What is the meaning of Matthew 5:47? And if you greet only your brothers • Jesus has just said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Limiting a warm greeting to people within our own circle is the exact opposite of that command. • In biblical culture, greeting involved blessing, honor, and genuine concern—not a casual “hello.” Restricting such warmth to close friends signals a heart that has yet to embrace the expansive love God shows (cf. Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 2:17). • The same principle flows through 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death.” Genuine love cannot be confined; it spills over even to strangers and enemies. • Luke 6:32 reminds us, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” The Lord is pressing us beyond the comfort zone of mutual affection. what are you doing more than others? • Christ calls His followers to surpass the ordinary. Earlier He declared, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). • Bullet-point portraits of “more than”: – Going beyond minimal duty to joyful service (Philippians 2:3-4, 15). – Extending grace first, not merely responding in kind (Romans 12:18-21). – Practicing sacrificial generosity where the world practices calculated exchange (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). • The question “what are you doing” invites self-examination. Faith that is alive produces actions that stand out (James 2:14-18). Jesus is urging visible distinction, not secret superiority. Do not even Gentiles do the same? • “Gentiles” represents those outside God’s covenant people, the nations living without Scripture’s light (Ephesians 2:11-13). Even they respond naturally to friendly faces. • By contrasting His disciples with Gentiles, Jesus underscores that kingdom living is supernatural. We are children of our Father in heaven; therefore our love must mirror His impartial kindness (Matthew 5:45). • Scripture repeatedly warns believers not to “walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17-24). We have a new nature, and with it a new standard. • 1 Peter 4:3-4 echoes the same thought: “For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the will of the Gentiles…” Our changed conduct should puzzle and attract the watching world (John 13:35). summary Jesus exposes the smallness of a love that stops at familiar borders. If our greetings—and by extension our kindness, hospitality, and care—are reserved only for “our kind,” we have not yet risen above the world’s norm. The Lord’s question presses us to display a love that reflects our Father’s heart: proactive, lavish, and inclusive even of enemies. Such love is the “more” that marks genuine disciples and points others to the Savior who loved us first. |
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