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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Matthew 5:43 - 5:43
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And hate thine enemy (kai misēseis). This phrase is not in Lev 19:18, but is a rabbinical inference which Jesus repudiates bluntly. The Talmud says nothing of love to enemies. Paul in Rom 12:20 quotes Pro 25:22 to prove that we ought to treat our enemies kindly. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and did it himself even when he hung upon the cross. Our word “neighbour” is “nigh-bor,” one who is nigh or near like the Greek word plēsion here. But proximity often means strife and not love. Those who have adjoining farms or homes may be positively hostile in spirit. The Jews came to look on members of the same tribe as neighbours as even Jews everywhere. But they hated the Samaritans who were half Jews and lived between Judea and Galilee. Jesus taught men how to act as neighbours by the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luk 10:29.).