Luke 6:27

Luke 6:27, in plain English

Then Jesus got to the heart of it: 'Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.' This is the most radical command He ever gave.

Why it's here

After the blessings and warnings, Jesus moves to what it actually looks like to live in His kingdom. And it starts with the hardest thing imaginable.

Who's speaking

Jesus directly commands His followers to love their enemies.

Where it sits in the story

Loving your enemies isn't natural — it's supernatural. It's the thing that makes followers of Jesus different from everyone else. And it's only possible because He loved you when you were His enemy too.

The scholarly reading

The love command — agapate tous echthrous hymōn ("love your enemies") — introduces a radical ethic that transcends reciprocal morality. The verb agapaō denotes volitional, unconditional love rather than emotional affection.

Language and setting

This command goes beyond Old Testament ethics of proportional justice (lex talionis) and even beyond the command to love one's neighbor. It extends obligation to those who actively oppose you.

Voice

Jesus transitions from blessings and woes to direct ethical instruction about love.

Significance

The love ethic is the sermon's centerpiece, establishing a new moral standard that reflects God's own character. Enemy-love is the most distinctive and demanding element of Jesus' teaching.

25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.

27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.

Read all of Luke 6 — Blessed are the poor; woe to the rich. Jesus delivers his version of the great sermon and demands a love so radical it includes your enemies.