04 · Words of Jesus

Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:43–48

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Jesus teaches a diverse group of people on a hillside and gestures toward the sky and sunlight as an image of God's goodness toward both the evil and the good.

Jesus says that love should not be limited to those who love us.

What does it really mean to love your enemy?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Can you love an enemy while still opposing what that person does?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

We consider options A and C together to be closest to the main sense of the passage. A captures that love for enemies cannot be reduced to spontaneous emotional closeness. Jesus gives love a concrete expression when he tells his hearers to pray for those who persecute them. C captures the explicit reason given in the passage. Jesus points to the Father, who gives sun and rain to both the evil and the good. Love for enemies therefore becomes a way of imitating God's goodness. Together, A and C describe both how this love can be expressed and why Jesus calls for it.

04 · Matthew 5:43–48

Go deeper

Text & context

Full translation

43 You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may become children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing beyond the ordinary? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore, be complete, as your heavenly Father is complete.

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus continues the series in the Sermon on the Mount in which he says, “You have heard that it was said ... But I tell you ...” This time he begins with the command to love one's neighbor but extends love beyond one's own circle: enemies are to be loved and persecutors are to be included in prayer. Jesus' reason is important. He points to God, who makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. God's goodness is therefore not limited to people who already return good for good. Jesus calls his followers to let their love cross the same boundary.
Notice this

“You shall love your neighbor” draws on Leviticus 19:18. But the words “and hate your enemy” do not appear there as the second half of that command. Jesus says that his hearers have heard this formulation. It is therefore important to distinguish between what the Torah actually says and the formulation Jesus is addressing. Also notice Jesus' reason: he points to sun and rain. God's ordinary goodness reaches both people who do good and people who do evil.

Language & translation

From the Greek

ἀγαπᾶτε – agapate

love An imperative from agapaō. It is a command, not merely a description of spontaneous emotion. The context also gives the love a concrete expression: praying for those who persecute.

ἐχθρούς – echthrous

enemies The word means enemies or opponents. Jesus' command therefore goes beyond simply being kind to people one happens not to like.

προσεύχεσθε – proseuchesthe

pray Jesus gives love for enemies a concrete expression through the command to pray for those who persecute.

τέλειοι – teleioi

complete / perfect / mature Teleios can convey completeness, perfection, maturity, or reaching an intended end. Verse 48 follows directly after Jesus' teaching about a love that does not stop with one's own group. The context is therefore important when interpreting the word, and it should not automatically be reduced to the idea of never making a moral mistake.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Matthew 5:43–48 in another Bible translation. Pay particular attention to how these expressions are rendered:

  • agapate
  • echthrous
  • proseuchesthe
  • teleioi
  • “so that you may become children of your Father”

Compare especially how teleioi is translated. Does your understanding change if it is rendered as “perfect,” “complete,” or “mature”?

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Is love for an enemy primarily a feeling, a decision, or a way of acting?
  2. Can you pray for someone while also wanting that person to be held accountable for what they have done?
  3. What is the difference between loving someone, forgiving someone, and trusting someone?
  4. Why does Jesus use sun and rain as an image of the way God treats people?
Parallel passages
  • Luke 6:27–36
  • Leviticus 19:18
  • Exodus 23:4–5
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Matthew 5:43–48
  • Leviticus 19:18
  • Exodus 23:4–5
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for agapaō, echthros, proseuchomai, and teleios