Was Hatred Ever Taught?
By J. H. Hartog
IN the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Ye have heard that it hath been said.” He did not say, “It is written.” He referred to Deuteronomy 23, says the margin, which the teachers had misconstrued. Jesus told them to love their enemies, but this was not a new doctrine. On the contrary, it is one of the two component parts of God’s law. In Exodus 23 we are taught that if our enemy’s stock runs astray, we should bring it back to him; and if the beast of burden of him who hates us drops down under its load, we should leave our own, and go to the rescue, and help our enemy first. Jesus adds that if we love our friends, we only do what the sinners do: for even among murderers and thieves we find a species of brotherly love, sometimes so strong that one will give his life rather than betray his partners. But as followers of Christ, the perfect example, we should do as He did, and love, bless, and pray for those who curse us, hate us, lie about us, or abuse us. All these verses are plainly an illustration in detail of the real meaning of God’s law. That is why Jesus precedes His remarks by a warning not to think that He is going to teach a new thing or that He is going to do violence to the law; for that law, He says, stands fast till heaven and earth pass away.