Matthew 5:44
Bible verses · Also called: Matthew 5:44, Love your enemies, Pray for those who persecute you, Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
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But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
Matthew 5:44 contains Jesus' command, "Love your enemies... and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." It is regarded as one of the most radical passages in Jesus' ethical teaching and is applied broadly, from personal forgiveness to questions of national division and reconciliation.
Context
This is the last of the six antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus introduces the command by recalling what his hearers have heard said: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." "Thou shalt love thy neighbour" appears in Leviticus 19:18, but "hate thine enemy" does not appear verbatim anywhere in the Old Testament. The saying is therefore usually understood to refer either to an interpretation current among certain Jewish groups of the time or to a commonly held notion. Verse 45 gives the reason for the command: God "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Interpretation
- As imitation of God: The ground of love for enemies is not the worthiness of the other person but the character of God, who gives without partiality. The Reformed tradition cites verse 45 as a principal basis for the doctrine of common grace. The command "Be ye therefore perfect" in verse 48 is likewise read in the context of this love.
- Love as action: Love (agape) here is understood not as an emotion but as action that seeks the good of the other and prays for them.
- Relation to justice: The prevailing view is that love for enemies does not mean tolerating injustice. How the command applies to state violence or war, however, is understood differently by the peace churches and by churches that hold to just war theory.
Questions of Application
Some critics argue that pressing victims of domestic or sexual violence to love their enemies and to forgive prematurely serves to perpetuate the abuse. For this reason, pastoral discussion has emphasized the need to distinguish among forgiveness, reconciliation, and the accountability of the offender.
In the Korean Church
During the Yeosu–Suncheon Incident, the Rev. Son Yang-won forgave the young man who had killed his two sons and adopted him as his own son. The story is widely told in the Korean church as an example of this verse lived out in practice. The verse is also frequently cited in calls for prayer for North Korea and for reconciliation in the context of the division of the Korean Peninsula.
Related Passages
- Luke 6:27-36
- Romans 12:20
- Luke 23:34
- Leviticus 19:18
See also 5
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