In the blockbuster hit, Gladiator, Maximus is unjustly imprisoned and his family murdered by the ruthless and power seeking Commodus The main goal of his life becomes that of righteous avenger as he works his way to Rome through gladitorial combat in order to face and destroy his oppressor.

In the classic movie, Ben Hur, Ben Hur is falsely imprisoned and his mother and sister become lepers. The main goal of his life is to become a champion charioteer in order to destroy his oppressor through violence.

A consistent theme in many a story and in many peoples' lives is that of responding to injustice by seeking to overcome and to destroy the person or persons who have brought them low. The goal is not only to get even but to get ahead by doing to others as they have done to them or doing them in before they do you in. 

It may be popular, it may make for a good story, it may be the way you respond to your enemies, but it is not God's way. In the classic Bible account of Joseph we see a man who was victimized by his brothers, falsely accused by a scorned woman, forgotten by his fellow prisoners and yet used his circumstances to be a blessing to those who were his enemies as he realized the providence of God and trusted in his plan. We will also see how the same theme is repeated on a higher plane by Jesus himself and how he teaches us to follow his example and not that of Maximus or Ben Hur.

Love Your Enemies.
1. You will Probably be Mistreated.
2. Trust that God will use that Mistreatment for your Good.
3. Forgive those who sin against you as God has forgiven you.

Context: Joseph is the classic example of someone who was horribly mistreated but whom God used to bring about a great deliverance.
· As a youth he was the favorite son of Jacob but his brothers were envious and jealous of him.
· They used their jealousy to beat him and to sell him into slavery. They covered up their sin by proposing that a wild animal had killed him.
· While a house servant of Potiphar in Egypt, Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him and accused him of trying to rape her when he refused to have an affair with her.
· While in prison he interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners but was forgotten when one was released.
· God used him to interpret dreams of Pharaoh that predicted seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
· In the second year of famine he saw his brothers again, tested their integrity, and then revealed to them who he was.

In this we can see how Joseph was mistreated. During the upcoming Lenten season we will again see how Jesus was mistreated by those he had come to save. We are among those who have spit in the face of Jesus and mocked him and rebelled against him whenever we sin against our holy and righteous God.

Others also sin against us. Our motives are misunderstood. At times we are victims of abuse. Those closest to us fail to love us as we should. We are taken advantage of, made fun of, or just ignored. Even our closest relatives and friends are sinners and we are not immune from the effects of their sins. At times we may even think that they are our enemies. Our brothers and sisters in blood and in the faith do indeed sin against us. And will continue to do so until we get to heaven so we need to know how to deal with it from the Bible and not from Hollywood.

Transition: We cannot prevent being mistreated. In fact, even God does not completely shield his followers from the effects of sin. Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace but a sword." And yet, in the face of mistreatment, we can see that God will work it out for our good.

2. Trust that God will use that Mistreatment for your Good.

I sure wouldn't have wanted to be one of Joseph's brothers. I would have had to deal with a nagging conscience for having sold him into slavery, dealt with the uncertainly of whatever happened to him, seen my father sink into depression and withdrawal over the supposed death of his favorite son. And then, when my family was on the verge of starving to death, I find out that the one man who could save me was my brother whom I had sold into slavery! It is not wonder that Joseph's brothers were terrified.

We aren't Joseph's brothers. But we are Jesus' brothers. But what have we done to him? We refuse to listen to him sometimes. We don't put him first in our lives. We refuse to love our enemies as he did and as he teaches us to do. We rush into evil and mistreat those closest to us. And we must realize that someday we will appear before his judgment seat and that he has the power to condemn us to hell for all of those sins and more. It is no wonder that so many people are afraid of death and the judgment.

But what did Joseph say to his brothers? Was he like Maximus or Ben Hur and use the opportunity to destroy them? No. He trusted in God. He realized that this was a part of plan bigger than his brothers. 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

We see this true in the life of Jesus as well. Yes, Judas betrayed him. Yes, the Jewish officials condemned him to death. Yes, Pilate crucified him. Yes, our sins nailed him to the cross. But he knew that it was God's will that he should suffer and die on the cross for the sins of the whole world. This does not excuse the actions of anyone or mean that it was a joy for Jesus to suffer and die or to suffer hell on the cross for us. What it does mean is that he knew it was part of God's plan and therefore he trusted in God to see him through and to deliver him. Through Joseph God delivered 70 people from starvation. Through Jesus, God delivered the world from sin.

Can we not also look beyond ourselves and our petty sufferings and see that God has a plan bigger than us and bigger than our enemies? Can we not trust that what St. Paul writes is true "God works out all things for the good of those who love him."? You will be mistreated. God will work even that out for your good.

Transition: Therefore, what should our attitude be toward those who have mistreated us?

3. Forgive those who sin against you as God has forgiven you.

Joseph did this. He tested his brothers to make sure that they no longer harbored envy and jealousy by testing them in regard to Jacob's other favorite son, Benjamin. He forgave them, reassured them of his love, and gave them a place to live near a reliable food supply.

Jesus did this. "Father, forgive them because they don't know what they are doing." was one of his final statements from the cross. He forgave Peter who had denied him, Saul who persecuted him, and us who have sinned against him.

It may not be fashionable, it may not be in line with Gladiator or Ben Hur, but it is in line with the Bible that we too are to forgive those who have sinned against us. Recall the words of Jesus from his sermon on the plain (our Gospel lesson) 

27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Conclusion: I doubt that you will ever be falsely imprisoned by those closest to you as Maximus, Ben Hur, Joseph, and Jesus were. But I suspect that you will be sinned against just as you have sinned against Jesus. He still loved you and died on the cross so that you might be forgiven and have eternal life. If you believe in him and trust that he is true God and that everything he says is true, then you can only do one thing when others mistreat you. If you love Jesus, he says that you will obey what he commands. And he commands you to love your enemies. To be merciful just as you Father in heaven is merciful. Amen.