Tell me what specific relationships, actions, etc. is meant by “loving your enemies.” What does it mean? And who should I consider as enemies?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord Jesus Christ calls: You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.(Matt. 5:43-45). An enemy means every person who does us harm. As a result of the fall of the first parents, sin entered the world. Normal relationships between people were disrupted, and instead of love, selfishness began to reign. God wants to overcome this distorted state of the world. In the commandment love your enemies the fundamental law of the spiritual and moral existence of the world is expressed: only good can defeat evil and correct the world. Hatred, even towards a person who does evil, multiplies the evil. Jesus Christ not only gave this great commandment, but also showed its vitality. His redemptive feat on Golgotha ​​is the ideal fulfillment of the commandment He gave. He, enduring terrible torment on the Cross, asked the Father for those who crucified and blasphemed Him: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing(Luke 23:34). Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, must do everything in the image of the Savior.

We have impressive examples of love for enemies, both among the ancient Christians and among those who lived in times close to ours. Revolutionary I. Kalyaev threw a bomb into the carriage of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, which tore his body into pieces. It was February 4, 1905, and on February 7 the wife of the murdered man Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna met with Kalyaev. The meeting was arranged in the office of the arrest house in the Pyatnitskaya part of Moscow. She told the prisoner: “I would just like you to know that Grand Duke forgive you that I will pray for you...” Encouraging him to saving repentance, she gave him an icon.

Christian love is not something immutable. In each believer it has a different measure of completeness. Climbing gradually higher and higher on the ladder of Christian perfection, a follower of Jesus Christ can reach the fulfillment of the most difficult commandment for an unregenerate person: love for enemies.

“What specific relationships and actions are implied”? Life is varied, and it is not possible to reduce the fulfillment of this commandment to a list of any actions. “Love, and love itself will teach you when to act best” (Blessed Augustine).

Christ's Sermon on the Mount divided people into supporters and opponents. The Savior proclaimed happiness to the first of them - a poor spirit, hungry for righteousness, crying for a perishing world and persecuted, and to the second - terrible grief. And so a handful of happy people are tormented by the question: how should they relate to the rich, the satiated, the laughing and the vain, who do not hide their enmity towards Jesus and towards them? What measure to repay for fierce hatred? Maybe we should imitate the prophet David: “Should I not hate those who hate You, O Lord, and not be disgusted by those who rebel against You? I hate them with complete hatred: they are my enemies” (Ps. 139:21,22)? Christ had an inimitable answer to these questions.

But to you who hear, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. Give the other one to the one who hits you on the cheek, and do not prevent the one who takes your outer clothing from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand back from the one who took what is yours. And as you want people to do to you, do so to them. And if you love those who love you, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners also love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what gratitude is that to you? for sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get it back, what gratitude are you for that? for even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing; and you will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:27-36).

Jesus' words about love sound like a challenge to the world and the church. They are an eternal cause for heated controversy. Some immediately admit their helplessness to fulfill them. Some believe that Christ, immersed in the world of religious fantasies, does not take into account either political or social realities. After all, love (agape), which includes selfless care, kindness, affection, cannot in any way be directed towards the Roman occupiers, the temple mafia, highwaymen...

One could understand and accept the advice “endure an evil attitude”, “avoid the aggressiveness of people”, “do not repay them with evil for evil”, “withdraw into the desert” or “shut up within yourself”. But to love enemies... Doesn't this turn every notion of justice and human rights on its head? Doesn't this make Christianity an impractical and nonsensical religion? It is not human nature to love enemies, to turn the other cheek for another blow, to give away your shirt! Seething with indignation, she rejects life according to supposedly evil-increasing rules...

However, Jesus said what he said and of course he was right! The One who is Truth and Life itself could not have made a mistake.

1. The era of grace requires love for enemies.

Before the coming of Christ to earth, believers lived according to the law, which demanded fair retribution for the crime committed - “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” The law did not restrain sin, it only revealed the deep depravity of the human heart in the same way that an ultrasound or x-ray reveals in the body dangerous metastases. The Apostle Paul wrote: “...I knew sin no other way than through the law. For I would not understand desire if the law did not say: do not desire. But sin, taking occasion from the commandment, produced in me every desire: for without the law sin is dead” (Rom. 7:7-9). Truly, “...“ the law did not bring anything to perfection” (Heb. 7:19) - harsh rules did not add intelligence, fear of retribution with death did not restrain from crimes, numerous sacrifices did not sanctify hearts. The Law showed man that he was mortally ill and needed a Heavenly Doctor.

The essence of the era of grace that came with the appearance of Jesus Christ on earth was well expressed by the Apostle Paul: “...God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself, not imputing their crimes to [people], and gave us the word of reconciliation. So we are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled with God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:19-21). God in Christ has declared a truce with sinful humanity and, through His messengers, convinces them not to go to hell, but to find salvation by grace. Does the world receive God's messengers? Sometimes he accepts. But much more often he persecutes and kills. What should be the Christian response to bad attitudes? The same as with God - to beg for reconciliation.

If God is unspeakably kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, shouldn't His children imitate Him? Here it is appropriate to recall Christ’s parable about the debtor, to whom the king forgave an unprecedentedly huge debt of 10,000 talents (360,000 kilograms) of silver. The forgiven slave found his comrade who owed him 100 denarii (a third of the annual earnings of a simple worker) and began to demand repayment of the debt from him. “Then his sovereign calls him and says: evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me; Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you? And his sovereign became angry and handed him over to the torturers until he had paid him all the debt” (Matt. 18:32-34). The evil slave did not understand that the king's kindness should encourage him to forgive all his debtors. However, he acted as if he had not received the royal favor.

Since God replaced the era of law with the era of grace, we do not have the right to apply grace to ourselves and law to others. This will displease God. That is why Christ commanded his followers: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who abuse you. Give the other one to the one who hits you on the cheek, and do not prevent the one who takes your outer clothing from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand back from the one who took what is yours.

Christians must show the world grace in action by following Christ's "golden rule" of ethics: Every person expects acceptance and respect, justice and mercy from others. This is how Christians should deal with their enemies. Will they understand and appreciate such behavior? Most likely no. Some will consider them naive, others will mock them. Someone will respond with evil to good. But still, believers are called to act in accordance with the spirit of the era of grace and not grieve that its efficiency does not reach 100%. The results are in God's hands, not in man's.

Fulfilling the “golden rule” does not imply that there is no need to expose lawlessness. We are not obliged to forget about our legal rights and indulge evil: “... when they stretched him with belts, Paul said to the standing centurion: are you allowed to scourge a Roman citizen, and even without trial? (Acts 22:25). The apostle denounced the unjust actions of the high priest who judged him: “God will beat you, you whitewashed wall! You sit to judge according to the law, and, contrary to the law, you order me to be beaten” (Acts 23:3). Stopping a person in his iniquities in a non-violent manner is just as much a manifestation of Christian love as any kind help. And if reproof turns out to be useless, we must continue to show love: “They curse us, we bless; they persecute us, we endure; they blaspheme us, we pray; We are like the rubbish of the world, [like] dust that is [trodden down] by everyone until now” (1 Cor. 4:12,13). This is the spirit of the age of grace.

2. Love for enemies is valued by God as precious.

And if you love those who love you, what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners also love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what gratitude is that to you? for sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get it back, what gratitude are you for that? for even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing; and you will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Love for love, good deed for good deed is an ordinary thing in God's eyes. Dark pagans are capable of it. They know how to value friendship and show it. The world has written thousands of touching poems and songs about love, and perhaps this theme still prevails in art to this day. However, love for those worthy of love has no value before God, because it is leavened on selfishness: “you - to me, and I - to you.”

God adores the kind of love that is directed toward the ungrateful and the wicked, toward those who are incapable of either appreciating or repaying the benefits they receive. And if we demonstrate it (and this feat is not easy!), we will give God the opportunity to crown us with a great reward. Lewis somewhere noted that “when people hear about loving one’s enemies, they immediately begin to imagine that they are being called upon to love the Gestapo. Start with something simpler, like mother-in-law.” So we should start with our brothers and sisters: “Therefore imitate God, as beloved children, and live in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet savour” (Eph. 5). :1,2). God will appreciate it!

3. Love for enemies was revealed by Christ Himself

Christ had the moral right to command His followers to love their enemies, for He Himself practiced it. When He was not accepted in one Samaritan village, the apostles James and John proposed to punish the inhospitable hosts, following the example of the prophet Elijah - with fire from heaven. Jesus forbade them to think about it (Luke 9:55). In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ forbade Peter to use the sword to free Him from an unjust arrest: “...return your sword to its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword; or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will present to Me more than twelve legions of Angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that this must be so?” (Matt. 26:52-54). Moreover, Christ healed the high priest's servant Malchus when the zealous Apostle Peter cut off his ear.

While suffering beatings, mockery and crucifixion, Christ prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies. He found the circumstance mitigating their guilt: “they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Moreover, not only through prayer, but martyrdom He testified of His love for sinners: “For Christ, while we were still weak, at the appointed time died for the ungodly. For hardly anyone will die for the righteous; maybe someone will decide to die for a benefactor. But God demonstrates His love for us in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:6-8). Christ's love obliges us to imitate, sung in the famous hymn “O, perfect image”:

0 image perfect

Love and purity!

Savior, Humble King,

My eternal example is You.

On the face in the crown of thorns

I want to look with my soul;

I want words

You just have to imitate.

I want your words

Only repeat in life;

I want, blessing,

Forgive my enemies.

I want to pray for them

How You prayed for them;

I want to reconcile like you

Among the sons of the earth.

4. The new nature of the saved requires love for enemies.

Christ gave the command to His disciples to love their enemies precisely because they had acquired a new nature capable of such a feat. Grace is not only the kindness of God, who reconciled the world to Himself through the sacrifice of Christ, not only the justification of a sinner by faith, it is force, changing hearts: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking forward to the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us, that He might deliver us from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a special people, zealous for good deeds"(Titus 2:11-14).

If Christians are new creations and children of goodness, how can hatred for anyone live in their hearts? How can they exchange the Spirit of God, which produces “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22,23), for the spirit of evil, which brings distress and sorrow? Love is the standard by which Christ’s disciples are recognized: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The apostles called on the church to hold this banner high. Three times in the New Testament it is said: “See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of one another and of everyone” (1 Thess. 5:15). To do this means to live in harmony with the new nature.

5. Fulfilling the Great Commission Requires Loving Your Enemies

Christ called on the disciples to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). By this He emphasized the international character of Christianity. During the era of the law, Judaism, with the help of various rituals and rules, protected itself from mixing with pagans. Christianity was intended for all peoples, and therefore the church had no right to create barriers for people because of national or social features: “...and having put on the new, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3 :10,11). There is not and should not be a Russian or English or African Christianity. Christianity is one - rooted in the apostles, spreading throughout the world through preaching about Christ and good deeds.

Christians have always had to invade an alien culture and help change it. Of course, this invasion caused a reaction of rejection among national religions: they did not need competitors. Moreover, Christianity was not added to existing ideologies, but sought to replace them.

Those who believed ceased to honor the former gods, abandoned debauchery, drunkenness, blood feud, and theatrical performances. This undoubtedly undermined centuries-old foundations and caused division in society. Therefore, an invasion of another culture was justified only when it was an invasion of love. Love is interested in a person's voluntary response, but not in coercion. She is ready to suffer, but not to cause suffering. She does not take up a Damascus steel sword to kill the body, but with the sword of the spirit she frees the soul from demons and vices. And if she has to pay a high price, she is not worth it.

In 1956, five young missionaries were commanded by God to bring the message of Christ to the wild Auca tribe in the jungles of Ecuador. However, the work was unsuccessful - they were killed by the natives. The missionaries could have easily defended themselves with the firearms they had in their hands, but they only fired into the air. They understood that if they killed their enemies, they would go to eternal hell, and if their enemies killed them, they would open the doors of eternal life to them. And they dealt with Auca according to the golden rule: And as you want people to do to you, do so to them.

Many subsequently condemned them for imprudence and extreme pacifism. However, God justified them in the eyes of the whole world. A few years after the tragedy, the wife and sister of the dead missionaries felt God's call to go to that evil tribe with good news. And what the men failed to do, the weak women succeeded - twenty-eight savages were saved and baptized in the Kurarai River, once stained with the blood of martyrs. Among those baptized were five murderers of missionaries, led by their leader, Gikita... Truly, the blood of martyrs is the seed of saints! What would happen if the missionaries returned evil for evil? Wouldn't they forever close the way to eternal life this tribe?

6. Loving one's enemies was practiced by the Christian Church in the first three centuries.

In his study of Christian pacifism, theologian Gennady Gololob provides important historical evidence about the views of the early church fathers:

“Polycarp (69-155), Bishop of Smyrna and martyr, in his work “On Christian Life” wrote: “We do not repay evil with evil, we do not respond to an insult with insults, to a blow with a blow, to a curse with curses.”

Justin Martyr(100-165) wrote about Christians that those who previously killed each other are now not only not opposed to their enemies, but also willingly die, confessing Jesus Christ.

Tertullian(160-225) ... made the following statement: “By removing the sword of Peter, God thereby disarmed every soldier” (Tertullian, On Idolatry, 19.3) ... “To kill a man,” according to Tertullian, “is something of the motives of the devil.” .

... back in the 2nd century, a philosopher who converted to Christianity Tatian openly equates war with simple murder, and considers the honorary military wreath to be an award incompatible with the dignity of a Christian.

In the same century Athenagoras of Athens says that Christians not only never kill themselves, but also avoid being present at murders. “We, thinking that watching a murder is almost the same as committing it, refuse such spectacles” (Athinogor. Petition for Christians // Early Church Fathers: An Anthology. Brussels, 1988, p. 448).

Origen(185-254) was an outstanding writer and teacher in Alexandria. He spent the rest of his life in prison... In his apologetic work entitled “Against Celsus” (Book 5), Origen wrote: “According to the precepts of Jesus Christ, we melted down our vain swords into plows and reforged sickles from the spears that we used in war. For we no longer take up the sword against any people, nor do we learn to fight, having now become children of peace in the name of Jesus” (John Wanger, “Love of Peace,” p. 12).

St. Clement of Alexandria(d. 217), directly contrasts the pagan “warlike peoples” with the “peaceful tribe of Christians”” (Taube M.A. Christianity and international peace. M.: Posrednik, 1905, p. 40-41).

...Lactantius in his “Divine Instructions” he asked a completely reasonable question: “Why fight and interfere in other people’s feuds for someone who is at peace with all people in his soul?” (see also: Ternovsky F.A. Experience of management in church history. Issue 1: The first three centuries of Christianity. Kyiv, 1878).

The early patristic doctrine of non-resistance was most successfully expressed by the Western theologian and martyr Cyprian of Carthage(d. 258), writing in his letter to Donatus “On the Grace of God” the following: “The universe is stained with human blood; murder, considered a crime when committed by private people, is considered a virtue when committed openly; atrocities are exempted from execution not by the law of innocence, but by the greatness of inhumanity" (St. Cyprian of Carthage. To Donatus on the grace of God // Fathers and teachers of the Church of the 3rd century: Anthology. M., 1996. Vol. 2, p. 350) .

A historical document from the 3rd century that has come down to us “ Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ" reads: “If a soldier wishes to be baptized, he must refuse military service, and one who has already believed must not enter military service under threat of excommunication.” Like him, the liturgical-canonical monument of the 5th century “The Rule of Hippolytus”, based on the work of Saint Hippolytus of Rome “Apostolic Tradition”, stands on positions close to the beliefs of Tertullian, i.e. Christians are prohibited from holding officer positions, taking an oath and participating in the murder of a person (see: A. Karashev. The attitude of Christians of the first three centuries (before Constantine the Great) to military service. Ryazan, 1914, p. 45-46)".

Alas! After the church agreed to become a state church during the time of Emperor Constantine, the spirit of love for enemies disappeared from it. She found worldly arguments for the use of force to free the world from the false religion of the Turks, or to return Christian shrines to the Promised Land, or to save the souls of heretics through fire. And here Augustine had his hand, interpreting the Gospel words “convince to come” (Luke 14:23) as “force to come.” This is how the theoretical basis was laid crusades and the terrible Inquisition. If Augustine knew what dire consequences would lead to his interpretation, he would be careful not to apply it. This deviation from the commandment of Christ gave Gilbert Chesterton the right to sarcastically evaluate Christian history: “It turns out that Christians were to be hated not because they struggle little, but because they struggle too much. As it turned out, they were the ones who sparked all the wars. They drowned the world in blood. Just now I was angry that Christians never get angry. Now I had to be angry that they were angry too much, too scary; their anger flooded the earth and darkened the sky.” What a sad truth about the apostasy of the church! However, he who has followed the clear and sound words of Jesus Christ will regret nothing: “Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

7. Love for enemies was practiced by our contemporaries

We have no excuses for having unkind feelings towards people who hurt us, since our contemporaries, being in worse experiences, showed love for their enemies. It is not suppressed egoism that prevents us from following their example. I have already mentioned the feat of love of the missionaries of the Auko tribe, but here I will tell you about the hero of the faith - the missionary from Holland Corrie ten Boom, whose book “Jesus the Conqueror” I read in my youth. This instructive story taken here -:

“Corrie recalled that when she turned 23, she was close to getting married. There was no open proposal, but there was a silent understanding that she was the bride of Karl - pleasant young man. When the friendship between them grew stronger, Karl had to go somewhere, and a lively correspondence began between them. But gradually the letters began to arrive less and less often and, finally, stopped altogether. One day, Karl came to visit Corrie with a pretty girl and introduced her as his bride. Corrie received them warmly, barely holding back the tears that came, treated them to fresh coffee and cookies, but as soon as the door closed behind them, she ran upstairs to her bedroom and, falling face down into the pillow, gave full rein to the tears that had been choking her for a long time.
Footsteps were heard. Her father was walking towards her. Corrie for a moment felt like a little girl who was going to be consoled by her father. Most of all, she was afraid that he would say: “Nothing, it will pass, there will be others...” But he did not say this, but only said very affectionately: “Corrie, do you know why you are in so much pain? Because this is love, and love is the most mighty force in the world, and when her path is blocked, it can be very painful. When this happens, you can do two things: kill love so that it doesn’t hurt, but then, of course, part of you will die with it, or start asking the Lord to let it go in a different direction. God loves Carl more than you, Corrie. He can give you a different love for him. Every time we cannot love someone humanly, God opens up the possibility of loving them differently, in a more perfect way, in the way He Himself loves.”

Corrie later recounted it this way: “I did not know or understand then that my father had given me the key not only to one of the darkest moments in my life, but also to much darker rooms that I had yet to enter, to places where, humanly speaking, there was nothing to love at all. Then I had to give up Karl, without parting with the feeling of joyful surprise associated with love for him”...

...This happened in 1947, in Munich, in one of the churches. She came to defeated Germany with the Good News of Christ and His forgiveness... Many people in the church, hearing that God, forgiving our sins, does not remember them anymore, silently stood up, took their coats and silently left... She left too many scars and pain in there is a ruthless war in their hearts. After the service, Corrie was approached by a balding man wearing a gray coat and holding a brown hat. He smiled and bowed politely. Corrie looked at him carefully and instantly flashed in front of her a blue uniform and a cap with a cockade, and on it a skull and two bones crossed. She immediately recognized him as a former guard, one of the most brutal punishers and guards in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, an SS officer. She remembered the shame with which she, her poor sister Betsy and other women walked naked in front of the guards and this man.

Corrie writes about a deep internal struggle: “Here he stood opposite me with his hand outstretched, and I heard his voice: “Froilian, how pleasant it was to hear that God throws all our sins into the depths of the sea and remembers no more.” He spoke, and I, who had just spoken so convincingly about forgiveness, stood and embarrassedly rummaged through my bag, unable to extend my hand to him. “You mentioned Ravensbrück in your speech,” he continued, “and I was a supervisor there. But since then I have become a Christian and I know that God has forgiven me all the cruelties that I committed. And yet I would like to hear a word of forgiveness from your lips, Fräulein. Can you forgive me? Corrie's memory flashed back to her sister's slow, terrible death... The man stood with his hand outstretched, hoping for forgiveness. It only lasted a few seconds, but to Corrie it seemed like an eternity. She continues: “Jesus, help me,” I prayed to myself, “I can reach out to him, and that’s all I can do on my own, and You give me the feeling I need.” Corrie extended her hand to him - a former prisoner - to a former camp guard. “I forgive you, brother... from the bottom of my heart.” She later wrote: "I never felt God's love as sharply as at that moment. But even then I understood that this was not my love, but God’s. I tried to love, but I didn't have the strength to do it. But here the power of the Holy Spirit and His love acted...” After this she had every right say: “Forgiveness is a volitional decision, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart” and also: “Memory is the key not to the past, but to the future.”

May the Lord grant us, Christians of the 21st century, to fulfill Christ’s commandment to love our enemies - there is nothing higher and more necessary than this feat in the world!

"The Jews are enemies of the gospel for our sake who have believed."

From this phrase alone you can understand your level of writing! Where, please tell me, in the Gospel did you find that JEWS are the enemies of the Gospel? Everywhere it says JEWS - people who profess JUDAISM in any form and deny the Messiahship of Christ! With your expression, you simply sowed the seeds of anti-Semitism in unconfirmed “Christian” souls! Suppose a young skinhead who considers himself a Christian reads this. It will always be in his understanding that Jews are enemies (who and what he will not care about. His religion means his nation, which considers itself entirely Christian). And then he will go to crush these enemies and light candles for the repose of their souls in the temple. Your works are like medicines with side effect- one heals, the other cripples. And the second is much worse than the first. Repent and do not write human judgments under the guise of spirituality. The Holy Spirit does not make such mistakes. Otherwise, all Scripture would be in them! Good luck.
Author's comment:
It was not I who wrote this, but the author of Romans (chapter 11). There is no need to flatter anyone, including Jews. They will respect you more than you will talk to them about how chosen they are and set a trap. The Apostle Peter, filled with the Spirit, generally said simply: “Whom you crucified” and it is written that they were touched in heart and then believed. Believe me, I have served (my) people for a long time and I know that hypocrisy creates more obstacles to true faith.

Don't be afraid of the seeds of anti-Semitism. Today, those who “bless Israel” and speak flatteringly to it are much more likely to turn it onto the wrong path. The young shaven-head, having read the truth, will think, and flattery will root and anger him even more. Jews are enemies of the gospel - for our sake. It's clear and understandable spiritual person and is intended to in this case, to the spiritual. Jews, the chosen people, test the truth in the camp of believing Christians, that is, Jews and non-Jews. But they need repentance, just like we do for departing from the truth. For us, first of all, because we don’t pray enough for those at war...

And they will crumble in any case, including the churches where candles are lit; they are also full of hypocrisy, as in the circle of fashionable movements of Protestants today. There have been, are and will be persecutions. Jews - because they are Jews, that is, the chosen people, until there is proper contrition to repentance of the whole people; the church - because it does not shine in the darkness. It is a privilege to be persecuted for the name of Christ.

Jews are made by God to be a light for the Gentiles. Only the remnant of the Jews do this. God Himself will bring this promise to fulfillment for Israel. More is given to him, more is asked of him, as we see in the history of all Israel.

So, thank you for your attention...

Love Your Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment

One day Jesus asked the question: “Do people gather figs from thistles?” The answer is of course no, you harvest the crops you plant. Plant a burdock and it will grow and be everywhere. If you want to grow figs, you need to start with fig seeds. With this question, Jesus indirectly ridicules the idea that good can be done using evil. Violence is not a means of creating a peaceful society. Revenge does not pave the way for forgiveness. Spousal abuse does not lay the foundation for a long-lasting marriage. Rage is not a tool for reconciliation.

However, while figs do not grow from burrs, in the world of human choice and action, a positive change in attitude and direction is always possible. Sin is a stage preceding the stage of holiness. New Testament filled with messages about changes.

In the Church of Christ the Savior in the Chora district of Istanbul, there is a fourteenth-century Byzantine mosaic that in one image tells the story of an unlikely transformation: the turning of water into wine for guests at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. In the background Jesus is His right hand, extended with a gesture of blessing - stands side by side with her mother. In the foreground we see a servant pouring water from a smaller jug ​​into a larger one. The water leaves the first jug a light blue color and the tile turns dark purple when it reaches the edge of the bottom jug. “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and showed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

This “first sign” that Jesus gave is the key to understanding everything in the Gospel. Jesus constantly shows miracles of change: blind eyes become seeing eyes, withered limbs become working limbs, sickness becomes health, guilt becomes forgiveness, strangers become neighbors, enemies become friends, slaves become free, armed men become unarmed, the crucified are resurrected, sorrow becomes joy , bread and wine by Himself. Nature cannot produce a fig from a burdock, but God does it in our lives all the time. The constant cooperation of God and creation makes something out of nothing. As the Portuguese proverb says, “God writes straight with crooked lines.”

Paul's conversion is an archetype of transformation. Paul, previously a deadly opponent of the followers of Christ, becomes an apostle of Christ and the most tireless missionary crossing the Roman Empire, leaving behind him a string of churches that endure to this day. It was a miracle of enmity turned into friendship, and it happened in an instant, too small to measure, by a sudden insight. Seeing the death of the first deacon, Stephen, stoned to death in Jerusalem, was to be a key moment in Paul's conversion.

Peter is a different person who has changed dramatically. Calling him back from his nets, Christ turned the fisherman into a fisher of men. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the same Peter cut off the ear of one of those who came to arrest Jesus. Without thanking Peter for his courage, Jesus healed the wound and ordered Peter to lay down his bloody weapon: “Return your sword to its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” For the remainder of his life, Peter was never again a threat to anyone's life, seeking only the conversion of his opponents rather than their death. Peter became a man who would rather die than kill.

How does this transformation of the heart occur? And what are the obstacles?

This was the question that haunted the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, who for years tried to transform himself from aristocrat to peasant, from rich man to poor man, from ex-soldier to peacemaker, although none of these intentions were fully realized. As a child, Tolstoy was told by his older brother Nikolai that in the estate on the edge of a ravine in the ancient forest there was a green stick. “It was not an ordinary piece of wood,” Nikolai said. On its surface were carved words “that would destroy all evil in the hearts of people and bring them all good.” Leo Tolstoy spent his entire life searching for revelation. Even as an old man he wrote: “I still believe today that there is such a truth that it will be revealed to everyone and fulfill its promise.” Tolstoy was buried near a ravine in the forest, exactly where he was looking for the green stick.

I.E. Repin. “Plowman L.N. Tolstoy on the arable land", 1887

If we had discovered it, I imagine that the green stick would probably have ended up in a three-word sentence that we often read but found so difficult that we threw it into a ravine within ourselves: “Love your enemies.”

Twice in the Gospels, first in Matthew and then in Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying this remarkable teaching, unique to Christianity:

“You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing are you doing? Don’t the pagans do the same?”

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who insult you. To the one who hits you on the cheek, offer the other one too; and to the one who takes your cloak, give your coat too. Give to everyone who asks from you; the one who takes your goods, do not ask them again. As you want others to do to you, so do you to them.

Perhaps we Christians have heard these words too often to be overwhelmed by their simple meaning, but to those who first heard Jesus, this teaching was surprising and controversial. Few would say "amen." Some shrugged and muttered: “Loving a Roman soldier? You are crazy". The Zealots in the crowd would consider such a teaching treasonous, for all nationalism comes from hatred. Challenge nationalism or speak against hatred in too specific a way and you will immediately make enemies.

Nationalism is as strong as the ocean current. I recall an exchange following an anti-Vietnam War talk I attended in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back in 1968. I was then involved in a military resistance that would soon lead to me spending a year in prison, but at that time I was released on bail. During the questions, an angry woman with a small American flag stood up and challenged me to place my hand on my heart and read the text of the oath. I said that flags should not be seen as idols and instead suggested that we all stand and join in reciting the Lord's Prayer, which we did. Her anger seemed to have subsided a little, but I suspect I was the traitor. I failed her patriotism test.

We tend to forget that the country where Jesus entered history and gathered his first disciples was not the idyllic place that Christmas cards are made of, depicting a quiet land populated by attractive sheep, colorfully dressed shepherds and tidy villages crowning fertile hills. This was a country under military occupation, under which most Jews suffered, and where anyone perceived as a dissident was likely to be executed. In Roman Palestine, a naked Jew nailed to a cross was a common sight. For Jesus' first audience, the enemies were numerous, ruthless, and close at hand.

Not only were the Romans hated with their armies, idols, gods and emperors. There were enemies within Israel, not least the tax collectors, who extorted as much money as they could because their own salaries were a percentage of the amount. There were also Jews who imitated the Romans and Greeks, dressed and behaved the same way as them, constantly climbing the ladder, fraternizing and collaborating with the Roman occupiers. And even among those religious Jews who tried to remain faithful to tradition, argued about what was and was not essential in religious law and practice, and about how to treat the Romans, all larger number Jews, zealots, did not see any possibility for a peaceful life, but were determined to resist decisively. Some others, such as the ascetic Essenes, chose a monastic strategy; they lived in the desert near the Dead Sea, where neither the Romans nor their subordinates often invaded.

Still from Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ"

No doubt there were also Romans and agents of Rome in Jesus' company who listened to what He had to say, either out of curiosity or because it was their job. From the Roman point of view, Jews, even subordinates, remained enemies. The Romans treated them with bewilderment and contempt - as people who deserved all the troubles they received. Some of them were punished by the Romans in blind rage for being forced to be stuck in this terrible, uncultured swamp. Jews and Galileans were not in demand as Roman soldiers or Roman officials during the time of Pontius Pilate.

Jesus was a revolutionary. Not only were His teachings revolutionary, but the more respectable members of society were surprised that many people who had scandalous reputations came to him: prostitutes, tax collectors, and even a Roman officer who asked Jesus to heal his servant, and the Gospel clearly says that Jesus loved sinners, and this created a scandal.

Many must have been impressed by His courage - no one accused Jesus of cowardice, but some of them judged Him foolishly, like a man who put his head in a lion's mouth. Although Jesus refused to take up arms or allow their use, He did not exercise reasonable silence and at times appeared to be a collaborator. He did not hesitate to say and do what was His purpose. Perhaps the event that prepared His crucifixion was what He did to the money changers within the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem. He made a whip from ropes that stung but did not injure them and forced the merchants to flee, overturning tables and scattering coins. Anyone who destroys a business quickly makes enemies.

Many godly people were also alarmed by what seemed to them His disregard for religious practice, especially not keeping the Sabbath as strictly as most Pharisees believed Jews should observe it. Men were not created for the Sabbath, Jesus answered, but the Sabbath was given to men. The Zealots hated Him because He was not a fanatic and attracted people who could be recruited by them. Those in charge of the religious establishment were so outraged that they managed to stage an execution by pointing out to the Romans that Jesus was a troublemaker and had "perverted the nation." The Romans tortured Jesus and executed Him.

Any Christian who considers Jesus to be God incarnate, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Who entered history not by accident, but purposefully, in exact time and the chosen place, becoming fully human, like the child of the Virgin Mary, will find it worth reflecting on the incarnation taking place then, and not in times of peace, taking place in a humiliated, over-taxed land ruled by cruel, life-hating occupying forces. Jesus was born, lived, crucified, and rose from the dead in a land of extreme hostility.

Bringing the events of the Gospel into our own world and time, many of us will be disturbed and shocked by what Jesus said and did, for actions that seem admirable in the ancient narrative may be considered foolish and untimely, if not insane, if they will occur under equivalent circumstances here and now. Do you love your enemies? Does this mean that we should love criminals, murderers and terrorists? Can you encourage people to get rid of their guns? Can we say that we will not say a single patriotic word and will not give preference to the national flag? Many would say that such a person is to blame for his problems.

It would be a big and risky step to become one of His disciples. If you were living in Judea or Galilee when the events recorded in the Gospel took place, are you sure you would want to be identified with Him?

Translation from English by Victor Shchedrin.

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How does God deal with us when we perish in sin and walk in unbelief? Does He condemn us to eternal torment in hell? Does He curse us with eternal damnation? No. He sent His Son to die for us, showing His mercy to us at a time when we deserved wrath.

This is the example we should follow in dealing with the lost. Otherwise we will simply repeat the cycle of hatred and anger.

Earlier, in response to my article “Governor Christie Signs Discriminatory Law,” someone, let's call him “h.b.”, wrote this comment: “What Brown is saying is a lie and he has the IQ of a 5 year old. I have a PhD in homosexuality.”

Later that day, after my colleague and friend Mat Barber retweeted this article as a “must read,” h.b. There were some select tweets about Matt and me that said: “***dakah with the IQ of a five year old” who are read “F***ing f***ers who should get brain cancer and no longer exist.”(All profanity was written in full.) This sounds like a curse!

I tweeted back: “May God's truth and grace be with you! You wrote that you have a degree in homosexuality. Where did you get it?”

When I clicked on the h.b. page. on Twitter, found similar comments cursing other Christian leaders (though without wishing for brain cancer), sometimes in response to simple evangelistic messages that were less confrontational, and as I read the tweets, my heart went to h.b.

There was a time when I too was full of anger, foul language and uncleanness, and instead of condemning me, God pursued me with his convicting love. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “ For Christ, while we were still weak, at the appointed time died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). And Jesus set an example for us!

Here are five reasons why we should bless those who curse us.

1. This is the way of the revolutionary Jesus, imitating the example of our Father. The Sermon on the Mount is a countercultural manifesto for the Kingdom in which Jesus calls us to live by principles different from the principles by which the world and religious leaders live. And in the Sermon on the Mount He gave us a clear commandment:

“You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44).

When we do this, we imitate God himself, who “ He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45). This is part of our calling" be perfect”, how perfect is our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:48).

2. God shows extreme patience with those who walk in ignorance and unbelief. Several years ago, an action initiated by atheists took place on the Internet, which was joined by thousands of people who recorded short videos of themselves in leading role trying to blaspheme the Spirit. After watching some of these videos I said to myself: “Very soon many of these people will be miraculously saved and will be sharing their testimonies online and praising God for his mercy.”

As Paul explained to Timothy:

“me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because I acted this way out of ignorance, in unbelief... But for this purpose I was given mercy, so that Jesus Christ in me would be the first to show all long-suffering, as an example to those who will believe in Him to eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:13, 16).

3. When we bless, the blessing returns. Very different ways we reap what we sow:

“Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult; on the contrary, bless, knowing that you are called to this in order to inherit the blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9).

What do you want to inherit, a blessing or a curse? This is what you should tell people.

katmary — Don’t make me angry..

4. Words of grace and patience produce more good fruit than words of anger and frustration. Indeed, there are times when it is right to correct or even rebuke, but we must always do so in love (Ephesians 4:15) and patience (2 Timothy 2:24-26), remembering that “ a gentle answer turns away anger, but an insulting word stirs up rage.” (Proverbs 15:1)

A few months ago I was reminded that we really don't know anything that happens in a person's life. I challenged a woman who had consistently defended abortion on Christian websites, and a few days after our last correspondence, she publicly wrote on my Facebook page: “I want to apologize for the crazy comments about killing children on your article. I tried to live without God and his principles in my life. I was thinking about the happiest time of my life. It was a time when I attended church and lived for God. Please pray for me. Thank you."

Here was a woman in pain, wanting to return to God, at a time when I had no idea that this was what fueled her pro-life fervor. Unfortunately, very often I have been guilty of responding to people hastily rather than thoughtfully, thereby strengthening them in their position rather than helping them see the error of their ways.

5. When we bless those who curse us, we break the cycle of hatred and anger. This was Paul's advice to the Roman believers in the words of Proverbs 25:21-22:

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“If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink: for [by doing this] you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” (Romans 12:20-21).

Let us break the terrible and destructive cycle of the flesh, and follow in the footsteps of our Teacher, who forgave those who crucified Him.

This is the path to life and blessing - not only for us, but also for those who are at enmity with us.