What does the Bible say about loving your enemies?
Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
New International Version (NIV)
The answer
The Bible commands active love for enemies: do good to them, bless rather than curse them, pray for them, refuse revenge, and seek peace. This does not mean approving evil or denying God’s justice. It means rejecting personal hatred and retaliation while trusting God and reflecting His mercy.
What Jesus commands
Jesus leaves no room for treating enemy-love as optional: “But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
That command covers the whole response to an enemy:
- Love: seek what is genuinely good for the other person rather than their destruction.
- Bless: refuse to answer curses and insults with the same spirit.
- Do good: love involves concrete action, not merely restrained feelings.
- Pray: bring even persecutors before God, asking for their true good rather than nurturing revenge.
Jesus contrasts this with loving only people who return the favour; even the despised tax collectors did that (Matthew 5:46-47). The words “hate your enemy” in Matthew 5:43 are not a quotation from Leviticus 19:18. That Old Testament command explicitly forbids vengeance and grudges and commands love for one’s neighbour.
Practical love was already required in the Old Testament
Enemy-love was not an entirely new idea. Exodus 23:4-5 required returning an enemy’s stray animal and helping when the animal of someone who hated you collapsed under its burden. Proverbs 25:21 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” These commands make love practical and costly: an enemy’s genuine need is not to be ignored.
How believers are to respond
Romans 12:14-21 gathers the command into a way of life:
- Refuse retaliation: “Repay no one evil for evil” (Romans 12:17).
- Pursue peace honestly: “If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). Peace is to be sought, but reconciliation is not always within one person’s control.
- Meet real needs: feed the hungry enemy and give drink to the thirsty one (Romans 12:20).
- Overcome rather than imitate evil: “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
Luke 6:35-36 adds generosity without expecting repayment and calls for mercy patterned after the Father’s mercy. Love is therefore more than a feeling; obedience in words, deeds and prayer is required even when affection is absent.
What loving enemies does not mean
It does not mean calling wickedness good, pretending that harm does not matter, or denying judgment. Romans 12:19 expressly forbids personal revenge while affirming God’s justice: “Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.’” Believers can desire justice without making themselves the avengers. Nor does Romans 12:18 promise that every enemy will become a friend; some reconciliation depends on the other person’s response.
The reason and the model
God “makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Loving enemies displays the family likeness of children of their heavenly Father. Matthew 5:48 therefore sets God’s perfect character—not the enemy’s behaviour—as the measure of wholehearted love.
More deeply, God has loved His own enemies through Christ: “But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Believers were reconciled to God through the death of His Son while they were still enemies (Romans 5:10). Jesus embodied that mercy even while being crucified, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Enemy-love thus rests not on the enemy deserving kindness, but on the mercy and reconciliation God gives in Christ.
Answered from Scripture · reviewed November 11, 2026
Scripture commands believers to love their enemies not as a vague sentiment, but as an active, concrete imitation of God's sovereign mercy. From the Mosaic law through Christ's explicit teaching and apostolic instruction, God's people are called to overcome hostility with active good, leaving all vengeance in the hands of the righteous Judge.
The Law and Wisdom
Ancient Foundations for Showing Mercy to Foes
“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
Exodus 23:4-5 (NIV)
The Mosaic covenant explicitly commanded concrete physical aid to an enemy's working beast, proving kindness to adversaries was never an afterthought.
Long before the Sermon on the Mount, the Law of Moses established that God's people must extend practical kindness to those who oppose them. In Exodus 23:4-5, the Lord commands that if an Israelite meets his enemy's ox or donkey wandering away, he must return it, and if he sees his enemy's beast collapsing under a heavy burden, he is forbidden to walk past; he must stop and help release it. Mercy was never intended to remain an abstract feeling; it demanded tangible labor and sacrificial care, even across personal enmity. This principle is reinforced in Leviticus 19:18, which strictly prohibits bearing a grudge or taking vengeance, establishing the foundational mandate to love one's neighbor as oneself.
The wisdom literature and historical narratives consistently uphold this ethic. Proverbs 24:17-18 warns the soul never to gloat or rejoice when an enemy falls, lest the Lord see it and turn His wrath away. In Proverbs 25:21-22, Solomon gives the striking charge to feed a hungry adversary and provide water to a thirsty foe, for in doing so, one heaps burning coals upon his head while the Lord repays the kindness. Job similarly appeals to his integrity in Job 31:29-30, testifying that he never rejoiced over the ruin of someone who hated him nor invoked a curse upon his life.
Scripture records striking moments where God's servants lived out this mercy. When King Saul relentlessly hunted David, David cut off the corner of Saul's robe in the cave of Engedi but spared his life (1 Samuel 24:10-12), refusing to stretch out his hand against his foe and entrusting justice to God alone. Centuries later, the prophet Elisha prevented the slaughter of captured Syrian soldiers who had surrounded him, ordering Israel's king to set bread and water before them and send them home safely (2 Kings 6:21-23). David likewise recounted in Psalm 35:12-14 how he wore sackcloth, fasted, and grieved when his persecutors fell ill, mourning for them as though they were his own brother or mother.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Exodus 23:4 | Requires returning an enemy's straying ox or donkey safely back to him. |
| Exodus 23:5 | Demands helping release the burden of an enemy's collapsed donkey rather than ignoring it. |
| Leviticus 19:18 | Forbids taking vengeance or holding a grudge against one's people, commanding love for one's neighbor. |
| Proverbs 24:17-18 | Warns against rejoicing or gloating in one's heart when an enemy falls or stumbles. |
| Proverbs 25:21-22 | Instructs feeding a hungry enemy and giving drink to a thirsty foe, heaping coals upon his head. |
| 1 Samuel 24:10-12 | David spares Saul's life in the cave, refusing to harm his enemy and leaving judgment entirely in God's hands. |
| 2 Kings 6:21-23 | Elisha commands the king of Israel to feast and release captured Syrian raiders instead of killing them. |
| Job 31:29-30 | Job declares his righteousness by affirming he never rejoiced at the destruction of his enemy or cursed him. |
| Psalms 35:12-14 | David fasts, prays, and mourns for his adversaries when they become sick, treating them like a brother. |
Christ's Royal Law
The Sermon on the Mount's Direct Mandate
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
Jesus lays down the foundational New Covenant standard to bless, do good, and pray for persecutors.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ took the ancient commands of Scripture and brought them to their full, sovereign clarity. Highlighting the true intent of the covenant in Matthew 5:44, the Lord proclaims, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." Human traditions had long distorted God's law to justify hating opponents (Matthew 5:43), but Christ systematically dismantles all such self-justification. Disciples are commanded to abandon retaliation entirely, offering the other cheek, relinquishing one's cloak, and going the extra mile under compulsion (Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:29-30).
Christ anchors this radical posture in the very character of God. As He explains in Matthew 5:45 and Luke 6:35-36, the Father pours out common grace without partiality, making His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sending rain on the just and the unjust. Those who love only those who love them display no supernatural fruit; even tax collectors and pagans love their own companions (Matthew 5:46-47; Luke 6:32-34). Followers of Christ are summoned to be mature and perfect in impartial mercy, mirroring their heavenly Father who is kind even to the ungrateful and evil (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:35-36).
This love demands continuous, costly action rather than passive tolerance. In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus insists on proactive goodness toward those who detest us and vocal blessing toward those who speak evil of us. When asked to define the neighbor one is obligated to love, Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). There, a despised outsider crossed deep-seated racial, theological, and historical hostility to bandage a beaten traveler, pour oil and wine upon his wounds, and pay for his complete restoration, setting the eternal standard for mercy without boundaries.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Matthew 5:43 | Cites the contemporary distorted tradition that taught loving one's neighbor while hating one's enemy. |
| Matthew 5:44 | Commands loving enemies, blessing cursers, doing good to haters, and praying for persecutors. |
| Matthew 5:45 | Explains that loving enemies reflects the Father, who gives sun and rain to the evil and good alike. |
| Matthew 5:46-47 | Points out that merely loving friends or greeting brothers offers no distinct reward beyond tax collectors. |
| Matthew 5:48 | Calls disciples to be perfect in impartial love, just as their heavenly Father is perfect. |
| Luke 6:27-28 | Commands actively doing good to haters, blessing those who curse, and praying for abusive mistreaters. |
| Luke 6:32-35 | Exhorts lending without expecting return and doing good to the ungrateful to be sons of the Most High. |
| Luke 6:36 | Directs disciples to be merciful, even as their Father also is merciful. |
| Matthew 5:38-42 | Jesus forbids retaliation, commanding believers to turn the other cheek, give their cloak, and go the extra mile. |
| Luke 6:29-30 | Jesus instructs His followers to respond to robbery and striking without retaliation or demanding goods back. |
| Luke 10:30-37 | The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates neighborly love poured out across historical and ethnic animosity. |
The Ultimate Example
Forgiveness Demonstrated in the Face of Death
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:34 (NIV)
Jesus embodies His own teaching by interceding for His executioners while dying upon the cross.
The command to love one's enemies is not an impossible ideal preached from safety; it is the exact path that Jesus Christ walked to the cross. In Luke 23:34, hanging in agony between two criminals as soldiers gambled for His clothing, Christ interceded for His murderers, crying out, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." This supreme act fulfilled the ancient prophecy of Isaiah 53:12, which declared that the Suffering Servant would pour out His soul unto death and make intercession for the transgressors who pierced Him. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, when confronted by the armed mob sent to seize Him, Jesus reached out and miraculously healed the severed ear of Malchus, an active enemy executing an unjust arrest (Luke 22:50-51).
The Gospel itself is built upon God's radical love toward hostile adversaries. As the apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:8 and Romans 5:10, God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son precisely when we were His active enemies. Colossians 1:21-22 confirms that believers were once alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in wicked works, yet Christ has now reconciled us in the body of His flesh through death.
Because Christ suffered unjustly without bitterness, He left an unshakeable pattern for His followers. Peter notes that when Christ was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He uttered no threats, but continually entrusted Himself to the righteous Judge (1 Peter 2:21-23). The early church immediately bore this same fruit. When Stephen was dragged outside Jerusalem and battered with stones, he fell to his knees in his final breath and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin!" (Acts 7:60), proving that Christ's forgiving love was truly alive in His redeemed people.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Luke 23:34 | Records Christ praying on the cross for His executioners, asking the Father to forgive them. |
| Romans 5:8 | Declares that God proved His love because Christ died for us while we were still sinners. |
| Romans 5:10 | States that believers were reconciled to God through the death of His Son while they were enemies. |
| 1 Peter 2:21-23 | Describes Christ reviling not in return and uttering no threats, entrusting Himself to the righteous Judge. |
| Acts 7:60 | Shows Stephen kneeling under stones and crying out for the Lord not to hold this sin against them. |
| Isaiah 53:12 | Prophecy that the Suffering Servant would make intercession for the transgressors who afflicted Him. |
| Luke 22:50-51 | Jesus miraculously heals the ear of Malchus, an enemy who came to arrest Him in Gethsemane. |
| Colossians 1:21-22 | Christ reconciled believers while they were once alienated and hostile enemies in their minds and deeds. |
The Apostolic Pattern
Overcoming Evil by Active Deeds of Good
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 (NIV)
Paul summarizes the Christian's posture toward mistreatment as an active conquest of evil through goodness.
The apostolic epistles translate the cross of Christ into the daily walk of the church, establishing that love for enemies is the primary weapon of the believer. In Romans 12:21, the apostle Paul provides the decisive rule: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." When believers retaliate or harbor malice, they allow the evil of their adversary to master their own hearts. Instead, the Christian is called to active conquest through selfless benevolence. Paul commands believers to bless those who persecute them—to bless and never curse (Romans 12:14)—and to repay no one evil for evil, pursuing what is honorable in the sight of all people (Romans 12:17).
This posture is rooted in absolute trust in God's sovereign justice. Believers are commanded never to avenge themselves, but to give place to the wrath of God, resting on the divine promise: "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). Relieved of the burden of taking vengeance, the believer is freed to serve: if an enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink, for such kindness heaps burning coals upon his conscience and invites him to repentance (Romans 12:20). Peter echoes this exact command in 1 Peter 3:9, charging disciples never to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but to return a blessing instead, knowing they are called to inherit a blessing.
The apostles lived out this reality under intense persecution. Paul recounts that when reviled, the apostles blessed; when persecuted, they endured; when slandered, they answered with gentle conciliation (1 Corinthians 4:12-13). As 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 states, true love suffers long, keeps no record of suffered wrongs, and bears all things. Therefore, whenever opportunity arises, believers must do good to all people (Galatians 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:15), answering hostility with gentleness, reverence, and a spotless conscience before God (1 Peter 3:14-16).
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Romans 12:14 | Commands blessing those who persecute believers, urging them to bless and never curse. |
| Romans 12:17 | Forbids repaying anyone evil for evil, urging thoughtful regard for what is honorable before all. |
| Romans 12:18 | Exhorts living peaceably with all people as far as it depends on the believer. |
| Romans 12:19 | Commands leaving vengeance to the wrath of God, citing the Lord's pledge that He will repay. |
| Romans 12:20 | Instructs feeding a hungry enemy and watering a thirsty enemy to heap burning coals on his head. |
| Romans 12:21 | Forbids being overcome by evil, commanding instead to overcome evil with good. |
| 1 Corinthians 4:12-13 | Recounts apostolic conduct of blessing when reviled, enduring when persecuted, and conciliation when slandered. |
| 1 Thessalonians 5:15 | Charges believers to ensure no one repays evil for evil, always pursuing good toward all. |
| 1 Peter 3:9 | Instructs not repaying evil with evil or insult with insult, but giving a blessing instead. |
| 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 | Love suffers long, is kind, does not envy, seeks not its own, and keeps no record of suffered wrongs. |
| Galatians 6:10 | Believers are instructed to do good to all people whenever opportunity arises, without excluding opponents. |
| 1 Peter 3:14-16 | Believers must answer persecutors with gentleness and respect, maintaining a clear conscience through unjust suffering. |
Where in the Bible
| Book | Passages |
|---|---|
| Exodus | 2 · Exodus 23:4, Exodus 23:5 |
| Leviticus | 1 · Leviticus 19:18 |
| 1 Samuel | 1 · 1 Samuel 24:10-12 |
| 2 Kings | 1 · 2 Kings 6:21-23 |
| Job | 1 · Job 31:29-30 |
| Psalms | 1 · Psalms 35:12-14 |
| Proverbs | 2 · Proverbs 24:17-18, Proverbs 25:21-22 |
| Isaiah | 1 · Isaiah 53:12 |
| Matthew | 6 · Matthew 5:43, Matthew 5:44, Matthew 5:45, Matthew 5:46-47, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 5:38-42 |
| Luke | 7 · Luke 6:27-28, Luke 6:32-35, Luke 6:36, Luke 6:29-30, Luke 10:30-37, Luke 23:34, Luke 22:50-51 |
| Acts | 1 · Acts 7:60 |
| Romans | 8 · Romans 5:8, Romans 5:10, Romans 12:14, Romans 12:17, Romans 12:18, Romans 12:19, Romans 12:20, Romans 12:21 |
| 1 Corinthians | 2 · 1 Corinthians 4:12-13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 |
| Galatians | 1 · Galatians 6:10 |
| Colossians | 1 · Colossians 1:21-22 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 1 · 1 Thessalonians 5:15 |
| 1 Peter | 3 · 1 Peter 2:21-23, 1 Peter 3:9, 1 Peter 3:14-16 |
The story in order
- God's Law commands mercy to enemies (c. 1450 BC) · Exodus 23:4 · Shows early instruction to actively help even those who oppose you.
- David spares his enemy Saul (c. 1000 BC) · 1 Samuel 24:10-12 · Demonstrates leaving vengeance to God when the opportunity arises.
- Elisha shows mercy to captured raiders (c. 850 BC) · 2 Kings 6:21-23 · Illustrates feeding and releasing enemies instead of harming them.
- Proverbs advises kindness to a hungry enemy (c. 700 BC) · Proverbs 25:21-22 · Teaches active good deeds towards enemies, symbolizing overwhelming them with kindness.
- Suffering Servant intercedes for transgressors (c. 700 BC) · Isaiah 53:12 · Prophetic picture of Christ praying for those who afflicted Him.
- Jesus teaches love for enemies (c. AD 30) · Matthew 5:44 · Direct command to love, bless, do good to, and pray for enemies.
- Jesus forbids retaliation (c. AD 30) · Matthew 5:38-42 · Commands turning the other cheek and going the extra mile.
- Good Samaritan shows mercy across divides (c. AD 30) · Luke 10:30-37 · Illustrates selfless love for an enemy transcending social barriers.
- Christ prays for His executioners (AD 30-33) · Luke 23:34 · Ultimate example of praying for forgiveness for enemies.
- Christ died for us as enemies (c. AD 57) · Romans 5:8 · God's love demonstrated by Christ dying for us while enemies.
- Apostles bless when reviled (c. AD 55) · 1 Corinthians 4:12-13 · Describes the apostles' pattern of responding to hostility with blessing.
- Overcome evil with good (c. AD 57) · Romans 12:21 · The core principle of responding to evil with active good.
- Stephen prays for his killers (c. AD 35) · Acts 7:60 · Stephen's dying prayer mirrors Christ's forgiveness for his enemies.
Key words
- Love (agape, ἀγάπη)
- Active goodwill and selfless concern for the well-being of others, including enemies. · Matthew 5:44
- Enemy (echthros, ἐχθρός)
- One who is hostile or opposed to another. · Matthew 5:44
- Vengeance (ekdikēsis, ἐκδίκησις)
- Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. · Romans 12:19
- Mercy (eleos, ἔλεος)
- Compassion or kindness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. · Luke 6:36
- Good (agathos, ἀγαθός)
- Actions that are morally right, beneficial, or virtuous. · Romans 12:21
Loving an enemy is impossible in mere human strength, but it is the authentic mark of the Father's children who have themselves received grace while still enemies of God. As you face genuine malice or opposition, refuse retaliation, entrust judgment to the Lord, and actively seek the eternal good of those who oppose you.
40 passages, each cited once.
Scripture cited
- Matthew 5:43-48
- Leviticus 19:18
- Romans 12:14-21
- Luke 6:27-36
- Exodus 23:4-5
- Proverbs 25:21-22
- Luke 23:32-34
- Romans 5:6-11