So, there were these really religious folks in Jesus’ time called the Essenes. They were among the three major religious sects of the day; the Pharisees and Sadducees being the other two. The Essenes developed an interesting ritual, as recorded by Josephus in War 2:139. The Essenes would swear an oath twice every day. The oath included a pledge “to hate forever the unjust and to fight together with the just”. The Essenes saw themselves allied with God and that one day God would destroy everyone who didn’t associate with them. They taught that a person should love their fellow-sectarians (allies) and hate those who were not in confederation with them. Their justification for this teaching was Leviticus 19:17-18:
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart...you shall not avenge nor bear any grudge against one of your own people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”
Using reverse logic to interpret the scripture, the Essenes assumed that if they were supposed to love their neighbors, then they should equally hate their enemies.
End scene.
Enter Jesus.
Matthew 5:43-44 records Jesus teaching about love, neighbors, and enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Jesus completely undermined the Essenes interpretation. He said, “OK, I know what you’ve heard from the religious leaders, but I say to you...” Jesus interpreted the culturally well-known words of Leviticus 19:17-18 a little differently than His Essene counterparts. To Jesus, “neighbor” didn’t just include those people you’re close to or associated with. Jesus said “neighbor” includes enemies, as well.
Enemies can’t be neighbors and neighbors can’t be enemies. It’s one or the other, folks. Jesus wants us to broaden our definition of “neighbor”.
In Matthew 5:46, Jesus said “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?”
This was adapted from a chapter in New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, by David Bivin. I strongly recommend reading that book.