The Cost
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 NIV
Do good/bless – So you want to follow the Messiah. You want to live by his instructions, obey him as your master, incorporate his rabbinic teaching into your way of life. It sounds good, doesn’t it? With a little projection, you can imagine yourself in a Hollywood version where everything turns out right in the end. Not so fast, please. Maybe we need to look a little deeper before we start planning the color scheme for that mansion we’ll get in heaven.
In order to fully appreciate these two verses in Luke, we need to recognize and embrace the role of suffering in discipleship. That role started long before Yeshua made these remarks.
“Israel’s suffering is not a penalty, but a privilege, a sacrifice; its endurance is a ritual, its meaning is to be disclosed to all men in the hour of Israel’s redemption.”[1]
If Yeshua represents the fulfillment of the task assigned originally to Israel, then his suffering is an integral and unavoidable element of his mission. It is a divine calling. Do you want to follow the Master? Well, then, you’ll need to pay attention to Peter’s exhortation: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,” (1 Peter 2:21). Suffering is a calling; a calling to each and every one of his disciples. Of course, all suffering is not divinely inspired. “Suffering as chastisement is man’s own responsibility; suffering as redemption is God’s responsibility.”[2] So be careful. Sort out what you deserve as chastisement from what you bear as the Messiah’s representative. You can do your best to avoid the first. You should do your best to embrace the second. Maybe planning what colors you’ll use in your mansion isn’t quite the task at hand.
I can think of no better way to embrace the divine call to suffer than to follow the Master’s advice concerning enemies. If you’re going to do good to those who hate you and bless those who curse you, you’ll suffer. First, because no one in your company except citizens of the Kingdom will understand what you’re doing. You’ll become a pariah. Rejection will be your middle name. But it won’t stop there. Do you think your enemies will suddenly become friendly? Not likely. They will go on hating and cursing, so you’ll go on being shot at from both sides of the war. Welcome to the seventh Beatitude. No peace for you in this life. Is that what you expected? Peace? Did Yeshua experience peace? Did his disciples? What made you think you should have anything more than what they had? Oh, maybe you listened to the “wonderful plan” kingdom a bit too much.
There is comfort in fulfilling a divine call, a call that will eventually bring reconciliation to the world and redemption to human beings. But you might just be an Abraham, who knew but never saw what God promised. That’s okay too, right? Be sure before you answer.
Topical Index: suffer, do good, curse, 1 Peter 2:21, Luke 6:27-28
[1] Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (Hendrickson Publishers, 1962), Vol 1, p. 149.
[2] Ibid., p. 151.
