Matthew 5:43-48 teaches that Jesus wants his followers to love even their enemies, not only the people who love them back. He grounds this command in the character of God, who gives good gifts to everyone, and he sets the standard of love well above what ordinary human kindness usually reaches.
These verses come from the Sermon on the Mount, in the first main teaching section of Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus explains how the kingdom of heaven shapes the lives of those who belong to it.
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, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (WEB)
Matthew 5:43-48 Summary
Jesus begins by naming a teaching his listeners knew well: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. The first half comes from Leviticus 19:18, but the second half is not in the law. It was a common way of thinking about who counted as a neighbor and who could be treated as an opponent. Jesus rejects that division outright and calls his followers to love, bless, do good to, and pray for those who treat them badly.
He then gives two reasons. Loving your enemies shows that you are children of your Father in heaven, who sends sun and rain on good and bad people alike. And loving only those who love you is something tax collectors and outsiders also do, so it cannot mark out a person who belongs to God. The passage closes with the call to be perfect, as the Father is perfect, meaning whole, mature, and complete in love.
Context of Matthew 5:43-48
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a community that was learning to live as Jesus’s disciples, probably among Jewish believers and people who knew Jewish Scripture well. The Sermon on the Mount, which runs through chapters 5 to 7, presents Jesus as a new Moses giving a authoritative teaching on the mountain. Here he repeatedly says, “You have heard it said… but I tell you,” which shows he is not discarding the law but interpreting it at its deepest level.
The verses just before this passage, Matthew 5:38-42, deal with retaliation and generosity. They ask disciples to refuse the cycle of revenge and to give freely to those who ask. Verses 43-48 push that same pattern to its most demanding point: the people you least want to bless are exactly the ones Jesus names.
Matthew 5:43-48 Verse by Verse
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 echoes the call to meet hostility with care, urging believers to feed an enemy who is hungry and give drink to one who is thirsty. The image shows that love in action can be practical and specific.
Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
(WEB)
Luke records a parallel teaching in which Jesus calls his listeners to love their enemies and do good without expecting anything in return. The reward he promises is being children of the Most High, who is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
A Prayer Based on Matthew 5:43-48
Father, you give your sun and rain to everyone, and you have never withheld your kindness because of what people deserve. Teach me to love the people who have hurt me or made my life difficult. Help me to bless them with my words, to do good where I can, and to bring them honestly before you in prayer. When I feel the pull toward bitterness, remind me whose child I am, and let your love grow in me until it reaches beyond the people who are easy to love. Make me more like you, I pray. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Matthew 5:43-48 mean I must trust people who have harmed me?
No. Loving an enemy means seeking their good, praying for them, and refusing revenge, but it does not require you to place yourself in danger or to pretend that harm was not done. Wisdom and boundaries remain part of faithful love.
What is the difference between love and liking an enemy?
Love in this passage is primarily about action and intention: blessing, doing good, and praying. Feelings of warmth may come later or may not come at all. Jesus commands the actions first, trusting that God can work in the heart over time.
Why does Jesus say the tax collectors do the same?
Tax collectors were often disliked by their fellow Jews for working with Rome and sometimes for collecting more than was owed. By pointing to them, Jesus shows that loving only those who love you is ordinary behavior, not evidence of the distinctive life of God’s kingdom.
