Be Perfect

Mt 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Summary Notes

Say What?!

Jesus just said to His followers that they love and pray for their enemies; and then He told them to be perfect like God. But wait, isn’t this impossible?! “Perfect,” means to be complete, to be mature.

Why would He say this?

Stannard Rock Lighthouse with Quote — Photo by Dawn Carlson – Stannard Rock Lighthouse is located on a shallow reef 25 miles from the nearest land. It is so remote that it took 5 years to build it. Once built the light was called by its keepers as, “the loneliest spot in the United States.” The light was needed for safety. Shipping on Lake Superior was already heavy in 1882 when the light was first lit. This light was a “perfect” solution because it solved a problem for everyone. Mariners, ship owners, business owners, whether good or bad, benefited by not having lives, ships and cargo lost to the lake due to hitting the hidden reef. Mother Teresa’s quote is so fitting because she speaks about always thinking of the needs of others rather than just myself. This image and more can be found in the Photo Gallery. Click here see why I like lighthouses.

I don’t think that this command is about me never making mistakes; it is about love. Jesus commands me to demonstrate agape love to the people around me, even to those I don’t like or are mean to me. Perfect agape love is manifest in meeting the basic needs of people such as food, water, shelter, clothing, security, education and perhaps several others. Jesus is telling me to “Grow up!” when it comes to love.

Click here for my personal application and your comments link …or Scroll down for my full notes…

COMMAND 20: “… you are to be perfect… ”

REFERENCE: Mt 5:48

RECIPIENT: To the disciples in the hearing of the crowds on the mountain,

Mt 5:1-2 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying…

CONTEXT: A continuation of the Sermon on the Mount

Mt 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore…”

COMMAND FULL TEXT:

Mt 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

RESULT:

No stated result except for two chapters later when Jesus came down from the mountain

Mt 7:28-29; 8:1 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

DEFINITIONS: Key Greek Words – Removes ambiguity of the Bible’s English translation

(word: Strong’s # Greek pronunciation — definition)

perfect: G5046 τέλειος tel’-i-os — complete in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.

COMMENTS: In context of “…love your enemies.”

These verses are part of the same paragraph as Command 19 (“…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”) and therefore are in the same context.

Who were the tax collectors whom Jesus mentioned?

Tax collectors were detestable to the Jews during the Roman occupation. The reason was because tax collectors were fellow Jewish people who contracted with the Roman authorities to collect the Roman tribute and were therefore considered traitors by their countrymen. Furthermore, with Roman authority tax collectors were free to keep any additional revenue over and above the taxes due to the Roman government and many tax collectors abused their authority and got rich from extortion.

Who were the Gentiles whom Jesus mentioned?

Jews of Jesus’ day considered themselves a special family of people that God Himself had chosen to give His laws. Gentiles were anyone who was not of full Jewish descent and culturally regarded to some degree as inferior because they were not a part of God’s “chosen people.”

Practical Agape Love

Jesus commands me to demonstrate agape love to the people around me, even to my enemies. Agape love is manifest in meeting the basic needs of people such as food, water, shelter, clothing, security, education and perhaps several others. Contributing, volunteering and working for a charitable organization are excellent ways to demonstrate agape love to people.

I’ve often interpreted Jesus’ command to supply the needs of those around me only in the context of contributing to charity. However, there are many other ways to provide the necessities of life to the people around us. For instance, employment is the major avenue most of us are supplied with these needs. Therefore, businesses which provide employment and services that facilitate employment or contribute to these basic needs fulfill, at least partially, Jesus’ command to love.

MY PERSONAL APPLICATION: I encourage you to make your own application and please share it in the comments

The most basic needs of people everywhere are the same. My attitudes and actions must not deny my neighbor or even my enemy access to the resources to meet those needs. Regarding basic needs my attitude and actions are to be equally inclusive. One way I can do this is to reevaluate my personal and political philosophies and actions to ensure I am supporting and more importantly, demonstrating love to all in an appropriate way. Wow!! This is an easy thing to say but I’m a work in progress when it comes to doing!

RETURN TO COMMAND

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB