⭐WEB · Matthew 5:45
What does Matthew 5:45 mean?
"that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust."
— Matthew 5:45 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Explanation
Matthew 5:45 says that God shows kindness to everyone, regardless of whether they deserve it. He causes the sun to rise on both good and evil people, and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. In plain terms, the basic gifts of life that sustain everyone — sunlight and rain, which in an agricultural society meant the difference between survival and famine — are given without discrimination. God does not withhold these blessings only for those who behave well, nor does he reserve them exclusively for a favored group.
This verse comes from the Sermon on the Mount, part of Jesus's teaching to his disciples and the crowds gathered around him early in his ministry. The immediate context is Jesus's instruction to love one's enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-44), which directly challenged the common assumption of the time that one should love neighbors but hate enemies. Verse 45 provides the reasoning behind this radical command: if you love only those who love you back, Jesus argues, you are doing nothing remarkable — even the most morally compromised people manage that much. Genuine love that mirrors God's character extends further, embracing even hostile people.
Theologically, this verse reveals something essential about God's nature: his generosity is not transactional. He does not ration blessing based on merit. This is sometimes referred to as "common grace" — the idea that God's goodness toward creation extends to all people, not just the faithful. By calling his followers to imitate this quality, Jesus is teaching that being a "child of your Father" means reflecting God's
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