Day 7 of 14
Six Antitheses Part 2
Oaths, Retaliation, Enemy Love
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Matthew 5:33-48: The final three antitheses — on oaths ("Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'"), retaliation ("Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also"), and enemy love ("Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you").
Then read Leviticus 19:18: "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD."
Reflection
The final three antitheses take us to the most radical demands of the Sermon on the Mount — and to its most dazzling vision of what humanity can become.
On oaths, Jesus says your word should be so reliable that swearing is unnecessary. "Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No.'" A community of truthful people does not need oaths. The need to swear reveals that dishonesty is assumed as the default. Jesus envisions a community where honesty is the air everyone breathes.
On retaliation, Jesus overturns the instinct that runs deepest in human nature: the desire to get even. "An eye for an eye" was originally a limit on vengeance — no more than proportional restitution. But Jesus goes further: "Do not resist the one who is evil." Turn the other cheek. Go the extra mile. Give your cloak as well. This is not passive acceptance of injustice. It is creative, nonviolent resistance that refuses to play by the oppressor's rules.
And then the climax: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Leviticus 19 commanded love for the neighbor. Some interpreters limited "neighbor" to fellow Israelites. Jesus explodes the boundary. Love everyone — including those who hate you.
N.T. Wright explains why this is not sentimental:
"Love your enemies. This is not a sentimental suggestion. It is the most revolutionary command ever given, because it reflects the character of the God who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good."
The reason for enemy love is theological: "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." God's love is indiscriminate — rain falls on the just and the unjust. To love only those who love you is to be no different from anyone else. To love your enemy is to be like God.
Bonhoeffer, who ultimately gave his life under a regime of enemies, knew this was not abstract:
"The love of our enemies takes us along the way of the cross and into fellowship with the Crucified. This is the love that can pray for its persecutors, because it has already forgiven them."
Going Deeper
"Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The word "perfect" (teleios) means "complete" or "whole" — it points to maturity, not flawlessness. The Father's completeness is His indiscriminate love. To be "perfect" is to love as He loves — without limits, without exclusions, without conditions. This is the summit of the Sermon. And it is reached not by human effort but by the transforming presence of the kingdom in human hearts.
Key Quotes
“Love your enemies. This is not a sentimental suggestion. It is the most revolutionary command ever given, because it reflects the character of the God who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good.”
“The love of our enemies takes us along the way of the cross and into fellowship with the Crucified. This is the love that can pray for its persecutors, because it has already forgiven them.”
Prayer Focus
Praying by name for someone who has hurt you or whom you consider an adversary — asking God to bless them
Meditation
Jesus says 'be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.' Is this a crushing demand or a liberating invitation? What kind of 'perfection' is Jesus describing?
Question for Discussion
Is enemy love realistic as a communal practice, or does it only work as a private, individual ethic — and what would it look like for your church to collectively love its enemies?