Jesus' Attitude Toward Enemies

Text: Luke 6:27-28

Series: Restoration Sermons

Date:

Speaker: Ed Rangel

Location: Waupaca Church of Christ

Bible Version: NASB 1995

Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. See in Jesus the model attitude toward enemies — no grudges, no malice, kindness, forgiveness.
2. Understand that we are called not merely to admire this attitude but to follow it.
3. Examine his own heart for grudges and unforgiveness.

Thesis

Jesus' attitude toward His enemies — holding no grudges, bearing injury without malice, returning kindness for hostility, and forgiving freely — is a window into His heart and the pattern His followers must not merely admire but imitate.

Burden

Character is best measured not by how we treat our friends but by how we treat our enemies — and there Jesus stands alone. The ancient world admired a man like Cyrus who "did the most good to his friends and the most harm to his enemies." Jesus reversed it: He did good to His enemies. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:27-28). The burden of this lesson is that these are not merely beautiful words to admire from a distance; Jesus said "follow Me," and following means becoming like Him toward the very people who wrong us. Few tests of discipleship are harder, or more revealing.

Introduction

Character is estimated by our attitudes, and Jesus' teaching reveals His character — His sayings are windows into His heart. The outline looks through four of those windows: Jesus held no grudges, He bore injury without malice, He was kind to His enemies, and He was forgiving.

I. He Held No Grudges (Matthew 18:21)

1. When Peter asked how often he must forgive (Matt. 18:21), Jesus' answer — without limit — revealed a heart that kept no grudges.
2. Grudge-bearing is more than a fault; it is mean — small and ungenerous.
3. Nourished spite is contemptible, a thing cherished in the dark.
4. And no one carrying a grudge can be happy — the grudge poisons its holder first. Jesus carried none.

II. He Bore Injury Without Malice (1 Peter 2:21-23)

1. He kept no chip on His shoulder.
2. No one could provoke Him to malice — "while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats" (1 Pet. 2:21-23).
3. His soul was too great to hate anyone.
4. And no one was ever more cruelly mistreated — yet no bitterness touched Him.
5. Love keeps no memorandum of evil — "love... does not take into account a wrong suffered" (1 Cor. 13:5). Jesus kept no such ledger.

III. He Was Kind to His Enemies (Matthew 26:50)

1. The world's ideal was the opposite — Plato praised Cyrus for doing "the most good to his friends and the most harm to his enemies."
2. Jesus gave goodwill to unfriendly people — He crossed every barrier to bless the Samaritan woman, though "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9).
3. Even to His betrayer He said, "Friend, do what you have come for" (Matt. 26:50) — kindness to the very man selling Him.
4. His aim was not vengeance on His enemies but their transformation — He wanted them changed, not crushed.

IV. Jesus Was Forgiving (Luke 23:34)

1. From the cross He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
2. He taught us to forgive — "if you forgive others... your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matt. 6:14); forgive "from your heart" (Matt. 18:35).
3. No unforgiving man can have fellowship with a forgiving God — we cannot receive what we refuse to give.
4. And Jesus said "Follow Me" — not merely "accept My ideas." We must follow Him to become like Him.
5. As Paul urged, "the things you... saw in me, practice these things" (Phil. 4:9) — and that is exactly what Christ asks of us toward our enemies.

Application

Here is the searching question: who is your enemy, and what are you carrying toward him? A grudge nursed in the dark? A ledger of wrongs? A quiet hope for his harm rather than his good? Lay it beside Jesus. He held no grudge, kept no record of evil, returned kindness for hostility, and forgave His killers while they killed Him — and then He said, "Follow Me." That means more than admiring His example; it means doing it. Let go the grudge, for it poisons you first. Refuse malice, even when the injury is real and deep. Do good to the one who has wronged you, aiming at his transformation, not his ruin. And forgive — because an unforgiving heart cannot hold fellowship with a forgiving God. This is one of the truest tests of whether we are His.

Conclusion

Jesus' attitude toward His enemies is a window into His heart: no grudges, no malice, kindness for hostility, forgiveness even from the cross. The world admired men who harmed their enemies; Jesus blessed His. And He calls us not to admire this from afar but to follow Him into it. Become like Him toward those who wrong you.

Invitation

The greatest proof of Jesus' attitude toward enemies is that He died for us "while we were enemies" (Rom. 5:10). He forgave you before you ever turned to Him. Turn now: believe on Him, repent of your sins, confess His name, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and receive the forgiveness He prayed down from the cross. Then go and forgive as you have been forgiven. Come while we sing.

Word Study

Scripture Interlock Table

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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 57. Doctrinal audit: no doctrinal issues; a Christ-character/discipleship sermon on attitude toward enemies, with the consistent call to imitate, not merely admire, Christ. Style audit: OCR cleanup; "Phil. 1:9" corrected to Phil. 4:9 (the quoted line "the things you... saw in me, practice"). The Plato/Cyrus reference is preserved as Boles' classical illustration. Supplied supporting reference (Rom. 5:10) flagged; Boles' own citations verified and retained.