<p>5:43<em> You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy- </em>The Lord's attitude to the Essenes is a case study in bridge building- developing what we have in common with our target audience, and yet through that commonality addressing the issues over which we differ. The Dead Sea scrolls reveal that the terms &quot;&quot;poor in spirit&quot; and &quot;poor&quot; are technical terms used only by the Essenes to describe themselves&quot;. So when the Lord encouraged us to be &quot;poor in spirit&quot; (Mt. 5:3), He was commending the Essene position. Likewise when He praised those who were eunuchs for God's Kingdom (Mt. 19:10-12), He was alluding to the Essenes, who were the only celibate group in 1st century Israel. And yet lepers were anathema to the Essenes, and the Lord's staying in the home of Simon the leper (Mk. 14:3) was a purposeful affront to Essene thinking. The parable of the Good Samaritan has been seen as another purposeful attack upon them; likewise the Lord's teaching: &quot;You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy&quot; (Mt. 5:43). It was the Essenes in their&nbsp;<em>Rule Of The Community</em>&nbsp;who taught that Essenes must yearly chant curses upon their enemies. So the Lord even within Matthew 5, and certainly within His teaching as a whole, both commended and challenged the Essenes; His bridge building didn't involve just accepting their position.</p>