Matthew 5:45 - Love Your Enemies

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
This phrase emphasizes the call to emulate God's character, reflecting His love and mercy. In biblical context, being a "son" implies sharing in the nature and character of the Father. This aligns with the Jewish understanding of sonship, where sons were expected to carry on the family traits and values. The concept of God as "Father" is central to Jesus' teachings, highlighting a personal and relational aspect of God, contrasting with the more distant view of God in some Old Testament contexts. This phrase also connects to other scriptures, such as John 1:12, which speaks of believers being given the right to become children of God, and Romans 8:14, which describes those led by the Spirit as sons of God.

He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
This part of the verse illustrates God's impartiality and common grace. The sun rising is a daily occurrence that benefits all people, regardless of their moral standing. In the historical and cultural context of the time, the sun was essential for agriculture, health, and daily life, making it a powerful symbol of God's provision. This reflects the idea that God's blessings are not limited to the righteous but are extended to all humanity, demonstrating His love and mercy. This concept is echoed in Acts 14:17, where Paul speaks of God providing rain and fruitful seasons as a witness to His goodness.

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Rain, like the sun, was crucial for survival in the agrarian society of ancient Israel. It symbolizes God's provision and sustenance. The geographical context of Israel, with its reliance on seasonal rains for crops, underscores the importance of this blessing. By sending rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous, God shows His fairness and generosity. This challenges the common belief of the time that prosperity was a direct result of personal righteousness. Theologically, this reflects the idea of God's common grace, which is available to all people, as seen in passages like Psalm 145:9, which declares that the Lord is good to all and has compassion on all He has made.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of the Sermon on the Mount, where this verse is located. He is teaching His disciples and the gathered crowd about the nature of God's kingdom and righteousness.

2. Father in Heaven
Refers to God, emphasizing His role as a loving and impartial provider to all humanity, regardless of their moral standing.

3. The Evil and the Good
Represents all of humanity, highlighting the inclusivity of God's providence and grace.

4. The Righteous and the Unrighteous
A distinction between those who follow God's ways and those who do not, yet both receive God's common grace.

5. The Sermon on the Mount
The setting of this teaching, a collection of Jesus' teachings found in Matthew chapters 5-7, focusing on the ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Teaching Points

Impartial Love
As believers, we are called to emulate God's impartial love, showing kindness to both friends and enemies, just as God provides for both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Common Grace
Recognize and be thankful for God's common grace, which is evident in the natural blessings we receive daily, such as sunlight and rain.

Reflecting God's Character
Strive to reflect God's character in our interactions with others, demonstrating love and mercy without discrimination.

Spiritual Growth
Understand that being "sons of your Father in heaven" involves growing in spiritual maturity and embodying the values of God's kingdom.

Witness Through Actions
Our actions should serve as a witness to God's love and grace, drawing others to Him through our example of living out His teachings.

Lists and Questions

Top 10 Lessons from Matthew 5Matthew 5:45 – How can attributing sunshine and rain to God’s direct action be reconciled with modern scientific understanding of weather and astronomy? What does 'rain on the just and unjust' mean?What is the concept of Common Grace?Is Satan loved by God?

(45) That ye may be.--Literally, and with far fuller meaning, that ye may become. We cannot become like God in power or wisdom. The attempt at that likeness to the Godhead was the cause of man's fall, and leads evermore to a like issue; but we cannot err in striving to be like Him in His love. (Comp. St. Paul's "followers [or, more literally, imitators"] of God" in Ephesians 5:1.) And the love which we are to reproduce is not primarily that of which the children of the kingdom are the direct objects, showing itself in pardon, and adoption, and spiritual blessings, but the beneficence which is seen in Nature. Our Lord assumes that sunshine, and rain, and fruitful seasons are His Father's gifts, and proofs (whatever may be urged to the contrary) of His loving purpose. Here, again, the teaching of the higher Stoics presents an almost verbal parallel: "If thou wouldst imitate the gods, do good even to the unthankful, for the sun rises even on the wicked, and the seas are open to pirates" (Seneca, De Benefic. iv. 2, 6).

Verse 45. - Parallel passage: Luke 6:35, which is more full, but hardly so original in form. That ye may be the children (ὅπως γένησθε υἱοί); sons (Revised Version); cf. ver. 9, note. The meaning of the clause is not certain. It may be:

(1) Love to enemies is the means whereby you may become possessed of the full privileges involved in the nature of sons. These privileges are more than the mere participation in Messianic glory (Meyer), and are rather all the blessings present and future which belong to sonship.

(2) Love, in order that on each occasion you may become in fact (almost our "show yourselves") sons of your Father, sons corresponding in ethical conduct to your position already received. Your Father. Not "the Father" (cf. ver. 16, note). Which is in heaven: for ὅτι The privileges generally, or the resemblance on each occasion, can only be obtained by behaviour similar to his, namely, kind treatment of those who injure you; for this is what he himself shows. He maketh his sun to rise (ἀνατέλλει). If we may lay stress on the Greek, our Lord expresses the popular notion of the sun ascending. It must, however, be remembered that the word he himself probably used was זרח in hiph. (, Peshito), which contains no thought of motion, but rather of appearance. Sun... rain. The two great sources of maintenance. On the evil and on the good... on the just and on the unjust. The first pair connotes, as it seems, the extreme of evil (Matthew 6:13, note) and good, in each case manifesting itself according to its opportunities; the second, the life and character as tried by the standard, especially the human standard, of just dealing. Notice how, by chiasm, the emphasis is laid on the ungodly alike at the beginning and at the end. Our Lord here brings out God's active love as seen in nature, nourishing and maintaining men, irrespective of the qualities of individuals and of their treatment of him and his laws. The thought is found elsewhere, e.g. in Seneca (vide Meyer), "Si deos imitaris, da et ingratis benelicia; ham et sceleratis sol oritur, et piratis patent maria" (cf. Bishop Lightfoot, on 'Philippians' ["St. Paul and Seneca," p. 281], for a collection of parallels to the sermon on the mount). Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

that
ὅπως (hopōs)
Conjunction
Strong's 3704: From hos and pos; what(-ever) how, i.e. In the manner that (as adverb or conjunction of coincidence, intentional or actual).

you may be
γένησθε (genēsthe)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

sons
υἱοὶ (huioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

Father
Πατρὸς (Patros)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3962: Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

heaven.
οὐρανοῖς (ouranois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3772: Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel.

He causes
ἀνατέλλει (anatellei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 393: To make to rise, I rise, shine (generally of the sun, and hence met.). From ana and the base of telos; to arise.

His
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

sun {to rise}
ἥλιον (hēlion)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2246: The sun, sunlight. From hele; the sun; by implication, light.

on
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

[the] evil
πονηροὺς (ponērous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4190: Evil, bad, wicked, malicious, slothful.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[the] good,
ἀγαθοὺς (agathous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 18: A primary word; 'good'.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

sends rain
βρέχει (brechei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1026: To moisten, rain, send rain. A primary verb; to moisten.

on
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

[the] righteous
δικαίους (dikaious)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1342: From dike; equitable; by implication, innocent, holy.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[the] unrighteous.
ἀδίκους (adikous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 94: Unjust, unrighteous, wicked. Specially, heathen.

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