Jesus taught hard, radical things. During his sermon on the mount, he said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” (Matthew 5:43). It seems that, by the time of Christ, the religious leaders had taken the Old Testament command to ‘love your neighbor’ to mean one should also hate their enemy. Their teaching was, of course, a perversion of God’s word. Jesus corrected, and then addended their teaching. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). (15 Minutes, 4000 Words)