“Be perfect, therefore”
Matthew 5:48
IdiomWell-supportedJesus
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 BSB)
* Greek: teleios, 'complete, whole,' not flawless.
What it sounds like today
A demand for flawlessness, the most discouraging verse in the sermon.
The cultural key
Greek teleios renders the Hebrew idea of tamim (whole, complete, undivided), used of Noah and Abraham, who were hardly flawless. The verse caps the enemy-love passage: as the Father's sun and rain fall on evil and good alike, his love has no gaps. Luke's parallel makes the sense explicit: 'Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.'
Recovered meaning
Not 'never make a mistake' but 'let your love be complete': extending even to enemies, leaving no one outside its reach, the way the Father's does.
Parallels: Luke 6:36