Unpacking What ‘Love Your Enemies’ Does Not Mean

I recently delivered a sermon on Jesus’s most revolutionary ethical principle: “love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44). This teaching is like Mount Everest among ethical instructions, earning respect from both Christians and non – Christians alike. However, due to our modern understanding of love, it’s easy to misinterpret what Jesus really meant. So, what did Jesus truly intend by this command to love our enemies? And how can we reconcile it with Old Testament texts that seem to oppose it?

In its original context, Jesus’s teaching on loving enemies contrasts sharply with what his disciples had been told, which was to “love [their] neighbor and hate [their] enemy” (v. 43). Many commentators have noted that the instruction to hate your enemy isn’t actually in the original religious texts. Leviticus 19:18 states, “Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” (CSB). The text only emphasizes loving one’s neighbor, making no mention of hating enemies. It’s believed that “hate your enemy” was an oral tradition that emerged by Jesus’s time.

There are, nonetheless, Old Testament passages where God commands Israel to destroy their enemies (Deut. 7:2; 13:15 ; Josh. 6:21). Additionally, there are imprecatory psalms that beseech God to judge the wicked (e.g., Pss. 5; 17; 28; 35; 40; 137), and a few texts that express hatred for God’s enemies (Deut. 32:41; 33:11). A particularly challenging text that seems to conflict with Jesus’s words is from Psalm 139, where David says:
“Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.” (vv. 21–22)

So, how can we reconcile Jesus’s command to “love our enemies” with David’s declaration of hatred? Four key aspects from Psalm 139 can help us see that Jesus and David aren’t in conflict and can clarify what Jesus meant by “love your enemies.”

1. Zeal for Justice and God’s Honor

Loving our enemies doesn’t imply that we should lack passion for justice and reverence for God’s honor. David’s strong emotions in Psalm 139 are a reaction to the wicked who commit violence (v. 19). He is calling for justice against those who oppose God’s plan. David loves God’s righteousness so deeply that he stands against anything unrighteous.
This means that we shouldn’t view Jesus’s call to love our enemies as a mere sentimental or idealized emotion. There is still a place for a passionate defense of God’s honor and opposition to wickedness. Since the biblical authors didn’t see these as contradictory, neither should we.

2. Righteous Anger

Psalm 139 shows that loving our enemies doesn’t mean suppressing righteous anger. David acknowledges that God knows all his thoughts and even asks God to examine him. The psalm starts by saying that the Lord searches and knows David (v. 1). Right after David expresses his hatred for his enemies, he prays, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me” (vv. 23–24). After God examines King David (vv. 1 – 18), the psalm speaks of God’s anger against wickedness (vv. 19 – 22).
The apostle Paul also didn’t consider righteous anger to be against God’s design. As Paul puts it, “Be angry and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26). Not all anger is sinful, though it can turn into sin. David can be angry while still asking God to examine him, ensuring that his passion is rightly directed and free from sin.

3. Personal, Not Civil

Psalm 139 serves as a reminder that “love your enemies” is better understood in a personal context rather than a civic one. When David expresses hatred for his enemies, he is speaking as Israel’s king and God’s representative, not just as an individual. Thus, when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he is mainly referring to personal relationships, not political situations.
Although personal and political aspects are interconnected, Jesus’s command doesn’t conflict with Paul’s assertion that the civil authorities have the power to enforce the law (Rom. 13:4). It is appropriate for a king to express outrage at injustice and demand that it stops. David can detest his enemies’ actions without hating them as people. As the king, he has the duty to punish the unrighteous.

4. Jesus’s Other Words

Psalm 139 reminds us that we can’t selectively use Jesus’s teachings out of context. “Love your enemies” isn’t the only thing Jesus said. We often focus on certain teachings of Jesus while overlooking others. Jesus told us to love our enemies, but he also echoed the imprecatory psalms.
Jesus frequently referred to Psalm 69 when he was near or on the cross (John 15:25; Matt. 26:37; 27:34). In this psalm, David expresses a desire for his enemies’ table to become a trap for them, for their eyes to be darkened, for God’s anger to be poured out on them, for their camp to be deserted, and for them to be erased from the book of the living and not be included among the righteous (Ps. 69:22–28 ). So, while Jesus taught us to love our enemies, he also called for God to bring justice.

A Whole Bible for a Whole Christian

A pastor friend of mine used to say, “A whole Bible makes a whole Christian.” His point was that we need to consider all of Scripture, not just single out one command and make it our guiding principle while ignoring the rest.
Jesus’s words about loving our enemies are a beautiful yet challenging command that we are called to follow. However, when we read other texts in the Bible, we can see that this command doesn’t have to conflict with a passion for justice, righteous anger, or the pursuit of civil justice that protects the innocent.