Matthew 5:46
Encyclopedia
Matthew 5:46 is the forty-sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
. This is the third verse of the final antithesis
, that on love. Jesus here gives another example of why one most love one's enemies.
In the King James Version of the Bible
the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:46
The basic argument here is that if one only loves those who are close to you, you are no better than the most despised members of society, because they also show love to friends and family. Thus to be truly holy and above the sinful one must go the extra step and not only love friends, but also enemies.
Publican
/tax collector
is used as an example of a malignant group. These tax collectors were Jews in the employ of the Romans who would collect the Roman imposed taxes from the people. They were viewed both as traitors to the Jewish people and as one of the main supports for the Roman occupation. Tax collectors also tended to extort even more money than was owed out of he people. St. Matthew, the traditional author of the Gospel of Matthew, was said to have been a tax collector before becoming a follower of Jesus. Matthew mentions tax collectors three other time in the gospel, at 9:10, 18:17, and 21:31-32. All the mentions depict them in an unfavourable light. Luke's parallel version of this verse simply has sinners, without stating what type.
This verse again reflects Matthew's interest in rewards, a view some scholars see as one arguing that the main reason to be good is the possible benefits later on.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
. This is the third verse of the final antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
, that on love. Jesus here gives another example of why one most love one's enemies.
In the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
the text reads:
- For if ye love them which love
- you, what reward have ye? do not
- even the publicans the same?
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- For if you love those who love
- you, what reward do you have? Don’t
- even the tax collectors do the same?
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:46
The basic argument here is that if one only loves those who are close to you, you are no better than the most despised members of society, because they also show love to friends and family. Thus to be truly holy and above the sinful one must go the extra step and not only love friends, but also enemies.
Publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
/tax collector
Tax collector
A tax collector is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. Tax collectors are often portrayed in fiction as being evil, and in the modern world share a somewhat similar stereotype to that of lawyers....
is used as an example of a malignant group. These tax collectors were Jews in the employ of the Romans who would collect the Roman imposed taxes from the people. They were viewed both as traitors to the Jewish people and as one of the main supports for the Roman occupation. Tax collectors also tended to extort even more money than was owed out of he people. St. Matthew, the traditional author of the Gospel of Matthew, was said to have been a tax collector before becoming a follower of Jesus. Matthew mentions tax collectors three other time in the gospel, at 9:10, 18:17, and 21:31-32. All the mentions depict them in an unfavourable light. Luke's parallel version of this verse simply has sinners, without stating what type.
This verse again reflects Matthew's interest in rewards, a view some scholars see as one arguing that the main reason to be good is the possible benefits later on.