Matthew 5:42 tells believers to give freely to people who ask them for help and not to turn away someone who wants to borrow from them. Jesus is not promising that every request will be met in full, but He is describing an open-handed, generous posture toward others that reflects the character of God. He speaks this in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded by Matthew, to His disciples and to the crowds gathered around them on the hillside.
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” points to a real, specific request from someone in need, and Jesus expects His followers to respond with generosity rather than suspicion or calculation. The phrase does not say to give to everyone who ever wants something, nor does it require you to hand over your possessions without thought. It describes a readiness of heart that meets genuine need when it appears in front of you.
The second half, “don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you,” widens the picture. Lending was a normal part of ancient life, and many people lived on the edge of poverty, so a request to borrow was often a request for survival. Jesus asks His listeners not to shut the door on such a person out of self-protection or resentment. The verse does not promise that you will never lose what you lend, and it does not make you responsible for managing another person’s finances. It asks you not to close your heart to a neighbor in real need.
The Context of Matthew 5:42
The Gospel of Matthew was traditionally attributed to Matthew, a former tax collector who became one of the twelve apostles, and it was likely written for a community of Jewish and Gentile believers who knew the Hebrew Scriptures well. Matthew presents Jesus as the teacher who fulfills and deepens the law of Moses, and the Sermon on the Mount, which runs through chapters 5 to 7, is the first of His great teaching sections. The audience hears Jesus correcting popular ideas about righteousness and calling His followers to a deeper obedience.
Verse 42 sits within a passage about how to respond to personal injury, from being struck on the cheek to being forced to walk an extra mile. Just before it, Jesus tells His listeners not to resist one who is evil and to give more than what is demanded. Just after it, He moves to the command to love enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Read in that setting, the generosity of verse 42 is not a call to passivity toward wrongdoing, but a pattern of open-handed, self-giving love that flows from the Father’s own goodness.
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 generous giving in a different way, describing how God meets the generous heart with abundant return. Read alongside Matthew 5:42, it shows that generosity is not a loss to be feared but a participation in the Father’s own overflowing kindness toward His children.
Proverbs 19:17
He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD; he will reward him.
(WEB)
Proverbs links kindness to the poor with the honor of the Lord, presenting generosity toward those in need as something God Himself takes personally. This connects well with Matthew 5:42 by showing that the command to give is rooted in God’s care for the vulnerable and His regard for every act of mercy.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 5:42
Father, you have been generous with me in ways I did not earn and often do not notice. Open my hands and my heart so that when someone comes to me with a real need, I do not turn away out of fear or self-protection. Give me wisdom to know how to help well, and courage to give even when it costs me something. Shape my generosity after your own, so that others see a little of your kindness through the way I live. Amen.
