28 Feb 26 | Love Without Boundaries
Jesus calls His disciples beyond reciprocal love into the radical imitation of the Father’s indiscriminate mercy.
The Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Today’s Focus
At the climax of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expands the command to love beyond covenant boundaries and calls His disciples to imitate the Father’s indiscriminate mercy. Enemy-love is not emotional softness but covenantal, volitional goodwill that reflects divine character. To be “perfect” is to be whole — to possess a heart undivided in love, extending generosity even to those who oppose us. The righteousness that surpasses external observance is revealed in how we treat the undeserving.
In the Margins
This passage is the climactic sixth antithesis. It concludes a sequence in which Jesus intensifies the Law, moving followers from external compliance to interior transformation (anger, lust, oaths, retaliation). The formula “You have heard… but I say to you…” signals not abolition, but authoritative reinterpretation. Here Jesus addresses Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The phrase “hate your enemy” does not appear explicitly in the Torah. However, in Second Temple Jewish interpretation, “neighbor” was often understood within covenant boundaries, which would reason to mean a fellow Israelite. Some sectarian groups explicitly spoke of loving the “sons of light” and hating the “sons of darkness.” Thus, Jesus is not correcting Scripture, but expanding its scope.
The Gospel uses agapaō, a Greek verb that is connected with covenantal, volitional love. This is not mere emotional affection, but deliberate goodness expressed through action. In first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, reciprocal love was expected. Loyalty was extended to kin, allies, and benefactors. Jesus’ command disrupts the honor/shame system of the Mediterranean world. He does this by calling on people to love enemies and pray for them. It moves the justice handling into God’s hands and focuses on reshaping the heart of the one praying.
Jesus grounds this command in filial identity: to be “children of the Father” is to reflect His character. In Jewish thought, being a “son of” was to reflect its character. To be “children of God” would be to reflect the values and character of God. Jesus is calling on all of us to work on our hearts and let the Father in heaven exercise authority.
This should not be confused as meaning there should be no laws or justice. Jesus is focused on feelings of the heart, not telling people to let criminals roam free. His examples concern social and moral outsiders, tax collectors and pagans, not criminals in a courtroom. His point is that if disciples only love those who love them, they are indistinguishable from those outside covenant fidelity.
Finally, Jesus seemingly sets a bar that none of us can achieve – to be perfect. The Greek word teleios does not primarily mean flawless perfection in the modern sense, which is a major relief! Instead, as it is used, carries a meaning of complete, whole, mature or fully developed. In the language of covenant, it is connecting to integrity and undivided loyalty to the heavenly Father through a wholeness of love that mirrors the complete love God has for each of us.
Jesus sets a high standard in His sermon on the mount. He calls for us to focus on our hearts, shaping us from the inside out. He does this while giving us a roadmap for how to do it. A roadmap that has lasted thousands of years and applies to how we live our everyday lives. Our identity is revealed in how we treat the undeserving, or how we treat those who have wronged us. We cannot allow the negative actions of others to corrupt the love we have for God and the love He calls us to have for each other.
Reflection Question
Where in my life am I limiting love only to those who treat me well?
A Small Invitation
If this reflection helped you, consider sharing it with someone who may be carrying more than they were meant to.