Blessings and Woes
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:28 · Berean Standard Bible
He continued: 'Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.' Not just tolerate them — actively seek their good.
Jesus wasn't being theoretical. He would later do exactly this on the cross, praying for the very people who crucified Him.
Jesus gives specific, practical instructions for how to treat those who wrong you.
When someone hurts you, your instinct is to hit back. Jesus says: bless them. Pray for them. It sounds impossible, but it's the path to freedom — for them and for you.
Two specific applications of enemy-love: eulogeite ("bless") those who curse you, and proseuchesthe ("pray for") those who mistreat (epēreazontōn) you. Both require active, positive responses to hostility.
The progression from love (v. 27) to blessing and prayer (v. 28) moves from disposition to speech to intercession, encompassing the full range of response to persecution.
Jesus elaborates on the love command with two specific practices.
Blessing those who curse and praying for abusers represent the concrete outworking of enemy-love. These are not passive responses but active, counter-intuitive engagements with hostility.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
Read all of Luke 6 — Blessed are the poor; woe to the rich. Jesus delivers his version of the great sermon and demands a love so radical it includes your enemies.
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