The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 19

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 3: The Sermon on the Mount, Love Your Enemy, Page 57-58

Love Your Enemy

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons 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. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” (Matthew 5:43-48)

 

If God were to adopt a philosophy of looking on Satan as his enemy and seeking revenge against him, then God would never be able to stand on the summit of victory. Thus, God has said, “love your enemy,” and has carried out a strategy of love. The words “love your enemy” also represent the pinnacle of Jesus’ teaching.

It is remarkable that Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, stood before Satan and prayed for him despite the fact that Satan was trying to kill him. If Jesus, as he hung dying on the cross, had held any feelings of malice toward his enemy, God’s providence would have been turned completely upside-down. Satan surrendered because Jesus overcame death with a heart of loving his enemies and of praying that his enemies might be blessed.

World Unification and North-South Will Be Accomplished by True Love 
February 10, 2000

In our history we have had many saints, many holy people, many wise people and philosophers. From among those great men we should be able to pick one who could give his life for his enemies, who even at the moment of his own death could still have room in his heart to bless his enemies, one who could be concerned with his enemies’ welfare rather than his own.

In history there are many teachings. One is that if someone mistreats you, repay him in the same way: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. However, the most revolutionary teaching was given by the saint who said, “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” Needless to say, that was Jesus Christ.

Did Jesus make up his own proclamations, or was he teaching according to someone else’s will, denying his own ego? What do you think? Jesus was not proclaiming his own message. Above him was someone else: God. Jesus’ teaching was God’s teaching; his emotional reaction to things was not his own. This means that the proclamations that Jesus made were God’s, and God can be trusted 100 percent.

In this universe there is only one being you can fully trust: God; and his characteristics were manifested through Jesus Christ. God’s words are always truth. He cannot tell any lies, and his actions or his instructions are always for your benefit, not his. He will never take advantage of you for his own benefit. He is the one who can always be trusted. I found God to be the one subject who can be absolutely trusted. That’s why I believe in God.

Let Us Meet Opportunity Well
January 2, 1977

Let’s look at the standard of love established by God. How much did God love his own enemy? God loves his enemy so much that he sacrificed his own Son in order to save his enemy. If you can pour out such unlimited, unconditional love for your enemy, then Satan will give up and say, “I could never do that. I could never be in the position to receive such love.” At that point Satan will surrender and retreat.

The Road of God’s Will
May 30, 1982

If we do not love our enemy, there is no way we can achieve peace. Also, the concept of enemy has to be a temporary thing. Eventually it must cease to exist. If the enemy relationship continued eternally, it would mean that God consisted of both good and evil, that there were two Gods, in essence. But that is not the case. God is not two, God is only one. He didn’t create any enemy. There is no stronger indemnity than that of loving one’s enemy. God sacrificed his own child, Jesus, in order to save the children of his enemy, Satan. What an impossible situation God found himself in.

Liberation and My Ownership
March 14, 1993