Matthew 5:47
ESV
And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
NIV
And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
NASB
And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?
CSB
And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?
NLT
If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
KJV
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
NKJV
And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
What does Matthew 5:47 mean?
Challenging both culture and human nature, Jesus has commanded His disciples to love their enemies. In doing so, they will be imitating God as sons naturally imitate their fathers. After all, God does good for everyone on earth, no matter whether they love Him or hate Him. He provides sun and rain to all (Matthew 5:43–46).Merely loving your neighbors is not righteous enough to be like God the Father. Nobody is rewarded in the kingdom of heaven for loving people who already love them. Matthew, the former tax collector, included a quip from Jesus in the previous verse: that "even the tax collectors" love others who love them first (Matthew 5:46). It requires no special integrity or faith to love someone who is good to you.
Now Jesus gives an example of what loving an enemy might look like: greeting them! Jesus said that everyone greets their brothers, people who love them. By implication he is saying that only the truly righteous greet those who are opposed to them, meaning their enemies. In this cultural context, to greet someone gladly and mean it required removing any animosity in your heart toward that person. Someone who greets their enemies in this way is truly demonstrating God's love for everyone. This is a love and righteousness that goes way beyond what is normal for humanity. It's what Jesus expects of His disciples.
Matthew 5:43–48 continues Jesus' teaching on love and humility, a part of the Sermon on the Mount. After commanding believers not to seek revenge in the face of insults, Jesus expands the idea of love to include one's enemies. Human beings naturally struggle with the idea of passively accepting persecution. We naturally recoil at the idea of expressing active love—in our deeds, not necessarily in our emotions—for those who hate and attack us. However, loving those who love you is easy; God's standards are higher.
The Sermon on the Mount contains some of Jesus' most challenging teaching. It begins with the unlikely blessings of the Beatitudes. Jesus' disciples must do good works in order to be a powerful influence: as the salt of the earth and light of the world. The superficial righteousness of the Pharisees is not good enough to earn heaven. Sins of the heart, such as angry insults and intentional lust, are worthy of hell just as much as adultery and murder. Easy divorce and deceptive oaths are forbidden. Believers should not seek revenge. Instead, God intends us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. In short, we should strive to be perfect, as God is perfect.
