Here, Jesus is essentially turning the Old Testament thinking found in Leviticus 19:18 on its head. Israel was rarely ordered to show kindness to its enemies… for most times it was quite the opposite, they were instructed to totally annihilate & blot out their enemies. This was necessary for opponents of God’s kingdom and the Jews to survive, plus it lessened the chances of foreign gods & religion to seep into the Jewish fabric. But in these verses in Luke, Jesus is looking forward not back & showing how God’s mercy can not only transform us, but enable us to practice such counterintuitive and self-sacrificing acts to those who oppose us. So in no uncertain terms Jesus lays out what our loving response should be…compassion for cruelty, nonviolence for persecution, generosity for exploitation, and prayer for abuse.
Safetypinlove 