Love Behind Enemy Lines | Sunday, November 9, 2025

We are going to get into the Scriptures, so if you would take out your Bibles this morning. A few weeks ago, we studied one of Jesus's most essential and famous teachings in the Scripture, Luke 6. Jesus said this in verse 27: "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." This is not only one of Jesus's most famous teachings, but it may also be one of the most difficult to apply. Certainly, it is one of the most challenging for us to put into practice in our lives.

It's amazing that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5, identifies this as the path to perfection. One of the challenges with that word "perfection" is that the way we use it today is not really the way it was used by many New Testament authors 2,000 years ago. When we hear "perfection," we often think of sinless perfection. However, when you read the word used in the New Testament, most of the time it is in the context of maturity.

So, when Jesus says, "Love your enemies," he is indicating that this is the path to becoming mature. Specifically, in Matthew 5:43, he says, "You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you." Therefore, a few verses later, in verse 48, he states, "Therefore, you shall be perfect or mature just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

This is what it is like to be like God according to Jesus. If we are going to properly show forth his glory and reflect or image his glory in this world, then we are told by Jesus that the way we are going to do that is through love. Therefore, you shall be mature or perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

The challenge is that emulating God in this way is incredibly difficult. How many of you have experienced that? It is hard to love your enemies. You know that passage in Matthew 5 when he says, "You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." Quite frankly, I find that teaching more appealing.

Love your neighbor, hate your enemy. My natural inclination is to say yes and amen to that teaching. You can be certain that many of the people in the first century, when they heard the rabbis teach that, were inclined toward it as well. This saying of Jesus is probably one of the most well-known, even among unbelievers. A lot of people who don't go to church and haven't studied the Bible know this teaching from Jesus. I know that because I've had conversations with people over the years who are not really churchgoers, and they know "love your enemy." They like that one.

When someone says to you, "I think Jesus was a good moral teacher," what are they referring to? Most likely, they are referring to this: love your neighbor. Not only is this the teaching that Jesus is perhaps most well-known for, but it is also the characteristic of love. This is the thing that he says would identify his followers the most. In John chapter 13, he says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

So, Jesus says that the most identifying characteristic of those who follow him—who follow his teachings and his way of life—is that they will be known by the love they have for one another. We know quite clearly from the Scriptures what it is that Jesus calls us to. We have been called to love, and that's good for a lot of people because many say, "Well, I love love." I certainly hear that in my house. This is the season for Hallmark movies, and I have some family members who quite like Hallmark movies because they love love. So, there is probably a list going on right now of the upcoming entertainment in the Benedictus household. We love love.

However, the love to which Jesus calls us is an otherworldly sort of love. I would put it like this: if you're taking notes, point number one is that Christlike love is counternatural, natural, and extraordinary. Counternatural—what does that mean? It means it's contrary to nature. We are all inclined to love, but we are inclined to love those who are lovely, to love those we like. But to love the...

Unlovely as it may seem, we are called to love those who hate us, to love those who regard us as their enemies. As a result, we might consider them our enemies as well. This is contrary to our nature; it is extraordinary. We love love, but we struggle to love our enemies. We have a love-hate relationship with them, meaning we love to hate them and often look for reasons or loopholes in Scripture that might give us permission to do so.

This is why the teaching, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy," was so attractive to the people in Jesus's day. It is also why it remains attractive to us today. Because Jesus's teaching is contrary to our nature and extraordinary, we need an example. We require a clear, fixed expression—a tangible picture of this intangible idea or concept. We need something that brings it into reality.

Point number two is that biblical love is not a theoretical concept. It is not merely a theological idea; it is the practical calling to which we have been called. This is what Christ has called us to: to love not only those we are inclined to like. Jesus says, "If you do good to those who love you, what good is that? Do not even sinners do the same?" He calls us to an extraordinary, contrary-to-nature sort of love—one that compels us to love our enemies. Since this is not our natural inclination, we need an image of it. We need it to be clearly defined so we can understand what it looks like.

Luke chapter 7 provides that image for us. If you would open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, I encourage you to do so. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and an usher will bring one to you, or we will put it up on the screen. I ask you to stand and keep in mind that the context of what is happening in Luke 7 follows the Sermon on the Mount in Luke chapter 6, where the bulk of that teaching, as Luke records it, revolves around the idea of loving your enemies.

In Luke 7, it says, "Now when he concluded all these sayings," meaning when Jesus was done teaching the Sermon on the Mount, "and the hearing of all the people, he entered Capernaum." Capernaum was a village on the northwest beach of the Sea of Galilee. As he came into Capernaum,

The town where at least five of Jesus's disciples were from—Andrew, Peter, James, John, and Levi, the tax collector Matthew—is Capernaum. As He came into Capernaum after preaching the Sermon on the Mount, a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to the centurion, was sick and ready to die. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to plead with Jesus to come and heal his servant.

When they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving. The centurion loves our nation and has built us a synagogue. Jesus went with them, and when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Jesus, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But if You say the word, my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him and turned around to the crowd that followed Him, saying, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel." Those who were sent returned to the house and found the servant well who had been sick.

God, I pray that You would give us wisdom, insight, and understanding as we consider this text together today. I ask that You would continue to use Your word by the power of Your Spirit to transform us by the renewing of our minds, Lord. May we reflect or mirror Your glory and love to a world that desperately needs it. God, work in us and make us more like You. We pray that we would be mature, perfect as You, our heavenly Father, are perfect. We pray this in Jesus's name. And all those who agreed said, "Amen."

Amen. You can be seated.

It's a question that people have pondered and wrestled with for centuries, even millennia, from the great philosophers of ancient times to authors, writers, and novelists.

Playwrights, or even singers, often ponder the question: What is love? Some of you might have a song repeating in your head, one that you could carry with you for the rest of the day. What is love? Baby, don't hurt me. I just ruined your day.

The great philosopher Aristotle, writing in his classic "Rhetoric" 2,500 years ago, defined love like this: he said, "Let loving then be defined as wishing for anyone the things which we believe to be good." This is a simple definition of love, as Aristotle puts it, and as Thomas Aquinas quoted it about a thousand years ago. Love is to will the good of another, to desire their good.

Now, think about that for a moment. Jesus says, "Love your enemies," which means to desire the good of my enemy. That is hard. If that were not hard enough—and it is hard—it's difficult because, by nature, in what the Bible calls my flesh, I don't have the ability or the power to love my enemy, to will the good of my enemy.

But Jesus goes beyond just desiring. He doesn't say to merely desire the good of your enemy; He says to do good to those who hate you. Man, that's hard. I might be able to imagine an illustration of this theoretical concept, what it might look like to will something good to happen for my enemy. More often than not, however, I find myself thinking about something not so good happening to my enemy.

You know what the Bible calls that? The Bible calls that malice. Malice is when I wish or desire ill to fall upon my enemy. Paul, in Ephesians 4, says that I am to put away malice from my life. And that's hard because, to confess, there have been more than a few times in my mind when I have thought to myself, "I kind of wish this would happen."

He says, "Love your enemies. Will the good of another, but not only will it—do it." And so Jesus says, "Do good to those who..."

Hate you. We can understand this idea in a theoretical theological way, but the story that Jesus is pictured in by Luke represents it clearly for us. What does it look like to love your enemy? He has just taught on it. He has just told multitudes of people who are following him, who were already categorizing or classifying themselves as his followers, as his disciples, "Do good to those who hate you."

They are wrestling with this thinking because the teaching they have been given is to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, which they were inclined to, and so are we. Now, he pictures it for them. What does it look like? He is presented with an opportunity to love someone who hated his people, or from all outward indications, it sure looked like that. The Romans were hated by the Jews in the first century, and for good reason.

Let's understand that the Jewish people of the first century hated the Romans for good reason. The Romans took control of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, the whole region that we know of today as Israel. They took control of this in 63 BC, almost a century before Jesus is now performing his ministry. This is about 96 years later, if it's right around the 30s. So, Jesus is ministering in a world that hated the Romans. After Rome had taken control of this whole region, they occupied it.

If you know anything about Roman history, the Romans ruled the territories they controlled with the constant threat of terror. If you in any way did what you ought not to do against Rome, they would send their legions in, squash you, and show you who is boss. The Jews rendered taxes unto Caesar and gave respect to Rome because they were scared that if they didn't, they would be killed.

All of the Jewish towns, villages, and cities in the first century were filled with Roman soldiers. Here, we are introduced to a centurion. What is a centurion? This is a Roman military officer who oversees a Roman century, which is a detachment of at least 100 soldiers. He is the authoritative ruling power in northwest Galilee, in the city of Capernaum. Every Jewish individual saw Roman soldiers in their towns and villages. Capernaum was not a massive city; it was relatively small.

In a small village, there were at least a hundred Roman soldiers present. The Jewish people would see Roman soldiers every single day. These soldiers had the authority to compel individuals to carry their wares, their backpacks, for a thousand Roman paces, which is equivalent to a mile. In His teaching during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed this Roman rule. He said, "If someone compels you to go a mile with them, go with them two."

Jesus was referring to a common understanding among the people. If you were traveling in one direction and a Roman soldier was going in the opposite direction, he could command you to carry his belongings for at least one thousand paces, from one Roman mile marker to another. Today, in Israel, you can still see the ancient Roman mile markers that have remained for 2,000 years. Jesus emphasized this point in Matthew 5:41: "Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."

In every Jewish town, village, or city, the streets were filled with Roman soldiers. Even worse, the Jewish king in the first century was a foreigner installed by the Romans, someone the Jews despised. The reason for their hatred was that he was not a Roman; he was an Idumean. Herod, one of the arch enemies of Israel, belonged to this group. The Romans had set up Herod to rule, and as a result, the Jewish people resented him.

A Jewish king was considered a foreigner, and in the Jewish way of life, the king was below God. Therefore, the palace of the king in Jerusalem was subordinate to the temple, which was the highest feature in the city. However, the Romans built a fortress above the temple called the Antonia Fortress, from which they could observe everything that occurred in the temple. This construction served as a constant reminder to the people that the Romans were in control, even over their God.

With Roman soldiers stationed in every city, village, and town, and a foreign king imposed upon them, the Jewish people lived under the watchful eye of the Roman fortress overlooking the temple. Additionally, the Romans displayed billboards throughout the entire nation to reinforce their rule. These billboards were the bodies of Jewish individuals crucified on Roman crosses, left to decay as a grim reminder of the consequences of defiance against Roman authority.

What happens if you push back against Rome? The Jews hated the Romans. What did the Jewish people pray and hope for every single day? They prayed for deliverance by the Messiah. The Messiah for them was to be a political ruler who would come in, destroy Rome, and exalt Israel. The people in Jesus's day were hoping for, praying for, and expecting the end of Roman tyranny at the hand of a Jewish Messiah. That was their salvation; that was their rescue.

With all of that as context, Jesus has just taught to love your enemies. When He says, "If anyone compels you to go one mile, go with them two," He is indicating that one of the enemies you are to love are these Romans. In that context, Jesus enters Capernaum and is immediately met by religious leaders. These would be those of the synagogue in Capernaum, probably the scribes or the Pharisees. The Pharisees had a very strong rule in the villages of Galilee.

Some of the religious leaders come to Jesus and plead with Him on behalf of a certain centurion who had a servant dear to him, who was sick and ready to die. This is a really curious situation: the Jewish religious leaders would come to Jesus and say, "Listen, we want you to help somebody in the community. Would you be willing to come with us and heal this man?"

Well, who is it? It is the slave of a Roman centurion in this area, the one who has command and rule over a hundred soldiers here in northwest Galilee. This centurion is interesting because the text gives us some noteworthy qualities or characteristics about him. First, we see that he had a good relationship with the religious leaders in Capernaum, which is kind of strange. The religious leaders in Capernaum did not typically befriend the Romans, especially not the Roman soldier who was overseeing the detachment of Roman soldiers in their community. Yet, the religious leaders had a good relationship with this centurion.

They come on his behalf to plead for Jesus to come and heal his servant. Second, the Jewish elders are begging earnestly, saying to Jesus, "This one is deserving. He's deserving." They plead on behalf of the Roman soldier, saying, "He deserves it. He's worthy of you coming and dealing with this." Why? Why is he deserving?

Deserving? They said, "For he loves our nation." This is no ordinary Roman. It's kind of interesting. He loves our nation, which leads to the third thing we see about him. This centurion showed his goodwill; he demonstrated some form of love for the Jewish nation and the Jewish people by doing what? By building them a synagogue.

I have lots of questions at this point. Today, you can actually go to the ruins of Capernaum and see the ruins of the synagogue that was the major synagogue in the seaside town of Galilee. I was just there a few weeks ago. The ruins of the synagogue that are there now are from a synagogue built during the Byzantine period, on the foundation of the original synagogue that was built during the time of Christ.

Here, we are told who put up the money to help build the synagogue in Capernaum: none other than a Roman centurion. This is a very strange situation. One commentator writing on this says, "A man would scarcely have undertaken all that is involved in building a synagogue without some interest in the God who was worshiped there." It would seem that this Roman centurion has some form of interest in the God of the Jewish people, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, such that he would give money to help build the synagogue of the Jews in Capernaum.

The fourth thing we discover about this Roman centurion as we go through the story is that he had marvelous faith. His faith moved Jesus, but it also moved him. It inspired the centurion to hope that Jesus would help him. There are some very interesting characteristics in this Roman centurion. He would definitely be on the list of the top ten people that the Jewish people in Capernaum hated. Yet, he demonstrates in this passage faith in Jesus, which inspired him to hope that Jesus might be able to help him.

He had demonstrated goodwill or love for the people. He had faith, hope, and love. These three things are given to us in the New Testament as the chief characteristics of a follower of God. Strange.

The Roman had faith, hope, and love. It reminds me that sometimes the people we are tempted to hate surprise us. It reminds us that the characteristics of a follower can be found in the most unlikely of people. The centurion appeared to be, in some ways, a man of faith. He was certainly not just a cynic, and his faith moved him.

What did it move him to do? It moved him to recognize Jesus's authority as Lord. He called Jesus Lord. In this passage, his faith moved him to humbly acknowledge his own unworthiness, using two different Greek words. He declares, "I am not worthy that you would help me." Thirdly, it moved him to honor Jesus's ability and power to heal his servant. This is a very striking passage of Scripture.

Look at it very clearly: Luke 7:6. Then Jesus went with them, the people who were taking him to the house of the centurion. When he was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Jesus, saying, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not even think myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and my servant will be healed."

When I think of who the Romans were in the context of the Jewish world of the first century, and when I consider this man as a centurion—a Roman officer over the soldiers who were occupying and causing terror for the people of the Jewish world—I realize that I can very easily fall into, if I'm not careful, not recognizing what God is trying to do in the world.

If we're not careful, point number three: hate can blind us to the very ones God desires to reach and heal through us. I can be very easily blinded by hate, with a plank in my eye. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled. When he heard what things? When the centurion said, "I'm not worthy that you would come to my house. I don't even feel worthy that I could come to you, but if you would just say the word, my servant would be healed."

When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. He turned around and said to the...

The crowd who followed Him heard Him say, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel." Those who were sent returned to the house and found the servant well, who had been sick.

Three times in the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the word "marveled" is used in connection to Jesus, and it is always in relationship to faith. Jesus marveled. When I read the word "marveled," I think of surprise, but it's hard for me to imagine Jesus surprised. I see Him in His divinity, but in His humanity here, He marveled. And what did He marvel at? He marveled at the faith of an outsider, a Roman centurion.

Seeing the faith represented in the life of this man, Jesus turned to the people who were expected to be the men and women of faith and said, "I've not seen such great faith, not even in Israel." He said this another time, I believe it's in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 15, in relation to another outsider and her faith. There was a woman who came to Jesus when He was near Lebanon, near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. A Syrophoenician Gentile woman came to Jesus, begging Him to heal her daughter.

In that situation, Jesus referred to her, this Gentile woman, in the way that Jewish people would refer to Gentile women. He said that she was a dog. Yet she replied, "Yes, but even the dogs eat the scraps that fall off the master's table. Would you please heal my daughter?" He marveled at her faith and healed her.

One other time, the lack of faith inspired Jesus's surprise. In Mark chapter 6, when He was in His hometown of Nazareth, He marveled at their unbelief. Mark 6:5-6 states that Jesus could do no mighty works in Nazareth, His hometown filled with Jewish people, the descendants of the father of faith. He could do no mighty works there except that He laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, and He marveled because of their unbelief.

So, you have to think about this for a moment. Jesus is inspired to marvel at faith and, conversely, at unbelief.

Faith or unbelief. It is far better to surprise Jesus by your faith than by your unbelief. We have the marvelous belief of this man, and those who were sent by the centurion returning to the centurion's house found the servant who had been sick healed. There are so many great stories in the Gospels, but this is definitely one of those profound stories.

This is the perfect practical application of Jesus's teaching to love your enemy. He has just given this teaching to His followers, and now He is presented with an opportunity to demonstrate what love for your enemies looks like.

But to be very candid with you, my flesh doesn't want practical applications of Christ's "love your enemy" teaching. My flesh wants loopholes. I get an amen. Is there anybody else? Am I the only one? Because, in my flesh, I don't like this teaching. I think that if I love my enemy, it lets him off the hook, right? If I love my enemy, he will most certainly take advantage of my kindness and walk all over me. If I love my enemy, he will never be pushed to change. He will never be challenged to repent.

If I love my enemy, I will continue to be wronged, and he will think he is right. If I love my enemy and do good to him who hates me, he will never be brought to justice, and I will never get my revenge.

So, in thinking about that, as I reflected on it this last week, you know what I think? I think Jesus's teaching doesn't work. I know, blasphemous, pastor. If by "work," I mean feeling validated in my hate and vindicated in my desire for vengeance. I have that, and I think that many of you do as well.

I think that Jesus's teaching does not make sense. If I actually love my enemies, do good to those who hate me, bless those who curse me, and pray for those who spitefully use me, then the world is inevitably going to get worse. People will take advantage of that. Therefore, I think that his teaching is nonsensical if I didn't have the witness of Jesus.

The witness of Jesus, as we see here in this text, who loved his enemies dramatically, provides a different perspective. For example, he washed Judas's feet. He partook of the Eucharist communion with Judas while Judas was present. When Judas came to indicate to the Roman soldiers who they should arrest by kissing him on the cheek, Jesus called Judas "friend." From the cross, as he was dying, he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Those words have been shared countless times. You probably all heard them at least a hundred million times, if not many more. They were shared by Erica Kirk a few weeks ago as she spoke at her husband's memorial and said, "I forgive the man who shot and killed my husband." That is striking. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than that a man would lay down his life for his friends."

This week is a national holiday: Veterans Day. We are so grateful for those who have served. We honor the veterans in our society who willingly volunteered to put themselves into harm's way, potentially laying down their lives for their countrymen. Greater love has no one than this, but that a man would lay down his life for his friends.

However, Jesus takes it a step further. God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, when we were his enemies, Christ died for us. So, I would think that Jesus's teaching is nonsensical if I did not have the witness of Christ. But not only the witness of Christ, I would find his teaching nonsensical if I did not have the example of the early church.

The early church exemplified Jesus's same ethos and teachings. When you read the Book of Acts and the other accounts of the New Testament, you find the story of God's people expressing His love in ways that extend the grace and power of the gospel, ultimately subverting Rome. This transformation took several centuries.

John the Apostle, writing to the early church in First John, says, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him." I would think Jesus's teaching was nonsensical if it were not for the testimony of Christian history.

Now, I will say that church history is filled with bad examples of the church doing bad things. If you study church history as I have, you will see that the church often does bad things in the name of Christ, typically when it adopts the model of "love your neighbor and hate your enemy." However, when we do as Christ has commanded, Christian history is replete with story after story of Christ followers laying down their lives in love for their enemies.

The kingdom of Christ has moved forward, expanded, and overcome unrighteous regime after unrighteous regime—not by sword, not by spear, not by gun, and not by bomb, but by the love of the church and, many times, by the blood of the martyrs.

Point number four: the kingdom of God advances and overcomes as God demonstrates His love through His people. The difficult part is that I have a hard time believing and behaving as if this is true. My fallen heart wants vengeance and retribution.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Jerusalem with my good friend Pastor David Guzik. We were sharing a room, and one evening, we had a conversation about the greatest movies.

In the list of the greatest movies, two films consistently find their way into the top five: The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. While discussing this, I mentioned that I had never seen The Godfather. David Guzzik, in disbelief, exclaimed, "Wait a second. Your name is De Benedictus. You're an Italian American. Have you never seen The Godfather?"

I realize that some of you might think we only sit around discussing biblical topics, but here we were, talking about The Godfather. David then pulled a USB drive out of his bag and said, "I have The Godfather 1 and 2 on this USB drive." I replied, "You're not serious." He insisted, "I have tons of movies, but The Godfather? We're going to watch this."

We plugged the USB into the TV in our hotel room, and over the next three nights, we spent hours watching The Godfather.

Now, if you haven't seen it, it came out in 1972, years before I was born. So, listen, spoiler alert. The climactic scene of The Godfather is the baptism scene. Michael Corleone is becoming a godfather in two different ways: he is becoming the godfather of his godson, his nephew, and he is also becoming the godfather of the crime family.

At the very moment his godson is being baptized, he has his henchmen go and kill all the heads of the four other families. The scene cuts back and forth, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Right at the point when the other fathers are being killed, the priest asks Michael, as his godson is being baptized, "Do you renounce Satan?" He replies, "I renounce him." Boom. They kill one of the heads. The priest continues, "Do you renounce Satan and all his works?" Michael responds, "I renounce them." Boom. They kill another one. The priest asks, "Do you renounce all his pomp?" Michael answers, "I renounce them." Boom. They kill him.

I appreciate the Christianity of Michael Corleone, but God says that doesn't work for me. Beloved,

Let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this, the love of God was manifested towards us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement, the propitiation, the sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

The kingdoms of this world advance by dominance, power, and retribution. As Christians, as I have said several times over the last several weeks, being citizens of another kingdom and subjects of another King, we are tempted to join in the fight, following the same patterns of this world. Church history shows examples of this. However, the kingdom of our Lord was inaugurated by the suffering servant on the cross, who said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The kingdom of God has advanced through the proclamation of His glorious gospel for the last 2,000 years at the hands of many servants who also suffered in like manner. They were oppressed and afflicted, and yet they opened not their mouths. They were led as lambs to the slaughter, and as sheep before their shearers are silent, they opened not their mouths, following the pattern of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.

Now, I don't like the way that sounds in my flesh, but it is nonetheless true. These teachings, I think, are crucial. They have a renewed importance for me in this moment that we are living through. We are living through, as you all know very well, divided times that are increasingly divided. The division of our time is primarily political, and in our culture, everything has been politicized such that everything is divisive at this moment. The extreme poles of our politics, on either side, the right or the left, are pulling us in further and further directions. They amplify this teaching sometimes with very Christian-sounding rhetoric, using things from the Bible. They amplify this teaching.

Pushing a "love your neighbor and hate your enemy" politics is a form of identity politics. Identity politics embodies the idea of loving your neighbor while hating your enemy. Tribalism is increasing in our culture, and it will continue to grow. The red states will get redder, and the blue states will get bluer as we self-selectively opt out of the places we live. We tend to move to areas that are more politically comfortable, where we are inspired to love our neighbor and hate our enemy.

Every single day, you and I are pressured to engage in the politics surrounding these issues, whether through social media, corporate media, conversations, or other means. We are pushed to do so according to our fallen nature, which is appealing to me because I resonate with that. I like Michael Corleone, but I have to resist that inclination, and it is hard for me.

What makes it even more challenging is that the loudest voices on either side of the political spectrum often use Christian-sounding language to wrap their ideologies in these terms. A recent example, which I typically avoid naming, is the conversation between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes. They used very Christian-sounding language, and I didn't know much about Nick Fuentes at the time. After listening to the entire discussion, I realized he employs a lot of Christian rhetoric. However, as someone who knows the Bible fairly well, I found much of it to be out of context—actually, a lot out of context.

I believe that we Christians need to be especially clear and articulate about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of our faith. Who is Jesus really as King and Lord? What does that mean biblically? What is His kingdom, and what is and is not part of it? When should we, as His people, obey or disobey earthly rulers? Where does our ultimate hope come from? How does Christ become Lord of our lives and the lives of others in this culture? And why do we believe that the gospel is the most important message?

Essential and necessary message for a divided and broken world. Several times over the last many weeks, I've been asked quite a bit, especially in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. This event has added fuel to the fire of the conversations about Christian nationalism. Let me try to conclude, and I apologize for running out of time. I will take more time. Sorry, Anthony.

I want to share some thoughts and reasons for my aversion to, and even my antipathy for, Christian nationalism. In my nature, I am drawn to a fighting patriotism. I was born and raised here in San Diego, and I happen to like it here. I've lived in other parts of the world and traveled enough to see that I like it quite a bit here. I would very much like for my children, and one day all of them, to live under the freedoms and liberties that I have experienced in this nation. That's what I hope for.

When I see things that seem to threaten that, I get charged up. Does anyone else get charged up by those things? I see some heads nodding here. However, I have to remind myself of a number of things that are hard for me to remember. As a Christian, I need to keep these things in mind. This nation, as much as I love it, is not my eternal hope or home.

Some people think that it's wrong to even say such things. As a pastor, let me be clear: this is not my eternal home or hope. This nation is not the kingdom of God, nor will it ever be. It does not represent Christ. It is not righteous; it has all kinds of issues and problems. It is better than the alternatives, and I would much rather live here. I've been to a lot of places and have many stamps in my passport. I'm happy to travel anytime, anywhere.

This nation, like any nation, has its issues and problems. What it truly needs is Jesus. The answer for our culture and every culture is the gospel. I have to remind myself that I am a citizen of another kingdom and a subject of another King. Paul, in Philippians 3:20, said, "For our citizenship is in heaven."

Citizenship is in heaven, and therefore we eagerly wait for the Lord Jesus Christ. We're looking forward to Him coming. I am a citizen of another kingdom, a subject of another King, and I am an ambassador of Christ in this world. And so are you.

In 2 Corinthians 5, it states, "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." The verse that I have wrestled with for a very long time, because I am kind of a combative person by nature, is James 1:19-20. It says, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Man, that's heavy.

Many of Jesus's earliest followers, and I would say almost all of them, followed Him for political reasons. They were looking for a political Messiah who would destroy the tyranny of Rome and exalt Israel over all the nations of this world. Among those early followers of Jesus was a man named John the Baptist. You remember him, right? John got into some trouble because he rightly called out unrighteousness, specifically in King Herod.

So, what did King Herod do? Well, Matthew 14, Mark 6, and Luke 3 tell us that as John the Baptist spoke up for morality and against the political establishment, he was thrown in prison. Eventually, he was executed. At the moment that Jesus is teaching these things and healing the centurion's servant, and in the next section of Luke 7, He raises a young man from the dead. He is doing these great things, and at this moment, John the Baptist is in prison.

So, what does John do? I can't end today without looking at this. Look at verse 17 of Luke 7. This report about Jesus went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. He is healing people, and then the followers, the disciples of John the Baptist, reported to John all these things. John is in prison, and calling two of his disciples to him, he sent them to Jesus. Notice what John says: "Are you the coming one, or should we look for somebody else?"

If I'm wrong on this when I get to heaven, I don't think I'm wrong. I believe John was looking for a political Messiah. He was in prison, facing execution, and he asked, "Where are you? You're supposed to be the Messiah. You're supposed to rescue me. Are you the Christ, or should we seek for somebody else?"

John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus, asking, "Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?" I think John was asking the question that many people in our day are asking: "Where is the Jesus-led political uprising?"

How did Jesus respond? At that very hour, Jesus cured many infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many blind people. He answered the two disciples and said to them, "Go tell John the things that you have seen and heard. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them." And here's the kicker: "Blessed is he who is not offended because of me."

Don't get offended if Jesus's kingdom agenda is different from yours. That hits right in the heart. God, help me. Would you stand with me as we close?

Christian, I'm just going to close. God, your word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts deep and divides between joint and marrow, soul and spirit. It's a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of our hearts.

God, you know my heart. I want to do what you would want me to do, not just as a pastor, but as a follower of you. So God, would you help me? Help me to recognize that the only ultimate answer for our culture and this world is the good news of the gospel. Help me to trust entirely in that.

God, strengthen me when I'm weak in my nature and my flesh. I often think the only way to do this is to take up arms or whatever it may be. Lord, God, you are King and you are Lord. I pray that your lordship over our lives would be evident in the way that we live and how we represent you in this world.

We ask this in Jesus' name. And now, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.