NOTES for Mat 5:33-48
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: |
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: |
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. |
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. |
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. |
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: |
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. |
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. |
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. |
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. |
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. |
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; |
45 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. |
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? |
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? |
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. |
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Christ's words about love for enemies provoke perhaps more debate and more attempts at interpretation than anything else. Some reject them, defending their right to revenge and hatred of the enemy, while others, on the contrary, respond with the ideology of pacifism and nonresistance. But it seems that in both cases the driving force is the desire to secure oneself, to establish one's own invulnerability before the enemy - either by force or by indifference. The Gospel offers precisely a behavior built not on the pursuit of one's own safety, not on withdrawal into oneself, but on an active response to the offender: "bless, do good, pray..." And the point, it seems, is not pacifism and not the ability to endure pain and bear insults, but a far more difficult art - the ability to love.
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Readings for 9 April 2026
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