Loving Even Our Enemies
Month 6: The Cross — Why Jesus Died · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 22:47–51
47 While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Memory Verse
“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”— Romans 5:8 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Proverbs 19–21
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 163 of 365 — wisdom for our words and tempers.)The Heart of It
A crowd came to arrest Jesus in the dark. They were led by Judas, one of Jesus' own friends. Judas greeted Him with a kiss, and that kiss was the signal to betray Him. Jesus' followers were ready to fight. One of them swung a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. But watch what Jesus did. He said, "No more of this!" Then "He touched the man's ear and healed him" (). On the very night He was being betrayed and dragged off to die, Jesus stopped to heal one of the men who came to arrest Him. He loved His enemy in the very moment that enemy was hurting Him.
This is what makes Jesus' love so different from the world's. We like to love the people who are nice to us. And we like to pay back the people who hurt us. Jesus does the opposite. And He calls us to do the same: "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you" (). Why would we ever do that? Because that's exactly how God treated us. Our memory verse says Christ died for us "while we were still sinners." We were still His enemies (). We can love hard people, because we were once hard people too, and God loved us first. His love flows through us to others, even the ones who don't deserve it. That's just how it flowed to us.
Around the Table
Bad people came to hurt Jesus — but Jesus was kind and healed one of them! We can be kind even when others are mean.
Let's do it: Think of someone who was unkind to you. Pray a quick blessing for them out loud.
Jesus healed someone who came to arrest Him. Loving our enemies means doing good even to people who are unkind.
Let's talk: Who is hard for you to be kind to? What's one kind thing you could do for them this week?
Jesus didn't just put up with His enemy. He healed him. Loving your enemy isn't weakness. It's the strongest love there is, and it looks just like the cross.
Let's go deeper: You were once God's "enemy" too. How does remembering that make it easier to love difficult people?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's harder: being kind to a friend, or being kind to someone who was mean to you? Why?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Why think Christianity's "love your enemies" comes from God, and isn't just nice advice? Because no one comes up with that on their own. Every instinct in us says to repay harm with harm. This teaching cuts against human nature. And it was lived out by a Savior who healed the very man arresting Him. A love like that points past human wisdom to where it really came from: God ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Enemy-love is where the gospel gets gloriously inconvenient. It's easy to admire Jesus healing that servant's ear in a story. It's hard to be patient with the neighbor, the coworker, or the relative who keeps wounding us. And our kids are watching how we talk about them. Children learn whether love has limits by listening to how dad speaks about the people who frustrate him. The power for this doesn't come from gritted teeth. It comes from a heart melted by : "when we were enemies we were reconciled to God." You can only pour out enemy-love as far as you've received it yourself. So preach the cross to your own heart before you try to model it. The forgiveness you give flows from the forgiveness you remember.
Draws on: Tony Evans, The Power of the Cross.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, You loved and healed even those who hurt You. Thank You for loving us when we were Your enemies. Help us be kind to people who are hard to love. And help us forgive the way You forgive us. In Jesus' name, amen."
God loved me when I was His enemy — so I can love even the people who are hard to love.