perfect loveing the ones who do not love you

43. Jesus introduces the scribal teaching with the same introductory formula as in verses 27 and 38. “You shall love your neighbor” is from Leviticus 19:18, though the omission of “as yourself” may indicate that the scribes set the standard rather lower than did Leviticus. Jesus appears to be summarizing the way the interpreters of his day saw the teaching about enemies rather than citing Scripture itself, for the Old Testament nowhere says, “you shall hate your enemy.” Indeed, its teaching about enemies is complex. There certainly are passages that inculcate a stern attitude to one’s foes (Exod. 34:12; Deut. 7:2; 23:6), and the Psalmist speaks of hating those who hate God (Ps. 139:21–22). But other Old Testament passages extend love at least to the resident alien (Lev. 19:34) and call for an attitude of helpfulness that extends even to the “enemy” (Exod. 23:4–5; Prov. 25:21–22). We must also bear in mind that on occasion “hate” can be used in the sense “love less” (6:24; cf. 10:37 with Luke 14:26; Gen. 29:31; Deut. 21:15). All this means that those who summed up Old Testament teaching as calling for love for neighbors and hatred for enemies were oversimplifying. The call for hatred is certainly the kind of addition to the command that many have put into practice. The verb love¹⁵⁹ points to the warmest of attitudes, and from ancient times this is the way the Israelite was taught to view his neighbor, that is, his fellow Israelite. A foreigner who lived nearby did not qualify. But with this regard for fellow Israelites there went a hatred for one’s enemies.¹⁶¹ And with this mind-set it was easy to distinguish between good Israelites (Pharisees?) and bad Israelites (tax collectors? were bad Israelites enemies?). As Hendriksen says, “In such an atmosphere it was impossible for hatred to starve. It had plenty to feed on.”

44. Again we have the formula that sets Jesus’ words in emphatic contrast. Love is not simply praised but commanded. As the passage goes on to show, God’s love comes first, and love both to God and to our fellows is our appropriate response to that love. Enemies is plural over against the singular in the previous verse; this may be no more than the reflection of the plural verb love, but it is an all-inclusive term. Jesus had quoted a precept in the singular, but his response is entirely in the plural. He proceeds to an example of what he means with the injunction to pray for (or “on behalf of”) the persecutors. The verb “to persecute” (see on v. 10) can indicate persecution in any form, but here it is persecution specifically directed at Jesus’ followers (you). It may be possible to regard in a detached way persecution of others; it is not so easy when one is the object of the persecution. “Persecutors are the most difficult enemies to love” (Nixon). But it is precisely in a situation of persecution that Jesus’ followers are to show their love by praying for those who are harming them.¹⁶³

45. So that is a construction that expresses purpose. But we should probably understand it not in the sense that our love is to be nothing more than the means to an end—our membership in the heavenly family. Rather, our membership in that family will be so important to us that we pursue love avidly. We will see that to be God’s children means to love. Love and membership in God’s family go together. Sons here are members of the heavenly family. There is a sense in which those members are infinitely diverse and another sense in that they are all characterized by dependence on and likeness to the Father; in this sense sons are “those who are bound to a personality by close, non-material ties; it is this personality that has promoted the relationship and given it its character” (BAGD, 1.c.γ; for “Father in heaven” see on v. 16). The conduct Jesus has enjoined in the previous verse is the conduct that characterizes those in close relationship with the heavenly Father. God loves like that, and his sons come to love in some measure like that, too.

The love of God for all the people he has created is shown in the way he gives good gifts indiscriminately to all (there are some gifts that cannot be appropriated without the right spiritual approach, but that is another matter). The sun does not shine exclusively on the good; the rain does not pass over the evil. The shining of the sun is not viewed as something that occurs naturally; God makes the sun rise. There is a divine volition. There is no article with evil or good; it is not “the bad” and “the good” viewed as classes, but people generally seen as characterized by evil or goodness. God’s provision extends to the whole race and is not limited by the moral standards people accept. With the sunshine Jesus links the rain. Just as the sunlight, the rain comes on good and bad alike. Jesus changes his terminology, but in this context there is not a great deal of difference between the evil and the good on the one hand, and the just and the unjust on the other. The point being emphasized is that God does not limit his blessings to those who serve him faithfully. Even to those who oppose him he gives many good things.

46. For introduces the consequence: the goodness of God has its implications for Christian conduct. The if implies nothing as to the fulfilment or otherwise of the condition; it simply puts a hypothetical case. To love those who love one is nothing wonderful, and Jesus brings this out by asking what reward they can expect for this kind of conduct. He spoke earlier about the heavenly reward his followers could expect (see on v. 12), and here he makes it clear that there is no reward for doing what is commonplace. To behave in this way is to act like the world; it is the natural response of worldly people, and Jesus singles out the tax collectors as people who do this. The form of the question¹⁶⁸ looks for an affirmative answer: “of course they do.” Tax collectors have never been popular in any culture, but in first-century Palestine they were especially unpopular. Partly this was because they gathered taxes for the Romans, and anything that helped the conquerors was anathema to the subject Jews. Partly also it was because they tended to be extortionate. In the eyes of Jesus’ audience there were no more wicked people than tax collectors as a class. If even they would respond to love with love, then anyone would. They are the last people one would expect to show love, but they do—to their own kind. This example shows that there is nothing wonderful about this kind of love.

47. Jesus gives a further example, this one taken from the usage of his hearers. Again there is the if construction with no indication of fulfilment or otherwise. Greet strictly means no more than exchange pleasantries on meeting. But the Jewish greeting was “Peace,” and this was in fact a prayer. Doubtless many people used it with no more thought of praying than we do when we say “Good-bye” without remembering that we are really saying “God be with you.” But to take it seriously implied a certain warmth; the greeting would have the note of goodwill and of welcome. For brother see on 1:2; here it refers to others than siblings and points to people belonging to the same group. Such people are normally greeted warmly. When Jesus’ people do this and do not greet others in the same way, then what are they doing other than what is common practice? For more see the note on verse 37; here it will mean “more than is common,” “more than other people”; it is never enough that believers do the good that unbelievers do; always it is necessary that they do more. If they only equal the deeds of worldly people, we may well ask, “What is so wonderful about that?” Jesus picks out the Gentiles as folk who do this. If even they do this, then why should the people of God pride themselves on doing no more? There is no merit in such greetings. Even Gentiles manage them.

48. Jesus ends this part of his discourse with a future normally understood as a command: You shall be (for this construction see on v. 21). This is surely correct: there is a command here. But may we not also see something of a promise? Jesus puts his command in such a way that disciples may look for divine help as they press toward God’s goal for them. His therefore relates this future to what has gone before: because of the importance of showing in their lives that they are doing more than is required of people in general, more than the tax collectors or the Gentiles do, more than they themselves do when they greet one another, they must look for perfection. You is emphatic. Jesus is not saying what the Gentiles ought to be or the Jews who do not follow him. He is referring to his followers; they must be perfect. That their standard is to be the highest possible (“no limit to your goodness,” REB) is shown by the words that follow: even as your heavenly Father is perfect. When Matthew uses the adjective heavenly it always refers to God (he has the word 7 times out of its 9 New Testament occurrences). In this he contrasts with Luke, who uses it of the heavenly host (Luke 2:13) and of the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19). Matthew thus employs the term to stress the difference between God and others, just as Father brings out his nearness and his love. To set this kind of perfection before his followers means that Jesus saw them as always having something for which to strive. No matter how far along the path of Christian service we are, there is still something to aim for. There is a wholeheartedness about being Christian; all that we have and all that we are must be taken up into the service of the Father.¹

Jesus’ teaching on loving our enemies is introducing a new element into ethical behavior. A Jewish scholar, C. G. Montefiore, is to have said, “This is the central and most famous section” of the Sermon on the Mount. It is one of the most difficult as well as the most unique passages. This is not the natural course of action for man. Only the disciple who has been born of the Spirit, who knows the enabling grace of Christ, can live by this standard. It is the extension of Christ’s love, not of natural affection as erōs or phileō, but of agapē, a love which is an act of the will more than of the heart. Such love is not primarily something you feel but something you do, opening your life in the spirit of Christ even to your enemy. Such love includes the entire life, disposition, word, act and intercession.

In verse 45 Jesus bases His call to love on the very nature and practice of the Father, who, in perfect love, without respect of persons, treats enemies and friends alike in His gracious providence. The next two verses, 46 and 47, call us to the higher ethic of positive love. Jesus says that to treat others as they have treated us is to behave at the same level as the sinners about us who do not experience the transforming grace of Christ. Perhaps the injunction in verse 47 is as difficult as any: to be gracious to those who are not our brethren, who are not of our group! This needs to be heard as a corrective admonition for all whose denominational prejudice, in-group bias, or whose cozy security in a primary fellowship keeps them from being a light to the world. Jesus removes all of the fences; He breaks down the walls. He shows us that loving enemies is of God and sharing God’s kingdom is to share His way of love. Such are the sons of the Father in heaven, such are godly men (v. 45).

The commandment to be perfect in the same way our Father is perfect is to be seen in this context of love. His perfect love is without discrimination; our love is to be open to all people, friends and enemies. We should not read the word “perfect” as a philosophical or moralistic perfection. As Bruce Larson has said of moralistic perfectionism, “It will drive you up the wall. You can’t be all right and be well!” The Greek word is teleios, a word which carries the meaning of culmination, of maturity, of achievement in function. We were created in the image of God, and having perverted this image in sin we are re-created in grace and predestined “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29, kjv). The goal of the disciple is to live in this perfection, this teleios, this extension of the love of Christ. It is an active word and, in context, means that our love must be all-inclusive as God’s is all-inclusive.

The teaching of this section deals first of all with one’s personal relationships. A person does not alter these principles of love when relating to others in the larger social group or in international relationships. For many of us, this passage is a clear basis from the teachings of Jesus for Christian pacifism. Consequently, those of us who take this position are conscientiously opposed to participation in war, any war, and choose the vocation of nonresistant redemptive love. Recognizing that a nation will have an army to protect its commitments, the disciple has the option of remaining free from the nation’s course of action in war so that the community of the King can serve in an alternate course of loving service that will help “overcome evil with good.” He seeks to be salt to the earth in showing a better way of arbitration. To take such a stance, the disciple must share the deepest meaning of love in the way of the Cross, as demonstrated by Jesus. We don’t have to live; we can die.

We must recognize Jesus’ fundamental point: only the person who places his confidence entirely in God can learn to renounce his own security and encounter his neighbor openly. Schweizer says, “And when he encounters his neighbor thus—with the compassion of God himself—he will no longer need to kill in order to live; no longer need to guard his heart with half-truths or oaths; no longer maintain his cause by vengeance—by returning blows or going to court—or carry the day for his own party by vilifying the enemy.”

Whether the reader is pacifist or not, the total Christian church faces the ethical issues of modern warfare. Since August 6, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, all of history was changed. As Albert Einstein said, “The loosing of the atoms has changed everything except the way we think.” Unfortunately, in the evangelical church we have failed to come to grips adequately with this issue. The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was relatively small, capable of destroying 100,000 people; but we now have weapons capable of destroying millions of people! And still we have persons, even preachers, advocating national security by amassing more weapons than anyone else. Dr. Paul Warnke, former director of the U.S. Disarmament Agency, speaking on the arms race at Princeton, New Jersey, on September 27, 1980, said, “A nuclear war could not be limited and no one would be the winner.” With this, all informed persons on this issue appear to agree. The evangelical church needs to awaken to its responsibility to be peacemakers, to help the world find deliverance from living by a balance of terror. Jesus’ principle, put in contemporary terms, means that there is no security where the survivability of the other side is threatened²

This rule, I insist, is for the Kingdom. The Lord Jesus lifts the Mosaic Law to the nth degree. He says that in the Kingdom the enemy is to be loved instead of hated.

The believer today operates on a different principle. We are commanded to love all believers, and we express our love to our enemies by getting the gospel to them, giving them the message of God’s saving grace that is able to bring them to heaven.

In concluding this chapter, our Lord says that we are to be perfect—

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect [Matt. 5:48].

How is it possible for you and me to be perfect? We are accepted in Christ, in the beloved.

There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ, and we get in Christ by faith in Him. The only way we can become perfect is through our faith in Christ—Christ imputes to us His righteousness. And then begins the slow process of sanctification in which God attempts to conform us to the image of His Son. This, of course, should be the goal of every believer. But seeking to attain perfection by our own efforts is absolutely futile. Do you think that you can go to God and say, “Look what I have done: look how wonderful I am,” trying to get all the glory for yourself and to force God to save you on that basis? My friend, you are going to do nothing of the kind because you and I are not perfect. Most of us remember this:

Little Jack Horner

Sat in a corner

Eating a Christmas pie;

He put in his thumb,

And pulled out a plum,

And said, What a good boy am I!

We see a lot of that in religion today. Little folk sit around, reach in their thumb, and pull out a plum and say, “What a good boy am I!” My friend, you and I are not good by God’s standards. We need a Savior.

As we have seen, in this chapter the King speaks of the righteousness which His subjects must possess. And it must be a righteousness to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. They had a religious righteousness. For instance, Nicodemus was an outstanding man, and he was religious. You can’t find much to criticize about him. But our Lord said to him, “You have to be born again” (see John 3:1–8). Now we have to have a righteousness superior to that of the scribes and the Pharisees, and it can only come through trust in Christ.³

Love of enemies (vv. 43–48; Lev. 19:17–18). Nowhere did the Law teach hatred for one’s enemies. Passages like Exodus 23:4–5 indicate just the opposite! Jesus defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit us selfishly. Since Christian love is an act of the will, and not simply an emotion, He has the right to command us to love our enemies. After all, He loved us when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:10). We may show this love by blessing those who curse us, doing good to them, and praying for them. When we pray for our enemies, we find it easier to love them. It takes the “poison” out of our attitudes.

Jesus gave several reasons for this admonition. (1) This love is a mark of maturity, proving that we are sons of the Father, and not just little children. (2) It is Godlike. The Father shares His good things with those who oppose Him. Matthew 5:45 suggests that our love “creates a climate” of blessings that makes it easy to win our enemies and make them our friends. Love is like the sunshine and rain that the Father sends so graciously. (3) It is a testimony to others. “What do ye more than others?” is a good question. God expects us to live on a much higher plane than the lost people of the world who return good for good and evil for evil. As Christians, we must return good for evil as an investment of love.

The word perfect in Matthew 5:48 does not imply sinlessly perfect, for that is impossible in this life (though it is a good goal to strive for). It suggests completeness, maturity, as the sons of God. The Father loves His enemies and seeks to make them His children, and we should assist Him!⁴

43. The law of love, sometimes called “law of Christ,” summarizes the ethical principle of the Sermon on the Mount. “Love thy neighbor” summarizes the entire second table of the law (cf. Lev 19:18–34). But the unscriptural addition “hate thine enemy” was a popular concept in Jesus’ day (cf. The Qumran Manual of Discipline 1QS 1:4, “hate all that he has rejected”). The admonition love your enemies is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. The love enjoined in this passage is that which originates from God Himself! Man is not commanded to attempt to love his enemy on the basis of mere human affection but rather on the basis of a love which comes from God. This kind of love holds a unique place in the New Testament Scripture, for it is the gift of God and the fruit of the Spirit to the believer only. It is not something that man can muster within himself. Rather, it must come from God Himself into the life of the believer (cf. Gal 5:22; 1 Tim 1:5).

44. How does one love an enemy? Notice that the passage makes it clear that he does not have to attempt to work up an artificial feeling of love. The quality of love commanded here is expressed by giving. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute you. Loving an enemy involves doing good toward that enemy in order to win him over to the cause that you represent. The message of the kingdom, therefore, is that we will win over those who oppose us more readily with love than with hatred. It is not in the divisiveness of contention that we win our greatest converts, but in the application of the heart of the gospel and the love of Christ.

45–47. In summarizing the importance of love, Jesus reminded that love was a necessary proof of salvation: “that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” An initial reading of this text out of its context might seem to imply that loving one’s neighbor automatically makes one a child of God. However, the New Testament is clear that love is an evidence of the one who is already saved by the grace of God (cf. 1 Jn 3:14). It is a natural tendency of human beings to love those who love them; therefore Jesus reminds that we are to love our enemies as our brethren, for even the publicans love those who love them. Publicans were public officials of Jewish nationality who worked for the Roman government as tax collectors and were generally despised by the people. The idea here is that even the most hated people of the day loved their own friends. Therefore, the true child of the kingdom is to have a quality of love that goes beyond that of the world.

48. This section of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized with the statement Be ye therefore perfect. Since the New Testament makes it clear that even the believer is capable of sin, the term perfect here (Gr teleios) is not to be taken as absolute sinless perfection. Rather, it is used in relation to the matter of love in this context. “As God’s love is complete, not omitting any group, so must the child of God strive for maturity in this regard” (Kent, p. 19).⁵

“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (vv. 46–48). Many argue, “Jesus doesn’t really mean that we’re called to be perfect, because He understood that no one’s perfect. Everyone falls short of the glory of God, so He must have meant something else.” But He meant what He said—we are called to be perfect, just as in the Old Testament God said to His people, “Be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44).

We cannot be holy the way God is holy, nor can we reach perfection before we get to heaven. Jesus knows that, and He knows that this ethic is a difficult one. He also knows that we adjust our personal standards to our level of performance. Every last one of us has done this. Instead of elevating our performance, we reduce the standard. Jesus is explaining that God’s standard does not change, and God’s standard is perfection.

When people tell me they do not need Jesus, I ask, “Are you perfect?” Most people admit that they are not. “To err is human,” they say, to which I respond, “If you are not perfect, you need Jesus in order to survive the judgment of God.” The only place to get perfection is in Christ, who kept the standard perfectly.

That is what the gospel is about, and that is why the law drives us to the gospel every time. When I read Jesus’ words, I hear the law. I hear what I am required to do, which causes me to pray, “Lord, I cannot do these things. Help me!” He gives me One who did do those things, and He cloaks me in the righteousness of Christ, which is what grace is. Grace is not that God abolishes or compromises the standard. Grace is what He gives us as a gift. He has given us a Savior who is not only adequate but also perfect. That is the amazing thing about grace.⁶

5:44, 45 love your enemies … that you may be sons of your Father. This plainly teaches that God’s love extends even to His enemies. This universal love of God is manifest in blessings which God bestows on all indiscriminately. Theologians refer to this as common grace. This must be distinguished from the everlasting love God has for the elect (Jer. 31:3), but it is a sincere goodwill nonetheless (cf. Ps. 145:9).

5:46 tax collectors. Disloyal Israelites hired by the Romans to tax other Jews for personal profit. They became symbols for the worst kind of people. Cf. 9:10, 11; 11:19; 18:17; 21:31; Mark 2:14–16; Luke 5:30; 7:25, 29, 34; 18:11–13. Matthew had been one of them (see notes on 9:9; Mark 2:15).

5:48 you shall be perfect. Christ sets an unattainable standard. This sums up what the law itself demanded (James 2:10). Though this standard is impossible to meet, God could not lower it without compromising His own perfection. He who is perfect could not set an imperfect standard of righteousness. The marvelous truth of the gospel is that Christ has met this standard on our behalf (see note on 2 Cor. 5:21).⁷

5:21 Here Paul summarized the heart of the gospel, resolving the mystery and paradox of vv. 18–20, and explaining how sinners can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. These 15 Gr. words express the doctrines of imputation and substitution like no other single verse. who knew no sin. Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God (see notes on Gal. 4:4, 5; cf. Luke 23:4, 14, 22, 47; John 8:46; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet. 1:19; 2:22–24; 3:18; Rev. 5:2–10). sin for us. God the Father, using the principle of imputation (see note on v. 19), treated Christ as if He were a sinner though He was not, and had Him die as a substitute to pay the penalty for the sins of those who believe in Him (cf. Is. 53:4–6; Gal. 3:10–13; 1 Pet. 2:24). On the cross, He did not become a sinner (as some suggest), but remained as holy as ever. He was treated as if He were guilty of all the sins ever committed by all who would ever believe, though He committed none. The wrath of God was exhausted on Him and the just requirement of God’s law met for those for whom He died. the righteousness of God. Another reference to justification and imputation. The righteousness that is credited to the believer’s account is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God’s Son (see notes on Rom. 1:17; 3:21–24; Phil. 3:9). As Christ was not a sinner, but was treated as if He were, so believers who have not yet been made righteous (until glorification) are treated as if they were righteous. He bore their sins so that they could bear His righteousness. God treated Him as if He committed believers’ sins, and treats believers as if they did only the righteous deeds of the sinless Son of God.⁸

1 Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (pp. 129–134). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

2 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

3 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 85–86). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 24–25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

5 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 1892–1893). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

6 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (p. 127). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

7 MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1402). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

8 MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1772). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.