The Lord’s Messages
- 11/12/2025
The Lord’s Message: Questions that Jesus Asked: “If You Love Those Who Love You, What Reward Do You Have?”
Date: November 9, 2025
Where: Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:43-48Please open your Bibles to Matthew 5:43. Page 1503 in the Pew Bible. This morning, we are again back into the Sermon on the Mount. We are going to look at one of Jesus’ most popular sayings: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” It is the simplest and most challenging of all the teachings.
Let us pray.
Jesus starts off saying, “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor.” This is found in Leviticus 19:18. Then we have this addition on the end, “and hate your enemy.” Where did the people hear this? In the temple or synagogue, or in our day, the church. This is a worldly saying, not a Godly saying. Unfortunately, worldly sayings can be heard in the church. That is why, we should test everything that we hear especially in the church. Paul tells us how to go about testing what we hear in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22. To determine whether something is good is to look at Jesus’ teachings and Jesus’ actions while He was here on earth. If they do not fall in line with His teachings and His actions, they should be rejected.
Why should we love and pray for our enemies? Jesus gives us the answer in verse 45a, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. This is the gold standard of righteousness for the kingdom of God because it reflects the character of God. In verse 45b Jesus goes on to give the example of the sun that God made shining on both the evil and the good. If God’s sun shines on the evil and the good, then we should treat our enemies as our neighbor.
This is a radical love and brings about a non-retaliation attitude. Jesus calls for a love that actively blesses, does good, and prays for those who persecute you. This is the same kind of radical love in a well-known parable, the Good Samaritan.
Most of you have probably heard Jesus tell this parable but allow me to refresh our memories. This parable is found in Luke 10:30-37. In both Jesus’ teaching and His parables, Jesus is confronting false teachings by the Pharisee and religious leaders.
Jesus is calling us to rise above our worldly thinking into the realm of God’s thinking. In God’s realm loving our enemies is not an option for a follower of Jesus. It is the core of ethics for life.
God’s love is not based on human merit but is poured out upon all people. In other words, the blessing of God is not determined whether we do good deeds. It is not determined whether we read our Bible or pray to God. It is not determined whether we attend church. The blessing of God is given to all, even those who reject God. Jesus exemplified this when He washed all the disciples’ feet including Judas who would betray Him.
This is transformative love where, instead of walls and barricades created, bridges are built. By loving and praying for our enemies, then our attitude towards them is changed. We no longer see them as our enemies, but as our neighbors. We start to treat them as a neighbor in need.
With this attitude, conflicts and war are quickly ended. Our human nature to seek vengeance is replaced by love and concern for the other. Has anyone ever lived next to a confrontational neighbor? In 1988, I bought a house on Flatland Road, just outside of Chestertown. My neighbors to the left of me were great. I got along very well with them. The neighbor on the right of me was very bitter and very confrontational about everything. She confronted me any chance that she could. Now, I could have easily been mean and nasty to her are she was to me. That would have only escalated the hostilities. Instead, I prayed to God what to do. God led me to this passage of scripture. I started to pray to God asking for God to show His blessing and love towards her. The confrontations from her did not die down, but my attitude towards her changed.
Jesus says we are to not just love those we get along with. We are to love those we do not get along with. It is easy to love those who we get along with. Everybody can do that. The followers of Jesus are called to love those that are harassing them and making false accusations about them. That is the radical love that Jesus is calling us to.
This is the “perfect love of God,” that Jesus expresses in verse 48. This perfection is not a legalistic, flawless standard but a striving towards God’s character of complete love and mercy. Especially for those who do not deserve it. This perfect love surpassed all the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus’ time. It surpasses all the teachings of this world and brings us into the kingdom of God.
The righteous living in the kingdom of God is outlined for us in The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-12. In the kingdom of God, transformed by God’s radical love, sinners become saints and enemies become neighbors. Jesus does not have to ask the question, “If You Love Those Who Love You, What Reward Do You Have?” Our reward is that we see each other as daughters and sons of God. The Good News is that we do not have to wait until we get to heaven, we can show the love of God today to our family, our friends, our co-workers, and even strangers.
So, continue to read your Bible, live the Bible and be the Bible for others. Amen.