Why Did Jesus Say "Love Your Enemies"?

The Short Answer

Jesus teaches enemy-love for three reasons: it reflects God's character, it breaks the cycle of violence, and it distinguishes Christians from everyone else. “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:46). The command is radical precisely because it is costly — and that cost is the point.

The Full Explanation

Enemy-love is not a suggestion for the spiritually advanced. It is a command at the center of Jesus' ethical teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. The Greek word used here — agape— does not refer to feelings of warmth or affection. It refers to a deliberate choice to act for someone's good, regardless of what they have done to you.

This is what makes enemy-love different from tolerance. Tolerance asks you to leave your enemy alone. Enemy-love asks you to actively seek their good — to pray for them, refuse to dehumanize them, and remain open to their restoration. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “The only way to overcome evil is to let it run its course without adding to it.”

Jesus himself embodied this teaching on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) is the ultimate act of enemy-love — praying for the very people killing him. This is the pattern Christian peacemakers are called to follow.

Throughout Christian history, this command has driven the most radical acts of witness. Dorothy Day loved her ideological opponents. Thomas Merton prayed for the architects of nuclear war. Martin Luther King Jr. refused to hate the people who bombed his home and jailed him. In each case, enemy-love was not weakness — it was the most powerful form of moral resistance available.

What This Means for You

Enemy-love begins with prayer. You cannot love someone you refuse to pray for. Start there — pray for the person who angers you most, the public figure you despise, the family member who has hurt you. This is not easy. It is not supposed to be. But it is the most distinctively Christian thing you can do.

In the age of social media, enemy-love also means refusing to dehumanize people online — choosing prayer before scrolling, attention before outrage, and grace before judgment.