What did Jesus say about loving your enemies?

This teaching is one I returned to more than once, and the records in Matthew and Luke preserve it with some differences worth noting. In the Sermon on the Mount, as Matthew records it, I set it against the old pattern of reciprocal love: “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'{Leviticus 19:18} But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you” — so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, who sends rain on the just and unjust alike. Luke's account of the Sermon on the Plain carries the same core command but presses it into economics and mercy: “love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil” The reasoning in both accounts is the same: loving those who love you back costs nothing and proves nothing. The measure of genuine love is precisely that it extends beyond where self-interest would take you. Luke's version adds the sharper edge — “Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned” Mercy toward enemies and mercy in judgment belong together.