“The Unexpected Love of God in Christ”
(Luke 6:27-38 – Epiphany 7 – February 23, 2025)
Luke 6:27-38 – 27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Dear Redeemed, forgiven and loved by God for Jesus’ sake:
Sometimes we hear stories of unexpected love. A man and woman who never met before, find each other out of the blue and fall in love. Or though they knew each other earlier in life, their paths parted; and years later, they meet again in different circumstances and fall in love. Sometimes stories of unexpected love describe reconciliation. A married couple who have been at odds with each other, at last renew their love and live happily ever after. Two people who have been enemies for so long, finally forgive and love each other and become best friends. It often happens that when people find unexpected love, they love to share their story with others.
The most unexpected love story includes all of us. It is the Gospel story. While we were still sinners and at enmity with God, in love He sent His Son to die for us, win our forgiveness, and reconcile us to Himself (Romans 5:8). When we were not even looking for His love, He found us and united us to Himself by baptism and faith, that we may live happily ever after with Him.
Let us see “The Unexpected Love of God in Christ.” It is a love we know as His children. It is a love we want to share. It is a kind of love the world does not expect: 1) It replaces selfish reciprocity with selfless generosity; 2) It replaces hateful enmity with forgiving charity.
1) It replaces selfish reciprocity with selfless generosity
When Jesus spoke these words, the world used various expressions for love. In the Greek, the word Eros referred to romantic love, based on physical attraction and feelings. The word Philia referred to friendship love, when people like each other because they share common interests and benefit by each other’s company. These kinds of love depend on giving and receiving: “If you love me, I’ll love you. If you be my friend, I’ll be yours. If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” Often it can come down to selfish reciprocity: I give to receive, and if I do not receive, I do not give.
But the word Jesus uses here is Agape. It is an unconditional love that gives without expecting anything in return. When He says: “just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (vs. 31), He is describing the Law of God that says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Such love is not based on convenience or how good it feels; it is an act of the will. It seeks the good of another, no matter who it is. Jesus even says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (vs. 27).
He describes this love as acting, not in selfish reciprocity but in selfless generosity: “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back” (vs. 32-34).
Even unrepentant “sinners,” who neither know nor care for God’s love in Christ, understand selfish reciprocity. In a worldly sense, they know how to love those who love them. Even the crassest sinner may treat well those who treat him well, giving to receive back with interest. That’s good business; we can be friends as long as there is mutual gain. But do you see how such selfish reciprocity can wreak havoc in a friendship or marriage? Self-serving love quickly turns to enmity when one feels slighted.
The world fears being taken advantage of and selfishly protects its own interests. How often, we follow the sinful nature and fall into the same pattern. We refuse to give unless there is something in it for us – whether we expect a return favor, or we expect recognition, or we just want to feel good about ourselves. Yet often, we give sparingly and of our leftovers, whether to God or people, instead of generously and of our very best. We give to those who will appreciate our generosity; but when we see the slightest sign of unthankfulness or undeserving, we withhold our graces.
Here Jesus speaks of a completely different, unexpected kind of love: “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil” (vs. 35).
Jesus is speaking to believers, who know the love of our Father in heaven. He is not teaching us to become more generous at giving to earn a reward in heaven. Eternal life is ours as a gift of God’s grace alone. It is given freely through faith in His Son, not by our works even in part (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is not our imperfect love for God or neighbor that earns our place in heaven. It is only God’s perfect love in Christ that freely gives this gift.
God’s love is unconditional and undeserved. He acts in love even for enemies who do not love Him back. Jesus said in Matthew 5:45: “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God gives abundant daily gifts, even to the unthankful; He gives life in this world, even to those who hate Him – all in the hope that they will repent and receive His free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus.
God’s unexpected love replaces our selfish reciprocity with His own selfless generosity. As 1 John 4:10 reminds us: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” When we were not even looking for His love, when we were still enemies of God in sin, He gave His very best gift to us. He sent His own beloved Son to the cross with all our sins – including all our selfishness and unthankfulness. Jesus paid with His own blood to win our full forgiveness. Now as God looks at us through His Son’s perfect life of love, He counts that life to us – as if we have always loved God above all and loved our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus says: “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (vs. 36). Since God made us His children by baptism and faith in His Son, we know His mercy and love. His selfless generosity moves us to show the same to others, and to pray with the hymn:
Lord of Glory, who hast bought us With Thy life-blood as the price,
Never grudging for the lost ones That tremendous sacrifice;
And with that hast freely given Blessings countless as the sand
To th’ unthankful and the evil With Thine own unsparing hand;
Grant us hearts, dear Lord, to yield Thee Gladly, freely, of Thine own.
With the sunshine of Thy goodness Melt our thankless hearts of stone
Till our cold and selfish natures, Warmed by Thee, at length believe
That more happy and more blessed ‘Tis to give than to receive.
2) It replaces hateful enmity with forgiving charity
Now, God’s unexpected love replaces hateful enmity with forgiving charity. For this is the highest form of charity, to share the forgiving grace of God in Christ with others.
Jesus describes such unexpected love by saying: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either” (vs. 27-29).
Again, how different this is from worldly love. The world expects vengeance against enemies. If someone hits you, hit him back. If someone curses you, damn him back. If someone takes from you, or so much as hurts your feelings, take him to court and sue him for all he is worth. The world seeks self-justification by condemnation of enemies.
Jesus is speaking against such personal vengeance, rooted in a hateful and unforgiving spirit. Have we held a grudge against someone, refusing to forgive what he said or did? Have we ground our teeth in anger, in mind and spirit cursing and damning that person who has hurt us? Have we sought self-justification by condemning our fellow sinner?
For such a self-righteous spirit, Jesus gives this stern warning: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (vs. 37). If I set myself up as a judge over my enemy, wishing condemnation on him instead of forgiving him, what does that say about my Christian faith? Doesn’t it mean I have forgotten how much God has forgiven me?
Again, Jesus is not teaching us to become better at forgiving to earn God’s forgiveness. We do not make our forgiveness a work by which we gain God’s favor. God forgives us and saves us by His gift of grace alone, through faith in Christ alone, apart from works. But if we truly know His forgiving charity, if we have been found by that unexpected love of God in Christ, we will seek to share it with our fellow sinner.
May we be saturated in God’s perfect forgiveness and love for us! Let us take to heart the greatest love story in the Gospel that includes all of us. God forgives unconditionally; there is no offense too great, but He sent His beloved Son to the cross to take it away. Our Savior who gave His life for all, never wishes evil on anyone, but only blessing. Even as Jesus hung on the cross in agony, surrounded by a world that hated and cursed Him, He prayed: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). In answer to His prayer, God does forgive all our sins – including all our hateful enmity and our failures to forgive. All is forgiven!
Dear children of our heavenly Father through faith in His Son: What a joy it is to be part of this true story of unexpected love. It is a love that found us when we were not looking. It is the unexpected love of God in Christ, overflowing to us in His selfless generosity and forgiving charity. It is a love that moves us to pray in the hymn:
Lord of Glory, who hast bought us With Thy life-blood as the price,
Never grudging for the lost ones That tremendous sacrifice.
Give us faith to trust Thee boldly, Hope, to stay our souls on Thee;
But, O best of all Thy graces, Give us Thine own charity.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.