seeker-friendly and purpose driven but there is too much of this world infiltrating the Gospel message. Paul understood this as we see in his farewell to the Ephesian elders:

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Acts 20: 26-27 (NKJV)

The whole counsel of God. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Love does not win beloved God does! In these the last days, people gather around them teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. That there is no hell. That there is no penalty for sin. That there are many paths to heaven or that we all serve the same God. The problem is that while all those may "feel good" they are factually inaccurate. If there is no penalty for sin, then there is no need for a Savior. We all do NOT serve the same God. There is only one way to the Father and that is Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. We cannot deviate from the core message of the Gospel, the entire Gospel as we deal with people opposed to us and we must do so with compassion.

Lastly, we journey with Christ to the Golgotha and the cross. We can certainly talk about forgiveness here as Jesus forgave the very people who were crucifying Him but instead I want to look to the left and the right of Jesus where two criminals hung with Him. One of the criminals mocked Jesus as the world will often do. But here was the exchange between Jesus and the second criminal:

But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23: 40-43 (NLT)

When dealing with people who are opposed to us Jesus has already shown us that we must never compromise the Gospel and do so with great compassion. Lastly, the message is clear beloved NO ONE is beyond redemption! These criminals were seconds away from death and they still had a choice to make. That choice is in essence the same choice we all have to make. Do we mock God or do we confess and ask for forgiveness? Remember, it is not God's desire that any should perish:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. - 2Peter 3: 9-10 (NIV)

God wants everyone to come to repentance, as this criminal at the cross did. Sometimes however we supersize the sin of the world and start to think of people as somehow beyond the redemptive grasp of God! We become judgmental about people instead of compassionate. We become Jonah. The prophet Jonah was told by God to preach repentance to the Ninevites. The problem is that Nineveh was one of the most ruthless cities in the Assyrian Empire. They had routinely pillaged and killed the Jewish people and quite possibly had killed some of Jonah's kin as well. Needless to say, Jonah did not think the Ninevites deserved God's redemption. After trying to run away, God delivers Jonah and he relents to go preach to the great city. To his shocking dismay they repented! No one is beyond redemption! But Jonah retreats to a hill and hopefully waits for God to destroy the city anyway. Nineveh remained beyond Jonah's redemption.

Unfortunately we too can sometimes have Ninevites in our hearts in the church as well. We can look down upon certain people we are actually called to compassionately spread the Gospel to. We can condemn the murderer, the homosexual or the Muslim and think that they are somehow beyond God. Nonsense. You weren't! I wasn't! I do not ever want to draw a line that separates redeemable from non-redeemable for fear that one day someone draws it with me on the wrong side. No beloved, the message from the way Jesus approached His end is clear. We are to present the entire Gospel and not waver in it. We are to do so with great compassion. Love them into the kingdom not beat them over the head with the Bible. Lastly we must put aside our Jonah feelings and never lose sight of the fact that there is no one beyond the redemption of Almighty God! Then the key verses take on their proper perspective. Pray for our enemies. Pray for those in opposition to us. Perfection in Christ is what we strive for and it all begins with not how we treat people in agreement with us but rather how we treat those opposed. Amen.

Reverend Anthony Wade December 1, 2011