Matthew 5:43-48

C. THE WISE AND GODLY MAN IN RELATION TO THE LAW

6. HIS ATTITUDE TOWARD PERFECT love. (Parallel Luke 6:32-36)

TEXT: 5:43-48

43. Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:
44. but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;
45. that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.
46. For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same?

48. Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a.

What happens to men when they allow themselves to hate?

b. What is the basis for the distinction we make between those whom we call enemies and those whom we call friends? Is this a proper distinction?
c.

What kind of enemy does Jesus have in mind: personal? national? just anyone who is hostile to us?

d. How should Jesus-' teaching be applied with reference to one's national enemies? If a man is not sure that his nation has a just cause in war, should he allow himself to be made part of its army? If he is reasonably sure that his nation has a just cause, how should he treat or regard those who will be enemy soldiers?
e.

Is it possible to like someone who is personally hostile to us and is trying his best to thwart our every design? Is it possible to love him? What is the difference?

f.

Is it possible to say that love is the perfect law? What makes you think so? What do you mean by law here?

g. Are laws themselves ethical principles, or are there ethical principles behind the laws which cause them to be written?
h.

What is the relationship between the principle of love and laws, as these latter are found in any code of law?

i.

If a person be governed by love, does he need to be governed by law? If not, why not? If so, what is the function of the law in this case?

j.

Is it possible that the word perfect, as used by Jesus (Matthew 5:48), produce very different effects in those who hear it? In other words, how would the sinner react to this demand? How may the disciple respond to it?

k.

How does the standard of Jesus surpass all standards known to man?

l.

How does Jesus make it possible to grow into such a standard?

m.

Are you absolutely perfect yet? If not, what provisions are made for your perfection? What if you die in that imperfect condition?

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

You have heard that it was said, -You shall love your neighbor your enemies: do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse and hate your enemy,-' But I say to you who will really listen, love you, pray for those who insult and persecute you, in order to act like your heavenly Father. Yes, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. You will have a rich reward and you will be truly sons of the Most High. He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. He makes His sun rise on the evil as well as on the good people, and sends His rain on the just and unjust alike. Be compassionate just like your Father is merciful.

For if you love those who love you, what thanks could you expect? Do not even tax collectors and sinners do as much? And if you greet only those within your own circle, what more are you doing than others? DO not even the pagans do that much? And if you return good deeds only to those who do good to you, what virtue is there in that? For even sinners do the same thing. And if you lend only to those from whom you expect to get it back, what is extraordinary about that? Even sinners lend to each other, to get back the same amount in full.

You, therefore, are to be perfect-as perfect as your heavenly Father is!

SUMMARY

A summary of practical Jewish morality revealed an ethically inadequate lovelessness and partiality, although it had seemed perfectly rational. But God's personal mercifulness undoubtedly ignores such spurious justifications and distinctions, since He blesses even those who spite Him in every way. Sectarian selfishness and calculating courtesies are typical of those who make no pretences to knowledge or service of God. But Jesus expects nothing less than the perfection of God as a standard for His disciple.

NOTES

I. AN ANCIENT ADAGE AMENDED

A. THE ANCIENT ADAGE

Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. The first phrase is as old as the Law itself and is left unchanged by the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18) There is no point in mentioning Jesus' omission of as thyself since His correction (Matthew 5:44-48) takes no notice of the omission. Jesus is not quoting a popular Pharisaic tradition which omits this measurement of love. Rather, as He quotes it, the first phrase balances more neatly the second phrase which He intends to correct.

Hate thine enemy. While this is not a direct precept of the Mosaic Law, it is a true representation of its practical application. Though there were precepts enjoining love for the individual foreigner sojourning in the land (Leviticus 19:33-34) and civil rights and courtesies equal to those due any native Hebrew, nevertheless the fear of contamination by idolatry, through any kind of social contact with their surrounding pagan neighbors, caused the Jews to heed those commands which enforced their separatism. (Exodus 23:20-33; Exodus 34:11-16; Numbers 31; Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Deuteronomy 7:16; Deuteronomy 10:10-18; Deuteronomy 23:3-6) True, they often compromised these instructions, but their being reprimanded for these failures, which threatened to erase their distinctiveness, helped to create that attitude inherent in the commands themselves: show your enemies no mercy: destroy them entirely. Further, in the same context with the precept to vanquish their enemies completely is found expressed God's own attitude of strict retribution, almost as if to provide Israel an example for imitation (see Deuteronomy 7:9-11), even as Jesus offers God's example in the present section as an example for imitation of His mercy. In the one case, Israel's religious instinctiveness was at stake; in this case, it is not, Rather, impartial love is the question, and the purpose for Israel's separatism is already realized and needs no further protection, Perfect love is more capable of preserving religious separation than any amount of warring against one's enemies, even though this latter expedient was necessary to prepare that primitive people for the coming of Jesus who could reveal such love. Nevertheless, godly men, living under such laws, felt this hatred. (Cf. Psalms 18; Psalms 35; Psalms 55:8-15; Psalms 59; Psalms 69:18-27; Psalms 137:7-9; Psalms 139:21-22) And they practiced it. (Cf. 1 Chronicles 21:1-3)

This is not to deny the totally unjustifiable distortions of God's intent for such legislation, God never intended that Israelites should detest or refuse to love a personal foe. Rather, kindness and practical generosity were to be used toward him. (Exodus 23:4-5; Proverbs 24:17-18; Proverbs 25:21; cf. Notes on Matthew 5:21)

Is not such hate also the natural outgrowth of self-righteousness which so strictly identifies itself with the cause of righteousness that the self-righteous cannot conceive of God's plans as having any expression except through him and his group? This is the we-are-right-let-those-who-disagree-with-us-go-to-hell spirit seen in all sectaries just as much in the orthodox and faithful as in the terrorists and false teachers.

B. THE AMENDMENT

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you. Far from pampering the prejudices of His audience, which grovelled under the Roman yoke, having known one oppressor after another since the beginning of the great captivities, Jesus shows Himself the true Patriot. He offers them the only way to improve relations with ANY enemy, personal or national. This word of love must have aroused resentment in some who had unusually bad relations with tax collectors and Roman soldiery. How these words would have stung on the ears of those who were just living for the day when they personally might draw Roman blood and drive the hated occupation army out of Palestine!

But this word enemy covers the whole realm of those who oppose one: personal antagonists, business competitors, political opponents, social rivals. This is evidenced in the Law by the more or less personal relations between the antagonists, which would have permitted deeds of kindness to him. (See Exodus 23:4-5; Proverbs 24:17-18; Proverbs 25:21) The fact that Jesus places the emphasis on loving our enemies, rather than upon loving our neighbors, should remind us that that hateful quality in some of our neighbors which makes them our enemies must not cause us to forget that they are, after all, neighbors to love. Jesus is not saying that our enemies are somehow not our neighbors, merely because He does not identify the two here, since He does identify them elsewhere. (Luke 10:29-37)

At first view, what Jesus commands seems impossible due to the many misconceptions of the meaning of the word love. What is this love which Jesus requires?

1.

Clear examples, which explain His meaning, are offered immediately in this context:

a. Pray for those who persecute you. No man can honestly pray for another and continue to hate him; rather, he will try to understand his enemy's real need and the reasons which make him that way. Such magnanimity must necessarily destroy rancor and desires to retaliate.

b. Impartial generosity (See on Matthew 5:45)

c. Social courtesy (See on Matthew 5:46)

d. Readiness to reconcile; refusal to hold in contempt (Matthew 5:21-26)

e. Refusing to hate a member of the opposite sex by lusting after them (Matthew 5:27-30)

f. Destroying enmity for one's society by resisting the temptation to create a situation which would undermine it (Matthew 5:31-32)

g. Rejecting false, deceiving oaths by simple honest speech (Matthew 5:33-37)

h. Returning good for evil (Matthew 5:38-42). Luke's parallel (Matthew 6:27-34) actually mixes these applications with the precept, making just one integrated section where Matthew has two.

Thus, Jesus-' meaning is exemplified in these examples of actions, deeds and attitudes, and not merely through a sentiment.

2. Other examples of loving one's enemies:

a. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

b. Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:34)

c. Stephen being martyred (Acts 7:60)

d. David spared Saul's life (1 Samuel 24, 26)

So we see, even before examining the word love itself we have before

us a clear concept of its meaning intended by the Author, derived from the examples He gives of its manifestation. he exact meaning of Jesus-' word (agapate) must be gathered from the context in which He uses it, due to the interchangeability of the two Greek words usually used to express this relationship between persons.

For studies in agape and philia and their verbs agapao and phileo, compare Amdt-Gingrich, pp. 4-6, 866, 867, where their interchange is noted, But see Butler, John, II 454-456 and Hendriksen, John, 11, 494-500, where excellent reviews of the differences are given.

From the way Jesus illustrated what He means, we learn:

3. What Jesus does NOT mean. He does not intend just a natural compassion or good-naturedness, a natural affection or fondness. Nor can He imply a blanket, general love which takes in wholesale an enemy nation, or the whole corrupt political machine, or an entire religious denomination, but rather He intends a love for the individual, detached from the movement he represents. It is not a tender sentiment similar to that which binds us to our nearest and dearest. It is not something that we cannot help, because Jesus commands us to do something about it. This love commanded is not an ethical principle for application by society en masse, but by the individual, since it was to the latter that He addressed it. Nor does Jesus mean that love must ignore criminal actions and refuse to discipline due to a pretended love for the unscrupulous, undisciplined and criminal.

4. What Jesus DOES mean: by the word love He intends a purposeful, intelligent, comprehending love which cannot ignore the hatefulness and wickedness of the enemy, but seeks in every way to free him from the sin which blinds and binds him to those passions that drive him to be what he is. This love commanded is a matter of the will, a victory over that which comes instinctively even to publicans and sinners. This love is something that we have to will ourselves into doing, not an emotion that comes to us unbidden. This love is a determination of the mind expresses itself in invincible good will to all men alike by always doing what is in the best interest of each. Jesus insists that each disciple take His fiat seriously as a basis of their personal relationships.

Is not this love the empowering ethical principle that motivates all of the impossible demands of Jesus? Not only does this love far surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, but it raises the standard so far above all law, especially that of Moses, that it touches the perfect character of God! Instead of this precept being a mere lovely theory, it is practical to the last degree, because it puts every motive to the test, challenges every action and rejects automatically all conduct that would be a violation of love. This latter feature is accomplished without any recourse to that inferior conduct motivation or moral control known as law. Thus, Jesus is revealing a means of conduct control that for its excellence far surpasses any and all legal systems, It is superior because the constraints of love must bring about a complete moral transformation in man by causing him to re-examine his entire character and bring it into line with the demands of his love.

Conversion, then, is not so much a miraculous process as it is a rational introspection into one's heart to determine wherein the individual is not loving God and his fellows, and a thorough-going determination to act conscientiously according to the dictates of this true love. God's part in conversion, therefore, is His provision of the key that unlocks this whole series of conversions in every area of life. The key is simply His own love which stimulates us to love (1 John 4:7-21). In other words, Jesus is saying, love God and your neighbor perfectly, and everything else will take care of itself. Who needs rules to force him to act, whose heart is entirely converted by the very ethical motivation -that requires such rules be written for the ethically unmotivated?

But the original command of God was: --love your neighbor (and Jesus says this means our enemy too) AS YOURSELF. What a standard! HOW far-reaching! How do we express this self-love? Our love for ourselves is unhypocritical, ardent, active, habitual and constant. It respects our interests, is tenderly concerned about our welfare, takes genuine pleasure in promoting our success and happiness: we just cannot do enough for ourselves! $!The test, then, of our love for the other fellow is not merely our fondness for him, but the trouble we are willing to take and the sacrifices we are prepared to make for his benefit. Luke (Luke 6:31) inserts the golden rule right in the middle of his account of this section, thereby suggesting that the acid test of love is deeds, not merely sweet sentiments. Twice he quotes Jesus as saying, love your enemies and do good, ,. (Luke 6:27; Luke 6:35; cf. Romans 12:17-21)

Should someone object that the cost of love is too high (1 John 3:16), the cost of hatred is even greater! (1 John 3:15) He who would shut out his neighbor's need from his heart, likewise shuts out the love of God!

II. THE ALMIGHTY, AN ACKNOWLEDGED AUTHORITY ON ALTRUISM

Matthew 5:45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. This is the first reason Jesus urges us to love our enemies: that we might be like God. God is the very author and example of this outgoing love of others. (Romans 5:5-8; 1 John 4:7-12) Our pattern and measure of love is to be no less than His!

Love that you may be sons expresses the purpose of our loving those who certainly do not love us. The word be (genesthe) might be translated become, thus suggesting that this love is, in the final analysis, the only real means of growing into the image of the Son of God (cf. Romans 8:29), and this recalls Matthew 5:9 where those who imitate God will be called His sons. (See notes there) The central idea is this: moral likeness proves one's true parentage. (Contrast John 8:39-47) To the Jews present that day, the phrase sons of your Father would have been readily grasped in its general Hebraistic sense of likeness or chief characteristic. (See Gesenius, 126) Accordingly, Jesus is saying, love that you may be like God, or godly, godlike. However, Jesus-' word must not be construed to mean that one may become a son of God merely by the exercise of some brand of neighborly love which bypasses regeneration! Truly, such impartial loving as Jesus expects is impossible without regeneration. Though this love is the ready test of sonship, yet one is not necessarily a son if he ignores the father's instructions for becoming a son. (Cf. Galatians 3:26-27)

The honest man, whose conscience has been stabbed by Christ's message and who feels keenly his own imperfection, will be reminded that God did truly bless him even in his sinfulness. Such a disciple will be motivated to bless and help men, especially his enemies, loving them as God had first loved him. This is Gods reason for continuing to bless even those who by their continued impiety dare Him to destroy them. His goodness could melt their stubborn hearts, causing them to repent (Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:12-17). Thank God that He does not bless us on the basis of our capricious and relative goodness! Thus, ours is to be a perfect interest in people that is closely identified with God's concern for them. (Cf. Ephesians 4:31 to Ephesians 5:1)

III. THE ABSURDITY OF ACT'ING ACCORDING TO AVERAGE ATITITUDES

Matthew 5:46-47 See the PARAPHRASE/HARMONY for Luke's significant additions here. Jesus' second reason for loving the unlovely and unloveable, is that refusal to do so is conduct no better than that of the worst of men. That choice to love only those who are beautiful, desirable, and who will reciprocate love, is nothing but that same cruel, callous, calculating partiality practiced by any hypocrite! James (James 2:1-17) drives home the heinous injustice of partiality.

Publicans, Gentiles: Luke in this place says simply sinners while Matthew, writing more to a Jewish standpoint, mentions two classes which to Jews were sinners without equals. The publicans were the collectors who did the foot-work, actually gathering the Roman taxes' for their Roman bosses. To a subject people like the Jews, not only the taxes to support their rulers, but also these mercenaries who collaborated with their conquerors to collect the money, would be hated and despised as traitors to their people. The stigma attached to the profession naturally precluded the accepting the occupation by any good men who had any regard for the good opinion of their countrymen. Obviously, this left the office to those who had less self-respect to lose and no reputation to protect and often few principles. Considered as traitors as well as grafters, they were regarded as entirely out of fellowship with God. (Cf. Luke 3:12-13; Luke 19:1-9; Luke 15:1-2; Luke 18:9-14) On Gentiles see on Matthew 5:43 to grasp this purely Jewish allusion.

What reward have you?. What do you more than others ? These rhetorical questions are calculated to call His hearers to make a personal judgment, or perhaps to call attention to His judgment intimated in His question: If one loves and salutes only his most intimate friends and family, he is acting just like those whom he would class as flagrant sinners, Worse yet, he is sharing their sin of partiality, Here the Master exposes the proud snob for the hypocrite he really is, since he would probably claim to love all men and yet he would rationalize such party loyalty as would salute only its own clique, clan of club. Party spirit and clan loyalty have been scored by the apostles as well. (Galatians 5:20; Jude 1:19; Jude 1 Corinthians 1-4) That unhypocritical love which embraces even the repulsive and hateful really goes beyond these average attitudes and actually does more than others. (Romans 12:9; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 6:5-9; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Peter 1:22) Christian love must be unlike human love which is often no more than a self-interested affection. In other words, we must never let our natural likes and dislikes become the rule of our life or the test of our love, since real love carries us into the lives of those for whom we have no natural affinity. To break the force of our clannish habits, let us begin to associate with men, not because they are congenial to us or agree with us, but because they need our compassion and understanding, Let us cultivate those outside out group. (Cf. Luke 5:27-32; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 14:12-14; Luke 15:1-2; John 4:1-42)

Salute was a word loaded with connotations of friendship, acceptance and fellowship, just as the oriental salutation was a vigorous personal contact consisting of a cordial embrace, a kiss on both cheeks and inquiries about the welfare of each member of the other's family. Thus, Jesus IS asking quite a bit more than a simple good morning of His disciples: if you are only cordial with your little circle, what do you do that is so different?

In this admonition, Jesus, having shown the weakness of such distinctions that selfishness must create, now corrects the absurdity of thinking that one could really live in love and yet show practical favoritism. Edersheim (Life, 11, 237) observes:

That question, -Who is my neighbor?-' has ever been at the same time the outcome of Judaism (as distinguished from the religion of the OT), and also its curse. God had separated Israel unto Himself by purification and renovation - and this is the original meaning of the word -holy-' and -sanctify-' in the Hebrew. They separated themselves in self-righteousness and pride-and this is the original meaning of the word -Pharisee-' and -Pharisaism-'.. Before we sit in harsh judgment on these Jews, let us remember how often professing Christians have restricted the circle of Christian love until it embraces no more than pagan love, i.e., those who love us and salute us.

IV. ASPIRING TO ATTAIN THE ABSOLUTE

Matthew 5:48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus-' idea of real religion or true righteousness is to make us like God, nothing else or nothing less! McGarvey puts it right: though it be impossible for such sinners as we to reach this perfection yet anything short of it is short of what we ought to be. In fact, one sure rule to remember must be: if you think you have arrived at this perfection, you have not. The closer we approach the perfection of God and thus the more intimate grows our knowledge of the Father, the more we will be humbled and dissatisfied with our accomplishments.

But what is Jesus driving at? Surely He must know that we could not struggle up to the heights of that far inferior standard of Moses-' Law, and if THAT were too difficult for us, how could He expect us even to begin thinking about aiming for God's perfection? We must cry out in dark despair, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am! But this was exactly His point: to bring us to our knees asking Him what we must do. (See introduction to the Sermon) Carver (81) raises that important philosophical problem: Could we follow Jesus as we do if He had for us any lower standard of morals and ethics than perfection, if He could be content until He has made us true sons and daughters of His perfect Father? Probably not, for we would ever suspect that there yet remain a final answer above and beyond Jesus, however satisfied we might be with His good standards. But being brought up face to face with THIS standard, we may rest assured that there are no higher standards, and it is with TH.IS one that we have to deal, decide, do or die!

HOW TO BE PERFECT

Let us, however, not permit our despair of ever reaching such an exacting standard to become an excuse for ignoring Jesus as an unrealistic dreamer whose schemes for human moral improvement as unworkable. Let us remain at least long enough to hear Him explain His idea.

A. BY LOVING PERFECTLY

Interpreting Jesus-' word in context, we see that Jesus is saying something very simple and yet so profound: He who loves like the heavenly Father loves, is thoroughly equipped to grow into absolute perfection. He who loves, needs no other rules or standards, for he will always act in the best interest of his neighbor, friend or enemy. To love consistently is to be perfect.

This interpretation harmonizes with the propositions of the Apostles, Whoever practices obedience to His message really has a perfect love of God in his heart. (1 John 2:5 CBWilliams) No one has ever seen God; yet if we practice loving one another, God remains in union with us, and our love for His attains perfection in our hearts. (1 John 4:12 CBW; Cf. 1 John 4:17-18) One's faith is perfected by what he does (James 2:22), if it is a faith which works through love (Galatians 5:6). Only intense love can hold a man steadfast in trials and thus be perfected (James 1:2-4). And, most important of all, no law is capable of making anybody perfect (Hebrews 7:19; Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 10:1; cf. Romans 2:12; Romans 3:29; Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20; Romans 8:3). ALL law must render man imperfect in his own eyes and frustrate his attempts to be perfect. Perfect loving, on the other hand, has in it the seed-germ capable of making man entirely perfect.

By commanding men to be perfect, Jesus DID mean them to be sinless, since the essence of sin is lovelessness. There is no moral perfection but where perfect love has made sin impossible. Sins, by definition, are those acts which express man's selfishness and his failure to love his neighbor or his God at some given point of contact. Sin is not only or merely transgression of the law (1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20 etc.), although it is this too, but is more the refusal to love (1 John 3:11-18; 1 John 4:9; 1 John 4:17-21). Laws are but the muscles of love, given to punish those who are unable or unwilling to be governed directly by love. Laws merely describe and forbid unethical behavior, but the behavior itself is sin because, in one way or another, it disobeys the dictates of love. Contrarily, love is the fulfilling of any law. (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; Galatians 6:2) True righteousness IS love and as such is not subject to law; rather, love is the maker of laws where they are necessary. (Galatians 5:22-23) ALL standards of right and wrong will be perfectly fulfilled by the man who always does what is in the best interest of his neighbor, i.e. loves him completely. This is the genius of Christianity and the very reason why Jesus refused to spell out in detail what constitutes true righteousness, lest men mistake His word for another law! By just commanding love, He covered the whole gamut of human relations like no detailed law could ever do.

B. BY BEING DECLARED PERFECT

Thus, the very admission that we do not love as we should, condemns us for our imperfection. How can God admit anything less than perfection? God has solved this dilemma by choosing to declare perfectly righteous those who will believe Jesus, depend entirely upon Him, and thus regard His perfection as their own. (Romans 8:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:8-9; Colossians 1:12; Colossians 1:22; Colossians 1:28; Colossians 2:10) Thus, all that is imperfect in the Christian is judged to be perfect, because it is viewed as perfected by the perfection of Christ. This is only possible because of the disciple's position in Christ. This perfection of the Christian is a judicial declaration, quite irrespective of his personal maturity. This declaration is entirely based upon the Christian's dependence (faith) upon Jesus to be his righteousness, sanctification, justification and redemption. (Hebrews 10:14)

C. BY GROWING UP INTO THE STANDARD

Teleios, the word translated by our word perfect, can mean all that our word signifies, i.e. absoluteness, the highest degree of excellence. Yet is means more. (See Arndt-Gingrich, 816, 817) Perfection is obviously relative, relative to the goal, end, purpose or aim (telos) sought. Something is perfect when it accomplishes the purpose for which it was planned. Thus, teleios is used to describe persons of full age, full-grown, mature, adult (1 Corinthians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:13-16; Hebrews 5:14) and, by extension, it describes those who are spiritually mature (Philippians 3:15; Colossians 4:12). It was also a technical term of the ancient mystery religions, which refers to him who had been initiated into the mystic rites. To this latter class may belong such passages as: 1 Corinthians 2:6; Philippians 3:15; Colossians 1:28, where the translation would be the initiate, the insider. Then, teleios has at least four other instances (Matthew 19:21; James 1:4 b; James 3:2; perhaps Colossians 4:12) of the absolute idea of full moral development to the highest degree of excellence. Which of these four ideas describes Jesus-' meaning in this text? That depends upon who is listening to Him.

1. To the Outsider: If Jesus is talking to the sinner, endeavoring to drive him to practical despair of ever being good enough, then Jesus means for the sinner to be shaken by that word perfect in all of its harsh absoluteness, The man of the world must understand the futility of trying to justify himself before God by any kind of standard less than perfection, The outsider would not have it in him to reach such a lofty norm, Assuming that God is so loving and impartial as to bless him even when he is yet a sinner (Matthew 5:45), he could safely conclude that this God also has a means of salvation from this inexorable ,justice, and come to Jesus seeking answers.

2. To the Insider: If Jesus intends His teaching to be a guide to righteousness for all future generations of His disciples, then He may mean maturity, adulthood, as understood in .the relative sense. No teleios adult would admit to being absolutely perfect in every quality that, together with other qualities, renders him teleios, and yet he is teleios, adult or mature, To the Christian, then, perfection or maturity is not a terrifying, impossible standard, since Jesus has revealed His secrets for arriving there. Jesus- secret power to transform men into the image of God, a secret only to those who refuse to see it, is the influence of that all-encompassing command: love your neighbor as yourself. Out of such love flows all those deeds that may be called righteousness.

Jesus-' ideal is neither an impossible not an impractical ethic, Rather it is the bloodstream of the New Testament. (Study Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:6; Philippians 3:7-17; 1 Timothy 1:5) As an ideal, Jesus must require absolute perfection (in degree); as a practical expectation, Jesus may look for a growing perfection (in kind) which has in it the capacity to transform man into God's likeness.

FACT QUESTIONS

1.

Locate the OT Law of love, cited by Jesus. (book, chapter, verse)

2.

Explain the rise of the axiomatic exhortation to hate one's enemy. Did God command such hate? What divine commands might lead to this conclusion? Did God intend for a Jew to bear personal grudges or hate a personal opponent? Prove your answer.

3.

Did godly men in the OT hate their enemies? Prove it.

4.

What information may be drawn from the context, that helps to understand the meaning of the word love, as Jesus intended it?

5.

List the two examples, positive and negative, given by Jesus as examples of how we should and should not love.

6.

Why does Matthew bring up publicans and Gentiles? What is the Jewish viewpoint regarding these two groups?

7.

Who were the publicans?

8.

What does perfect mean, as used by Jesus? What else could it mean?

9. What other NT passages use the word perfect, which throw light on Jesus-' meaning?