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Loving people towards wholeness because God is doing that very same thing with you.

The 5th chapter of Matthew closes with a curious admonition from Jesus. 

After quoting and then re-working various commandments from the Old Testament Law, Jesus quotes an aberration (likely a quote from a Rabbinical commentary) of the Law from Leviticus: “You have heard it said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 

What’s curious is that “love your neighbor” is from Leviticus 19 and it is literally surrounded by texts encouraging the Israelites to not hold grudges and hate their enemies.

Somehow the theologians of the day had gotten things a little…backwards…

First, Jesus gives them the proper command—Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Sons, in ANE culture, were being cultivated into the likeness (spiritually, economically, socially, etc.) of their fathers. Jesus is drawing on the strong cultural identity that sons found in their fathers. The connotation is clear—if you want to be a “son of God,” you will be growing holistically into his likeness.

Then, Jesus dismantles the poor theology that’s prevalent among the religious elite (and, therefore, the common folk). God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” The theology of the day said that the “good” and “just” got God’s favor (and therefore were socially, politically, and economically elevated) and the “evil” and “unjust” were shunned by God. Quite simply, the poor and destitute of society had clearly done something wrong, right? 

Wrong. Or so says Jesus. 

Jesus is saying that we don’t earn rain to make crops grow. We don’t earn the sun to light our days.

Because if we were truly given things based on the balance of our good and badness, I think we’d all be in trouble.

Jesus’ point is that God loves humanity and desires to love them towards wholeness.

And we should be doing nothing less. That is our calling. That is what the entire Creation, including humanity, is really groaning and longing for—being loved back into the whole, unshattered image of God.

A telling if not initially confusing quote closes the section: “You, therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.”

The Greek word we’re seeing for “perfect” is related to the word Telos, or end.

“You, therefore, must have the same end in mind as your heavenly father has in mind.” 

Where is the Kingdom of God present?

Where humans are being a little less broken, shallow, defensive, and vengeful and finding ways to trust in their identity in Christ—by loving those who don’t love them back. 

Why? Because God loves them. You may not love them, you may have a million (or none) reasons to hate them. 

But God loves them. And if you’re growing into the image of Christ, you are called to love them. 

If you think about it, “enemies” are more common than we realize. An enemies is anyone that we have reason to prop ourselves against. To judge ourselves based on. 

We’re right, they’re wrong.

We’re better than they are. 

They did something unwarranted or unfair to us.

Those people are enemies. 

And we are called to love them regardless.

The Kingdom of God will be found where people love their enemies.

Where people are patient with the impatient.

Kind to the unkind.

Where we refuse to envy. Refuse to boast. Refuse to be rude. Refuse to be arrogant. 

Where we don’t insist on our own way. We’re not to be irritable or resentful.

Where we aren’t happy when people fail and break and crash but where we rejoice in peace and triumph and goodness in the lives of others.

The Kingdom of God will be found where we bear all things, trust in Jesus through all things, stay hopeful in all things, and endure all things.

The Kingdom of God = Love Triumphs.