Matthew 5:43-45

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:45

Verse 45 45.That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven. When he expressly declares, that no man will be a child of God, unless he loves those who hate him, who shall dare to say, that we are not bound to observe this doctrine? The statement amounts to this, “Whoever shall wish to be accounted a Christian, let him love his enemies.” It is truly horrible and monstrous, that the world should have been covered with such thick darkness, for three or four centuries, as not to see... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The second part of the sermon: the mount of the Beatitudes and Mount Sinai: the new Law and the old. I. CHRIST THE FULFILLER OF THE LAW . 1 . He came not to destroy. They must not misunderstand the purpose of his teaching. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; both speak of Christ. The commandments are as binding now upon the Christian conscience as when they were first delivered amid the thunders of Mount Sinai. "We establish the Law," says the apostle of faith ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

Sermon on the mount: 3. Exceeding righteousness. A teacher who compels the public to look at an unfamiliar truth, the reformer who introduces a new style of goodness, will be misinterpreted just in proportion to the advance he makes upon former ideas. Our Lord renounced explicitly, and with warmth, the goodness of the Pharisees, and the cry was at once raised against him as a destroyer of the Law, a libertine, a companion or' loose people. He thus found himself called on publicly to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:21-48

( a ) Our Lord is still concerned with the relation of himself and his followers to the religion of the day, of which the Old Testament ( Matthew 5:17 ), and more especially the Law ( Matthew 5:18 ), was the accepted standard. But after having spoken of the need of careful attention to ( Matthew 5:17 , Matthew 5:18 ), and observance of ( Matthew 5:19 ), even the least commands of the Law, he goes on to point out the far-reaching character of these commands, whether they are such... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:38-48

The two remaining examples of the current teaching of the Law are very closely connected together, and, in fact, our Lord's corrections of them are intermingled in Luke 6:27-36 . Yet the subjects are really distinct. In the first ( Luke 6:38-42 ) our Lord speaks of the reception of injuries, in the second ( Luke 6:43-48 ) of the treatment of those who do them. Godet's remarks (in his summary of Luke 6:27-45 ) on the use made by St. Luke of these examples are especially instructive.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:43

. —Matthew only. Ye have heard (verse 21, note). Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy . The first clause is found in Le Matthew 19:18 , the second is the natural, and, from one point of view, legitimate, deduction from it. "The whole precept, as it stands, undoubtedly represents, and is a summary of, the sense of the Law" (Mozley, vide infra ) . The meaning of the words "neighbour" and "enemy" has been much discussed. In Leviticus, indeed, the meaning of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:43-48

The treatment of those who injure us. (Cf. supra , Matthew 5:38 .) Our Lord now turns from the reception of injuries to the treatment of those who injure us. We are not to injure them in return, nor merely to keep aloof from them, but to show them positive kindness. The Law, in the natural development of it current at the time, taught very differently. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:43-48

Loving one's enemy. This is another instance of the way in which Christian righteousness is to exceed the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees. Let us consider the duty and the motives that urge it. I. THE DUTY . 1 . Positive. This carries us beyond patience under insult and nonresistance to injury. The previous passage insisted on those duties only. It was negative in character, forbidding a wrong course of conduct; therefore obedience to it would be purely passive. Now we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:43-48

The perfect fulfilling of Law: Christ's sixth illustration. This last illustration makes two advances upon even those foregoing. From the negative course, of not resisting evil, Christ proceeds to teach the high and moral principle of doing good for evil, positively and practically. Further, this illustration moves in that highest sphere where law merges in love. It finds its material in that law of love which comprehends the perfect fulfilling of law. The words of Chrysostom are well worth... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:43-48

Perfection. Here is an attainable perfection, for it comes to us as a promise as well as a command. But what is it? I. IT CANNOT BE THE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION OF GOD . 1 . There is an infinite difference between God and man in their being. 2 . There is an infinite difference in their presence. 3 . There is an infinite difference in their power. 4 . There is an infinite difference in their holiness. II. IF THE PERFECTION BE NOT ABSOLUTE ... read more

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