Living with Enemies: Jesus Christ
Jesus had a thing or two to say about how to live life when you have enemies.
Usually, when Jesus’ approach to enemies gets discussed in the West, we try to apply what we learn to the ‘annoying co-workers and mother-in-laws’ of our lives.
Although there is great value in this, it is kind of a kindergarten version of what Jesus was talking about. It relates to the reality Jesus had in mind like Winnie the Pooh relates to a Grizzly Bear on a rampage. While it’s nice to contemplate Winnie the Pooh, let’s take some time to think about the Grizzly Bears of this world.
This is the first post in a series that will contemplate the lives of various people attempting to live a life true to Jesus’ example and teaching in the midst of serious enmity. This first post focuses on Jesus himself.
Jesus’ life was no walk in the park.
No sooner was he born, than the local Jewish king tried to kill him because some people were already calling this child the new King of the Jews.
When he was older, Jesus spoke at his local synagogue, and the people tried to throw him off a cliff because he critiqued their narrow nationalism.
After that, Jesus started speaking around the country, and the religious leaders plotted to have him killed, because he challenged their oppressive religious practices and spoke as if he was equal to God.
In the end, one of his closest followers betrayed him, the others fled, and Jesus was tortured and crucified by the Roman authorities.
Not the life we tend to wish for.
So what can we learn from Jesus’ ‘life with enemies’?
First of all, we need to realize that some of us perhaps have a too idealized picture of Jesus.
We remember his sayings that urge us to “love your enemies” and “rejoice when you are persecuted.” But sometimes, Jesus was scared to death. Sometimes, he cried bitter tears. Sometimes, he ran away.
Not what you usually think of when contemplating the life of Jesus, right? Trying to follow Jesus means that there is a place for being scared, for crying and for running away.
On the other hand, Jesus often felt the need to challenge those he believed were being corrupt and oppressive. In the Jerusalem temple, he made a whip, drove out all animals and salesmen, and kicked over all the money exchangers’ tables, claiming the whole temple system had become corrupt.
When following Jesus, there is also an important place for taking a stand and challenging your enemies, no matter what the cost.
And that cost may be great: Jesus was crucified within days of his action in the temple.
With his death looming large, Jesus prayed intensely and agonized deeply over what was to come. Yet this time he did not run away. He was convinced that God now called him to proceed and to let himself be killed by the authorities.
It is this sense of mission or calling that appeared to determine for Jesus when it was time to run and hide and when it was time to persevere and face suffering.
And again, Jesus was not some inhuman guy always joyfully floating five centimeters above the ground, always ‘Zen’. He truly experienced all the hardships to the core of his being.
On the cross he was torn between feelings of hope and despair, between a “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit!” and a “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”
But crucially, despite his raging emotions, he stuck to his mission, and even forgave his enemies when they were torturing and killing him.
Instead of seeking vengeance, he believed that by dying in this way, he was enabling all to reunite with God: the poor and the sick that he had comforted, but also the strong and powerful enemies that he had challenged.
In Jesus’ book, loving your enemies does not mean not confronting or opposing them. But it does mean ultimately wanting the best for them and seeking to be reconciled with them.
The ‘life with enemies’ according to Jesus is full of paradoxes. It’s a life of confronting enemies and running away from them. It’s a life of hope and despair, of love in the midst of hate, of faithfulness to a calling despite raging emotions.
But the greatest paradox of all is that life can be found in death.
Three days after his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead, and claimed that he had opened a way for others, to follow him, even if it means death, into abundant eternal life.
“Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” he said.
This is the way to life.
Read the next entry in this series on Apostle Paul.
