Matthew 5:42 tells Jesus’s followers to give to anyone who asks and to be willing to lend to someone who wants to borrow. The verse is not a rule that every request must be met in full, and it does not promise that generosity will never be taken advantage of. It describes an open-handed disposition that refuses to treat other people’s needs as someone else’s problem. Jesus speaks these words in the Sermon on the Mount, addressing the crowds gathered on the hillside and, through them, his disciples.
Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
Matthew 5:42 (WEB)
What Matthew 5:42 Means
The verse begins with “Give to him who asks you.” The word “asks” matters. Jesus is not describing a stranger who snatches what he wants, but a person who makes a request. The instruction is to respond with generosity rather than suspicion, to let a need that has been spoken aloud shape your response. This does not mean giving everything to everyone. It means that a sincere request should be taken seriously before it is refused.
The second half, “don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you,” widens the picture. Lending in the ancient world was a common way for neighbors to help one another through a hard season, such as a failed harvest or an illness. Jesus asks his listeners not to close the door on someone who needs temporary help. The verse does not promise that every loan will be repaid, and it does not oblige anyone to lend beyond their means. It asks for a readiness to help that is shaped by love rather than by fear of loss.
The Context of Matthew 5:42
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a community that was largely Jewish and that knew the Law and the prophets well. It presents Jesus as the teacher who fulfills and deepens the Law, and the Sermon on the Mount, of which this verse is a part, is his longest recorded teaching. The verses just before it (Matthew 5:39-41) describe responses to insult, legal pressure and forced labor, all of which push against the instinct to protect oneself first. Verse 42 continues this pattern, moving from confrontation to the everyday matter of giving and lending.
The verses that follow are equally important. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus contrasts the common teaching about loving neighbors and hating enemies with his call to love even enemies, so that his listeners may reflect the character of their heavenly Father, who sends sun and rain on both the evil and the good. Read in this sequence, verse 42 is not a standalone tip about charity. It is one concrete expression of a life shaped by the generosity of God.
Key Phrases in Matthew 5:42
Luke 6:38
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
(WEB)
This verse continues the theme of giving with a promise that generosity returns to the giver in abundance. Read alongside Matthew 5:42, it shows that Jesus’s call to open-handedness is rooted in a God who gives freely and whose generosity overflows to those who give in faith.
Proverbs 19:17
He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD; he will reward him.
(WEB)
Proverbs describes care for the poor as an act done to the Lord himself. This verse helps explain why Jesus expects his followers to respond to requests for help: the needs of people in front of us are, in a real sense, matters of concern to God.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 5:42
Father, you have given to me far more than I have ever deserved, and you have never turned away from my need. Teach me to see the people who ask me for help as people you love, and give me a generous heart in place of a guarded one. Show me when to give freely, when to lend wisely, and when to say no with honesty and kindness. Let my hands be open because yours have been open to me. Amen.
