Have Mercy (Luke 6:27-36)

"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back."

Jesus continues His sermon in the same way that any other preacher would make a new point in a lesson today. He said, “I say to you who hear”. A preacher of the word is determined to reach those who are truly interested. Jesus is also getting the attention of His audience because He is about to teach one of the most difficult principles that man has ever heard. Jesus taught, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” This love is not the romantic love or the love that is shared between close relatives and friends, but it comes from the word agape (Ἀγαπᾶτε), which means to seek the highest good for another no matter what they do to you. God is not asking us to act as if we are in perfect harmony with those who give us ill treatment, but is asking us to be the better man or woman and do what is best for everyone we come in contact with.

Keep in mind that with any sermon, the thoughts should be connected in some way, and in this sermon, the reason for teaching us to love our enemies is because we were just taught that we would have enemies. Jesus wants us to know how to act when we are attacked by those who are against us. When we are hated, cursed, and mistreated, we are not to return evil for evil. On the contrary, we are to act kindly toward, bless, and pray for those who do evil against us. The natural, fleshly response when someone offends you or misuses you is to grab them and give them a beating. Jesus changes that mindset.

Jesus then proceeds to give a couple of examples. The first is, “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also…” Most of us would have to be honest and say that if someone slapped us across the face, we would not be able to control our feelings enough to simply turn the other cheek to them. Most of us would turn just enough to look them in the eye, and we would proceed to harm them in return, whether verbally or physically. Some say, “I’ll give you both cheeks, but then…it’s go time…it is time for your beat down.” While we find this somewhat humorous, my prayer is that God will truly help us to grow as followers of Christ in this area of our faith.

This should be called “the extra factor”. As Christians, we are to give more. In this case, we give our enemy another cheek to slap. But what does this really mean? Did Jesus willingly give His enemies another cheek to slap without saying anything? (John 18:22-23) NO! Did the followers of Christ let others slap them around without a word? (Acts 23:2-3) NO! The point is that we are to be willing to suffer for the name of Christ. As Christians, we are to endure the fiery trials that come upon us, and our great reward of salvation is found in heaven through keeping the faith of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:6-9). The extreme nature of this example is offered to help us to see this truth. Are you willing to suffer for the cause of Christ?

Jesus finishes this section of the text by also including, “whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.” In other words, if someone takes one of your possessions, do not hesitate to give them more than what they came for. I have always said, if someone steals something, they probably needed it a lot more than you did. Just as we pointed out with the first example, the reason that this concept is so extreme is so that we get the point about being benevolent. We may need to give to everyone who asks something of us, but we do not have to give everything. We certainly do not have to give to others in a way that would violate other teachings in Scripture (II Thessalonians 3:10).

I remember a time when I was in Bible college, and there were several acts of vandalism wherein a certain set of thieves were breaking into cars and were taking all the Bibles out of the cars; not stereos, money, or other earthly valuables, but Bibles. Keep in mind that these individuals were taking a very valuable item from these Bible students, but in this case most of the students could only laugh, thinking, “I hope they read it”. Sometimes we can actually change the hearts of others by giving them more than what they ask for or more than what they try to take from us. Even if someone does not steal our material wealth but asks us for it, we are to be giving, and we should not ask for a return on what is taken from us. Even Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

"Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is {that} to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is {that} to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is {that} to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same {amount.} But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil {men.} Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Just as we mentioned earlier, this sermon has connecting points that flow from one to another. Here Jesus gives the “Golden Rule” for acting kindly to those who would harm us or take things from us. He teaches, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you”. All of us have a standard for how we like to be treated, and we are to use that standard for how we treat others. Take note of the fact that Christianity is not based upon what we cannot do but rather upon what we can and should do.

So many times, when this passage is brought up in conversation and even in writing, it is usually presented from a negative viewpoint (“don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you!”). The idea here is that we should actively be involved in treating others at a level that we would want them to treat us, not simply avoiding the ill treatment of others. This is something that must be understood if we are going to grasp the meaning here.

Our treatment of others cannot be determined by whether they are a friend or an enemy. With a friend, we are trying to grow a relationship that is already well established. And with an enemy, we are trying to restore a relationship that has been severed by some barrier that stands between us.

Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to love and be good to all while lending to them the things necessary for this life. In such cases, we cannot expect love, goodness, and gifts from those whom we bless. If we seek blessing when we bless others, our love, goodness, and kindness are not sincere and have an ulterior motive behind them. Jesus tells us not to seek anything in return.

The question that Jesus asks when dealing with all of His points is, “What credit is that to you?” The reason for asking this question is to cause us to think about the fact that we often do not gain anything spiritually from the way that we treat others. This is due to our requirements of a reward in the here and now. In other words, “If I love you…love me…If I do good to you…do good to me…If I lend something to you…return it to me or give me something else.”

Jesus makes the point like this: “If you love those who love you, what credit is {that} to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is {that} to you? For even sinners do the same.  If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is {that} to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same {amount.}”

It is easy to love those who love you. It is not hard at all to do good unto others when they do good to you. It is also a very simple thing to lend to others when they will give us something in return. Jesus teaches us, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil {men.}”

It is a mutual feeling that we share among brethren and friends when it comes to loving and caring for one another. But when was the last time you loved and cared for a sinner? This is exactly what Jesus did in His earthly life and what He continues to do as He lives as our intercessor in heaven. He is calling us to follow His lead on this. We need more Christians who are sharing the love of Christ with other sinners who are lost. We need dedicated disciples who will do more good unto others who are in need of help. We need faithful followers of Jesus who are willing to bless others and make some sacrifices and not expect an immediate return. If you can be one of these people, know that you will be recognized as a child of God and you will have a great reward laid up in heaven for you. Paul said in Romans 8:18-19,  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Unfortunately, many Christians have not moved past the worldly thought that says, “If you are not loving, good and kind, then do not expect any of that from me.” Jesus says you do not get any credit for that type of attitude. You cannot be a son of God with that mindset. There is no eternal reward for those who are unloving and unkind.

Imagine where we would be today if God had had this mentality toward us while we were His enemies. (Romans 5:6-11). The text tells us that God, “Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil {men}”. This is seen in our salvation, and we must be willing to remember the kindness of God toward us as we deal with others.

In Matthew's account of this text, he includes a point that is helpful for understanding this truth. Matthew penned in Matthew 5:45, “for He causes His sun to rise on {the} evil and {the} good and sends rain on {the} righteous and {the} unrighteous.” God's blessings are showered upon all, and it is up to us to show Him that we are grateful for His mercy and kindness. As a matter of fact, Paul motivates the recipients of his Roman letter by saying, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:1-2).

While the world says, return evil for evil, and the Devil says, return evil for good, the Lord says, return good for evil. We have to decide who we are going to follow. Jesus has laid out some plain, yet very challenging teachings in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Will you accept the challenge and follow what He has proclaimed to us today?

The final challenge and word of encouragement extended to us by Jesus in this part of the Sermon on the Mount is, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Let us make two final evaluations, and the lesson will be completed.

First, let us see that the challenge is for us to be like God when it comes to showing mercy. God is love (I John 4:8). When you become love, goodness, and kindness and are completely devoted to mercy toward others, then you can be like God. You can be a child of God and have Him as your Father. Matthew states this portion of the parallel account like this, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Until you are perfect like your heavenly Father, you need to rely upon His mercy, goodness, and kindness toward you. Therefore, if you need mercy, you better extend mercy to others, even your enemies.

Secondly, we need to talk a minute about the mercy of God toward us. Paul wrote, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly {places} in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-7). Are you in Christ Jesus? Have you received the mercy of God?

Do you realize and appreciate all that God has done to offer you redemption from your sins? If you do, why don’t you thank Him today? If you are saved, praise the Lord while encouraging others to come to the Lord! If you are lost and/or need some help with some sin that has caused you to forsake the Lord for a time, you can receive his tender mercies today. Come to Jesus today and respond to Him in humble submission. Our heavenly Father is ready to have mercy on you. Reach out and let me know how I can assist you in your walk with the Lord.