Matthew 5:44 - Love Your Enemies - Words from the Bible | Speak His Word Only
Matthew 5:44 KJV
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
Opening Summary
Matthew 5:44 contains one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls His disciples to demonstrate a kind of love that goes beyond natural affection. It is relatively easy to love those who love us, speak well of those who honor us, and do good to those who treat us well. But Jesus commands His followers to extend love even toward those who oppose, insult, mistreat, and persecute them.
This does not mean pretending evil is good. It does not require remaining in dangerous or abusive situations, nor does it eliminate appropriate boundaries, justice, or accountability.
Rather, Jesus addresses the condition of the disciple's heart.
The follower of Christ must refuse to allow another person's hatred to produce hatred within.
“But I Say Unto You”
Jesus begins with authority:
“But I say unto you.”
Throughout Matthew 5, Jesus repeatedly contrasts common interpretations and practices with the deeper righteousness of the kingdom of God.
Immediately before verse 44, Jesus says:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.”
— Matthew 5:43 KJV
The command to love one's neighbor came from Leviticus 19:18, but the command to “hate thine enemy” was not part of that verse.
Jesus confronts the tendency to restrict love only to those we consider deserving of it.
Kingdom love reaches farther.
“Love Your Enemies”
This is difficult because an enemy is, by definition, someone positioned against you.
Jesus does not say:
Like everything your enemy does.
He does not say:
Trust everyone who has harmed you.
He does not say:
Pretend nothing happened.
He says:
“Love your enemies.”
Biblical love seeks what is right and refuses to become governed by hatred, revenge, bitterness, or malice.
You can recognize wrongdoing without becoming consumed by hatred toward the wrongdoer.
You can establish boundaries without wishing evil upon someone.
You can pursue justice without pursuing vengeance.
“Bless Them That Curse You”
Words can wound deeply.
Someone may insult you, misrepresent you, speak against your character, or deliberately attempt to damage your reputation.
The natural response is:
“If you curse me, I will curse you.”
Jesus interrupts that cycle.
“Bless them.”
This does not mean declaring that their wrongdoing is acceptable.
It means refusing to use your mouth to reproduce the same evil that came against you.
Paul expresses a similar principle:
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
— Romans 12:14 KJV
The mouth of the believer should not become controlled by the behavior of the enemy.
“Do Good to Them That Hate You”
Jesus moves from words to actions.
Love is not merely something we feel.
Love acts.
Doing good does not mean enabling someone's sinful behavior or repeatedly placing yourself where someone can harm you.
Rather, when an appropriate opportunity to do genuine good arises, hatred should not control your response.
This destroys the cycle of retaliation.
The world says:
“Treat people the way they treated you.”
Jesus teaches His disciples to live according to a higher standard.
Do not allow someone else's character to determine yours.
“Pray for Them”
Perhaps this is the most powerful instruction in the verse.
Jesus tells us to pray for those who mistreat us.
Prayer changes the direction of our hearts.
It is difficult to continually bring someone before God in sincere prayer while deliberately feeding hatred toward that person.
Instead of saying:
“Lord, destroy them,”
we can pray:
“Lord, bring them to repentance.”
“Lord, reveal truth.”
“Lord, correct what is wrong.”
“Lord, change their heart.”
“Lord, keep my own heart from bitterness.”
Prayer places the situation into God's hands.
“Which Despitefully Use You”
To be despitefully used is particularly painful because it involves intentional mistreatment.
Someone may manipulate your kindness.
Take advantage of your generosity.
Misrepresent your intentions.
Use your trust against you.
Jesus does not deny that such mistreatment occurs.
Neither does He tell His disciples to call evil good.
He tells them how to guard their hearts when evil has been done to them.
The actions of another person should not be allowed to transform you into someone governed by bitterness.
“And Persecute You”
Persecution goes beyond ordinary disagreement.
Jesus was preparing His disciples for opposition because of their identification with Him.
Earlier He said:
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 5:10 KJV
Following Christ does not guarantee that everyone will understand, appreciate, or approve of you.
But persecution does not give the believer permission to become hateful.
Jesus Himself demonstrated this principle.
While being crucified, He prayed:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
— Luke 23:34 KJV
Jesus practiced what He taught.
Love Does Not Mean the Absence of Boundaries
Matthew 5:44 should never be used to tell someone that loving an enemy means remaining continually exposed to preventable harm.
Love and wisdom belong together.
You can forgive someone and still recognize that trust must be rebuilt.
You can pray for someone while maintaining distance.
You can love someone while confronting wrongdoing.
You can desire someone's repentance while refusing to participate in their destructive behavior.
You can forgive while allowing legitimate authorities to address wrongdoing when necessary.
Forgiveness does not require pretending that nothing happened.
And love does not require calling darkness light.
Do Not Let Their Hatred Become Your Hatred
One of the deepest lessons of Matthew 5:44 is that Jesus refuses to allow the enemy to determine the spiritual condition of His disciple.
If someone hates you and you respond by becoming consumed with hatred, that person's behavior has begun controlling your heart.
If someone curses you and you become consumed with cursing them, their behavior has influenced your speech.
Jesus offers another way:
They curse — you bless.
They hate — you do good.
They mistreat — you pray.
They persecute — you remain faithful to Christ.
This is not weakness.
It requires spiritual strength.
The Father's Example
The next verse explains why Jesus commands this:
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven...”
— Matthew 5:45 KJV
God:
“maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
God demonstrates goodness even toward people who do not acknowledge Him.
Jesus therefore calls His disciples to reflect the character of their heavenly Father.
Our treatment of people should not merely reflect how they treated us.
It should increasingly reflect the Father whom we belong to.
Personal Application
Ask yourself:
Is there someone whose actions I have allowed to produce bitterness in my heart?
Do I secretly desire revenge?
Do I repeatedly rehearse what someone did to me?
Can I sincerely bring that person before God in prayer?
Matthew 5:44 does not tell you to deny your pain.
Bring the pain to God.
It does not tell you to pretend injustice never occurred.
Bring the injustice to God.
It does not forbid wise boundaries.
Establish them when necessary.
But do not surrender your heart to hatred.
Sometimes the greatest victory is not watching your enemy fall.
The greater victory may be refusing to allow what they did to change who you are becoming in Christ.
Love them.
Bless rather than curse.
Do good when it is appropriate.
Pray for them.
And entrust judgment to God.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for showing me a love that I did not earn. Teach me to reflect Your character even when I have been hurt, rejected, mistreated, or misunderstood.
Help me to love my enemies, bless those who speak against me, and pray for those who have mistreated me. Guard my heart from bitterness, hatred, resentment, and the desire for revenge.
Give me wisdom to establish healthy boundaries where they are needed without allowing those boundaries to become hatred. Help me to forgive while still walking in truth and discernment.
Father, I place those who have hurt me into Your hands. Where there is sin, bring repentance. Where there is deception, reveal truth. Where there is brokenness, bring healing. Where justice is necessary, let righteousness prevail.
Most of all, search my own heart. Do not allow another person's actions to draw me away from the character of Christ.
Give me grace to overcome evil with good and to walk in the love You have commanded.
In Jesus' name, Amen.