43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children 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. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
There. He said it. Be perfect. But did he mean that we can actually be perfect? I’ve tried to discuss this with Mormons who believe we can be perfect but to no avail. They believe since it is right there, then we should actually be perfect.
But let’s look at it in context.
What’s the theme here? It is loving our enemies. Every word and every sentence is about loving our enemies. And considering the word teleos means “whole, complete, mature,” what Jesus is saying is that perfect love is to love our enemies, just as our heavenly Father loves our enemies.
But how can we certain this is the proper interpretation? We look at the parallel passage where Jesus taught this another time as recorded in Luke.
Luke 6:27-36
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
In very similar words, Jesus again teaches this same story. Love your enemies. Do good to them. Then your reward will be great. Then in a parallel final statement, Jesus says to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” This is the parallel to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
As you can see, the paralells and the context make it clear. To be perfect is to show mercy and actually love your enemies. This is contrary to the world that teaches violence against your enemies.
Does this mean no boundaries and no self-defense when one nation invades another? No. What this is talking about is not human governance and international law but in relationships. All of the Sermon on the Mount is about relationships. It is going beyond to show righteous love through generosity, kindness and mercy.