In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
- BSB that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- NKJV that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
- NASB so that you may prove yourselves to 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Loving enemies marks us as children of the Father, who sends sun and rain on good and evil alike. It grounds enemy-love in God's own impartial kindness.
Overview
Jesus points to the Father's common grace, His indiscriminate goodness to all, as the pattern for His children. To love only the lovable is unlike God; to love enemies is to bear the family likeness. Those who reflect such love show themselves to be true children of the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 145:9Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.
- Luke 6:35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
- Acts 14:17Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
- Job 25:3Can his armies be counted? On whom does his light not arise?
- Eph 5:1Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
- Matt 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
- John 13:35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- 1 Jn 3:9Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 5:45 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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