Romans 12:14

Romans 12:14. Bless them that persecute you, etc. ‘The saying of Christ, Matthew 5:44, was perhaps known to the Apostle and here came to his recollection' (Meyer). It is quite unlikely, however, that he had read the gospel of Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount was, doubtless, well known through oral transmission, and there are allusions to it in the Epistles (chap. Romans 2:19; 1 Corinthians 7:10; James 4:9; James 5:12; 1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 4:14). The word rendered ‘persecute' is the same as that in the last clause of Romans 12:13; an intentional play on words. Probably the change of form to the imperative shows how difficult a duty this was felt to be. ‘How hard this is for corrupt human nature, every one who is acquainted with his own heart well knows. Yet this is the standard of Christian temper and character exhibited in the Scriptures' (Hodge). Hardest of all is the duty when the persecutor is a professed Christian brother.