Matthew 5:43 is Jesus quoting a common saying of his day and then correcting it. The saying tells people to love those close to them and hate their enemies, and Jesus rejects the second half entirely. He speaks this in the Sermon on the Mount, addressing his disciples and the crowds gathered on the hillside in Galilee who were listening to his teaching about how God’s people should live.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Matthew 5:43 (WEB)
What Matthew 5:43 Means
The verse begins with “You have heard that it was said,” a phrase Jesus uses several times in this sermon. He is not rejecting the Old Testament law here. He is pointing out a popular teaching that had grown up around it, one that gave people permission to treat outsiders and enemies with contempt. The first half, “love your neighbor,” comes from Leviticus 19:18, while the idea of hating enemies was an inference people had drawn, not a command God gave.
The verse does not promise that loving your enemies will make them become your friends, or that it will end every conflict. It describes how a follower of Jesus is to live regardless of how others respond. The verse sets a standard of conduct and a motive, namely reflecting the character of God, rather than offering a guaranteed result.
Notice too what the verse leaves out. Jesus does not say that feelings of anger or hurt must disappear on command. He is speaking about the direction of the heart and the choices a person makes in response to those who oppose them.
The Context of Matthew 5:43
The Gospel of Matthew was written for a community of Jewish believers, most likely in the latter part of the first century, and it presents Jesus as the promised teacher who fulfills and deepens the law. Traditionally the author is identified as Matthew, one of the twelve disciples, though the book itself does not name its writer. The Sermon on the Mount is a major block of Jesus’s teaching in chapters 5 through 7, and this verse sits within a series of contrasts in which Jesus takes common expectations and presses them further.
The verses just before and after make the point sharper. Verses 40 through 42 describe generosity under pressure, such as giving more than is demanded. Verses 44 through 46 then state the positive instruction directly, calling for love, blessing, prayer, and good deeds toward enemies, and grounding this in the way God gives sun and rain to everyone. Read in that setting, the verse is not an isolated rule but the hinge of a larger picture of costly, generous love.
Key Phrases in Matthew 5:43
Romans 12:20
Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
(WEB)
Paul picks up the same theme of responding to hostility with generosity, drawing on Proverbs to describe how kindness toward an enemy can break down resistance. It shows how the call to love enemies was carried into the early church’s ordinary life and relationships.
Luke 6:27-28
27 “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
(WEB)
Luke records a parallel version of Jesus’s teaching on loving enemies, given in a different setting. Reading it alongside Matthew helps show that this was a central part of Jesus’s message and not a passing remark.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 5:43
Lord Jesus, you know how quickly I can slip into resentment when someone treats me unfairly or speaks against me. Teach me to see my enemies with the same mercy you have shown me. Where I have written people off, soften my heart toward them. Where I have repeated their faults to others, quiet my tongue. Give me the courage to pray for those who wound me and the patience to do good when I would rather walk away. Let my life reflect the generous love of my Father in heaven. Amen.
