Why did Jesus command his disciples to love their enemies?

[stevesonthebay]

Why did Jesus command his disciples to love their enemies instead of killing their enemies?

Because everyone else doesn't by nature. By their fallen nature they seek to win over the other person. They are in competition to the other person for survival. Thats what it comes down to without Christ.

Its because its radical and opposite to what people are inclined to do is what makes it different. In fact the world sees this as being weak and submissive. Especially in a world based on individual rights over all else.

I think this teaching is one of several that destinguish Christs way from all other ways. Like giving the shirt off your own back to help another. Instead of carrying their bags for one mile as requested. Go another mile. And of course laying down your life for another, even a stranger. Which the world thinks is crazy and instead wants to kill another who opposes them.

These are the fruits of the spirit that identify Christ in Christians.

I remember Jordan Peterson giving a lecture on this subject based on psychology. The psychology of loving your enermies and turning the other cheek. He used the IRA conflict and how for years it became tit for tat killings and never seemed to end. Like many ongoing conflicts.

But at some point it is only when one side stops killing and makes themselves open to changing things. Histoy shows that peace is usually made when one side compromises and is willing to love and not kill.

 

[Matthias]

What does Jesus say about those who don’t obey his command to love their enemies?

 

[Bob]

What does Jesus say about those who don’t obey his command to love their enemies?

Matthew 25:
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

 

[Matthias]

“There are two ways Christians approach basic moral issues. One is to start with the world’s questions, while the second is to start with Christ’s questions. The first position commonly asks such questions as: What would happen if all of us became pacifists? Would not Russia, China, or terrorist states take over our country? For many Anabaptists, this is the wrong question. They begin by acknowledging that Christ is Lord, so they ask, What does it mean to follow Christ in this situation? How can we remain faithful to His way, even though it may lead to a cross?”

(Dale W. Robinson, Biblical Pacifism, p. 37)

I‘m an Anabaptist. (I was rebaptized on October 9, 2000. I selected the date because it fell on the Day of Atonement that year.) I don’t think the world asks an unreasonable question; I don’t consider it to be a bad or wrong question. Christians must be prepared to answer it. Those who have interacted with me on this subject should be able to recognize that I answer basic moral issues as Anabaptists typically do.