43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Continuing through excerpts of the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus, as he has said previously, is not abolishing the Law but fulfilling it. Jesus will continue his teachings that fulfil the Law and correct the Jews on where they went wrong. We have established already that the Law given through Moses was legitimate but also pedagogical. For example. Thou shall not kill, more literally “Do not commit murder of innocent life” the Hebrew word for “kill” has a specific meaning.
This Law was not just about not killing innocents, it was supposed to act a lesson to the Old Covenant people that life was sacred. We do not have the authority to end innocent life. All people regardless of what they believe have this inherent dignity because of their image being made like that of God. So the Laws were rules but they were also lessons that taught something. The Hebrews weren’t just rigid Law abiders but also thought that the Law taught something as well, unfortunately they typically made the wrong presumptions about what that Law was teaching. This is what Jesus does here.
Jesus quotes from Leviticus 19:18:
“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.”
As we can see from this verse, it does not say “to hate your enemy”. Some commentators perceive this as Jesus just using contrasts as a teaching tool but the truth is, this is exactly how the Jews of Jesus’ day interpreted it. They did hate others. They took this Law from God and made presumptions on its pedagogical content. This was not what God intended for this Law however, so he has come as Man in order to fulfil it and correct them.
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Jesus’ fulfilment of this Law is that it was not meant for us to presume we should hate everyone other than our neighbour but to extend that love out to all. We should be clear on what “love” is in this context. It is not the wishy-washy “be nice” to people or the modern preoccupation of eros centred love but that of disinterested love. Self-less willing for the ultimate good for another. This is why it is connected to praying “for those who persecute you”. Prayers are petitions to God for both ourselves and others conformation to His will.
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
The reason for this disinterested, self-less love, the willing for the ultimate good of all people is because that is exactly what God does/is. He desires for all men to be saved. He makes the sun rise on the evil and good, the rain on the just and the unjust. If we want to be sons of our Father in Heaven, we must imitate this type of love for all people.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Jesus now takes the way the Jews live now, comparing it to the previously defined standard that God holds to. He does it my pointing out that if their behaviour is not different to the people they consider the worse sinners, what reward could they possible expect? God’s standard is to love all, even those that do not extend the same good will towards you. That’s what God does. Whereas withholding this goodwill towards others is no different than the tax-collectors, who the Jews typically perceived as the worst sinners of all.
Jesus does the same thing again, this time extending out even further. This behaviour of withholding good will from others, is no different than Gentiles. This would have quite a lot of sting to those prideful Jews who misinterpreted the Law from Leviticus as only applying to their fellow Israelites. Now you’re not only no better than a sinning Jew, but no better than people who aren’t even in God’s covenant at all.
48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
It’s a tall order but considering we are to become Son’s of God, it makes sense that we have to be perfect like our Father in Heaven is perfect. We can’t do this ourselves but through his Grace.
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