Why Does Jesus Want Us to Love Our Enemies?

Sermon on the Mount E16 – In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus shares his sixth and final case study based on the wisdom of the Torah, and it may be the most challenging one yet. The first three case studies focused on treating others as sacred image-bearers of God. The fourth and fifth case studies offered guidance on how to handle conflict. And in the final case study, Jesus concludes with wisdom on how to respond to people who not only dislike us but even desire our harm. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss one of Jesus’ most famous teachings: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Recap of the Sermon so Far (00:00-11:16)
• Chapter 2: Unpacking “Love Your Neighbor and Hate Your Enemy” (11:16-20:12)
• Chapter 3: Who Is My Neighbor? (20:12-33:47)
• Chapter 4: Loving Like God and the Meaning of Teleios (33:47-51:36)

Referenced Resources

• The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R. T. France 
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• “Better Days” - Evil Needle
• “Inner Glow” - Bao & Packed Rich

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey, Frank Garza, and Aaron Olsen are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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