Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 6:27-36. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on April 7, 2024.
One of my favorite activities during my time in Japan was walking. There were two main reasons for this. The first was a beautiful pond near my apartment called Sayama-Ike. The path around the pond was 2,850 meters long, and a full circuit along with the walk from my apartment to the pond and back covered almost exactly 4 km. The picture in my mind from April 2018, when the cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom, remains vivid to this day.
The second reason I loved walking in Japan was because I arrived there just a year after Pokémon Go had taken the world by storm. Almost as soon as I settled in, I got myself a pair of sweat-resistant Bluetooth earphones, and walking quickly became a daily ritual. I’d put on an audiobook, fire up Pokémon Go, and set off around Sayama-Ike. On weekends, especially when there were in-game events, I’d often go around the pond two or three times in an afternoon. Over the two years I lived in Japan, I ended up walking just over 2,500 km.
But this walking wasn’t just for leisure. In November 2017, I visited the island of Kyushu and took an overnight ferry to a hot spring town called Beppu. When I arrived, I noticed a number of exhausted participants trudging along the streets. It turned out they were completing the Yukuhashi ~ Beppu 100 km walk, and seeing them made me want to take on the challenge myself. I never got around to doing it, though. Despite all the walking I did in Japan, I never attempted that 100 km walk because, quite frankly, it seemed too hard. Walking 100 km in a single go, at an average speed of 5 km/h, would take 20 hours straight, and that’s assuming you maintain a steady pace. For most people, it’s a challenge that feels nearly impossible.
This story ties into today’s scripture, which many consider the “100 km walk” of the Bible—a challenge that seems insurmountable. We’re looking at a passage where Jesus commands something incredibly difficult: to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who abuse us. In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus says, “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 abuse you” (ESV). These words are not easy to digest. Loving God and loving our neighbors make sense, but loving our enemies? Allowing ourselves to be mistreated? This is a command that seems beyond our capacity to obey.
Yet, this is exactly what Jesus taught. From the last sermon in our series on the Beatitudes, we learned that God’s kingdom is anything but expected. It’s a kingdom where the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the hated, and the excluded are blessed. The Beatitudes serve as both an invitation to and preparation for the most difficult commands Jesus gives us.
So, what does Jesus mean when he commands us to love our enemies? It’s tempting to think He’s exaggerating for effect—a literary hyperbole. After all, most of us don’t have enemies in the dramatic sense of the word. But even if we don’t have people who actively hate us, we all encounter those who make life difficult, those who annoy us, or those who might not like us for reasons we don’t understand. Jesus’ command to love our enemies is not mere hyperbole; it’s a call to extend love and grace even in challenging circumstances.
Jesus goes on to provide concrete examples in Luke 6:29-31: “To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them” (ESV).
These examples may seem extreme, but the principles behind them are what matter most. The first principle is grace. We should be gracious when insulted or rejected, just as early Christians were often met with violence but continued to minister despite the rejection. The second principle is vulnerability; we should not seek revenge but remain open to those who wrong us, especially in the context of religious persecution.
The third principle is generosity. Jesus calls us to meet the needs of others, going beyond mere acts of charity to embody a lifestyle of giving. Finally, the fourth principle is the Golden Rule: “As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them” (Luke 6:31, ESV). This rule is not just about refraining from harm but actively doing good to everyone, including those who oppose us.
Jesus justifies this difficult command by pointing out that loving those who love us, doing good to those who do good to us, and lending expecting repayment are things even sinners do. But His disciples are called to a higher standard, one that reflects the love and mercy of God Himself. In Luke 6:35-36, Jesus says, “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 is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (ESV).
The ability to love in this way comes from a renewed perspective—one that looks beyond earthly rewards to the greater reward in heaven. As Colossians 3:1-2 instructs, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (ESV).
In conclusion, Jesus’ command to love our enemies is a daunting challenge, akin to a spiritual 100 km walk. But with a heavenly perspective, understanding that we are called to reflect God’s mercy and love, we can take on this challenge with the assurance that our efforts are not in vain.
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