Galatians 5:19-21 NLT When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
If that is what we have to work with, no wonder we are dealing with hatred, division, and racism — it is our nature. But Jesus offers a different way. While Jesus’ goal was not just to end social injustices (although many in his day wanted him to), what he accomplished made a way for injustices and sins of every kind to be totally forgiven and overcome. In fact, Jesus did exponentially more to bring people together than anyone else in history — combined!
He did this in at least three ways:
1. Jesus Taught Reconciliation
Jesus’ sermons were challenging to the people in his time for many reasons. One, he taught his followers to love, accept, and forgive not only their friends but even their enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 NIV “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 children 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 own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 22:34-40 NIV Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
He told a parable about a Samaritan that cared for someone in need even when a religious Jew wouldn’t.
Luke 10:25-37 NIV On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus described the Kingdom of God as a wedding feast where the host invited strangers from the streets to attend.
Matthew 22:8-10 NIV “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
He taught that people who recognized their spiritual poverty and hunger would be blessed instead of those who had it all together.
Matthew 22:8-10 NIV “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
He said not to retaliate when someone hurts you, but to “turn the other cheek”.
Matthew 5:39 NIV But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
Even more than that, Jesus raised the bar so high with how we treat others that he said to “be perfect”.
Matthew 5:48 NIV Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
If that is what we have to work with, no wonder we are dealing with hatred, division, and racism — it is our nature. But Jesus offers a different way. While Jesus’ goal was not just to end social injustices (although many in his day wanted him to), what he accomplished made a way for injustices and sins of every kind to be totally forgiven and overcome. In fact, Jesus did exponentially more to bring people together than anyone else in history — combined!
He did this in at least three ways:
1. Jesus Taught Reconciliation
Jesus’ sermons were challenging to the people in his time for many reasons. One, he taught his followers to love, accept, and forgive not only their friends but even their enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 NIV “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 children 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 own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 22:34-40 NIV Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
He told a parable about a Samaritan that cared for someone in need even when a religious Jew wouldn’t.
Luke 10:25-37 NIV On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus described the Kingdom of God as a wedding feast where the host invited strangers from the streets to attend.
Matthew 22:8-10 NIV “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
He taught that people who recognized their spiritual poverty and hunger would be blessed instead of those who had it all together.
Matthew 22:8-10 NIV “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
He said not to retaliate when someone hurts you, but to “turn the other cheek”.
Matthew 5:39 NIV But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
Even more than that, Jesus raised the bar so high with how we treat others that he said to “be perfect”.
Matthew 5:48 NIV Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
2. Not Only Did He Just Teach Reconciliation He Demonstrated It
While the religious people around Jesus were notorious for their hypocrisy, Jesus always “practiced what he preached.” For example, Jesus went out of his way to stop and have a conversation with an ashamed and divorced Samaritan woman.
John 4:7-9 NIV When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
He rebuked his disciples when they tried to keep children away and welcomed their distraction with open arms.
Matthew 19:13-14 NIV Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
He spent time with, talked with, and ministered to a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus, a rough fisherman named Peter, a philosopher named Nicodemus, a woman that had been possessed by demons named Mary, a group of outcast lepers, countless handicapped men and women, and the marginalized of society. To top it off, as he was hanging on a cross dying, himself, he forgave the sins of a convicted criminal.
3. Jesus Taught About Reconciliation, He Demonstrated Reconciliation And He Made A Way For Our Reconciliation
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the great unifier of humankind. When we look through the lens of the gospel, although we still see skin color, eye color, hair color, clothing style, tattoos, body size and shape, gender, and everything else that is unique about someone, those distinctions no longer influence our love for them.
The gospel calls us to deny ourselves, lose our own life, defer to others, love our neighbor, and forgive our enemies. So, when (and only when) we totally surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, those things that used to divide us no longer matter.
Galatians 3:28 NIV There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Just because we know what Jesus taught or have studied his life does not mean that we will have what we need to be reconciled to others. That is why even though Jesus did focus on mending human relationships, that is not where he started.
He started with the need for a spiritual rebirth. He emphasized that unless we are first reborn spiritually and brought together with God, we will never experience the kind of love that God has for us, which is the only real way that we can be brought close to and love others.
John 3:3 NIV Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”
The “good news” is that God saw us in that condemned, depraved state, he loved us anyway, and then he sent his Son to the earth to make a way for all of us to be brought into a relationship with him.
John 3:16-17 NIV For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus’ death and resurrection make a way for us to be reconciled to God and others.
Colossians 1:19-20 NIV For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Ephesians 2:14-16 NIV For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
When we accept what he did for us and receive his gift of salvation, he makes a way for us to move past just talking about ideals of love, forgiveness, peace, and unity and to actually living them out!
How is that possible?
Because when we are born again, the Holy Spirit that takes up residence in our hearts yields these things like a tree bearing fruit.
Galatians 5:22-24 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
When we have been changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then even how we see ourselves and others changes.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 NIV So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
As the songwriters, Seth and Nirva Ready (an interracial couple themselves) sing in their song “Brother:” “When I look into the face of my enemy, I see my brother.”
Brother
by Seth & Nirva Ready
When I look into the face
Of my enemy
I see my brother
I see my brother
Forgiveness is the garment
Of our courage
The power to make the peace
We long to know
Open up our eyes
To see the wounds that bind
All of humankind
May our shutter hearts
Greet the dawn of life
With charity and love
As I travel through this world
It’s gettin' clearer to me
Some of the things I believed,
I’m casting out to the seas
And as I’m waving my goodbyes
To the lies I was taught
Gotta searchlight my soul,
'Cuz some of them I bought into
They grip like shadows in my mind
Unknowingly they shapin'
How I’m viewing humankind
Reaching past the differences,
The colors we were suited in
The places we were born,
And the cultures we were rooted in
Children of God, ain't that all of us
How we gonna hate
When compassion’s what called to us
Love, oh love, you got me covered
I’m lettin’ go of enemies
And holdin’ on to brothers
This is only possible by first being brought together and reconciled with God.
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