What is the meaning of Matthew 5:46? If you love those who love you Jesus begins with a scenario everyone understands—reciprocal affection. • This is the easiest kind of love because it costs nothing; it simply mirrors what we receive. • Luke 6:32 restates the point: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” • Natural affection stops far short of God’s standard. First John 4:19 reminds us, “We love because He first loved us”—His love reached us while we were still unlovely (Romans 5:8). • By pointing out the obvious, Jesus exposes how shallow our love can be when driven only by mutual benefit. what reward will you get? Jesus moves from description to evaluation. • “Reward” speaks of the Father’s approval (Hebrews 11:6) and future commendation (1 Corinthians 3:14); it is never earned salvation but the gracious acknowledgment of faithful obedience (Matthew 6:1). • If our love never rises above basic reciprocity, there is no unique evidence of God’s transforming grace—nothing for Him to reward. • True kingdom love is sacrificial, directed even toward those who cannot or will not pay it back (Luke 14:12-14). Such love shines unmistakably as the work of the Spirit. Do not even tax collectors do the same? To drive the lesson home, Jesus points to the despised tax collectors. • In first-century Judea they were branded traitors and cheats (Matthew 9:10-11), yet even they could manage reciprocal kindness. • If believers show only the love common to notorious sinners, we blend into the culture rather than stand apart (Romans 12:9-10). • The gospel produces something radically different: love that pursues enemies (Matthew 5:44) and welcomes the unworthy, just as Christ welcomed Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:5-9). • Such love verifies that we are “sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:45), a family resemblance the world cannot miss. summary Matthew 5:46 confronts comfortable, consumer-style affection and calls us higher. Loving only those who love us is natural, unrewarded, and no better than the ethics of a corrupt tax collector. Kingdom citizens, empowered by Christ’s own sacrificial love, extend grace beyond reciprocity—an unmistakable witness the Father delights to reward. |
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