That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
ye.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
for.
Job 25:3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Acts 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
This part of the verse illustrates God's impartiality and common grace. The sun rising is a daily occurrence that benefits all people, regardless of their moral standing. In the historical and cultural context of the time, the sun was essential for agriculture, health, and daily life, making it a powerful symbol of God's provision. This reflects the idea that God's blessings are not limited to the righteous but are extended to all humanity, demonstrating His love and mercy. This concept is echoed in Acts 14:17, where Paul speaks of God providing rain and fruitful seasons as a witness to His goodness.
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Rain, like the sun, was crucial for survival in the agrarian society of ancient Israel. It symbolizes God's provision and sustenance. The geographical context of Israel, with its reliance on seasonal rains for crops, underscores the importance of this blessing. By sending rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous, God shows His fairness and generosity. This challenges the common belief of the time that prosperity was a direct result of personal righteousness. Theologically, this reflects the idea of God's common grace, which is available to all people, as seen in passages like Psalm 145:9, which declares that the Lord is good to all and has compassion on all He has made.
• Jesus has just commanded, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The goal is family resemblance—living so that others recognize the Father’s character in us.
• Scripture consistently ties sonship to reflecting God’s ways:
– “But to all who received Him… He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
– “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
– “Be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1).
• When believers respond to hostility with kindness, we demonstrate literal membership in God’s household, proving that our new birth (1 John 3:1) is real and practical.
• Every sunrise is an intentional act of the Creator: “He sets the sun to govern the day” (Genesis 1:16).
• God doesn’t ration daylight according to moral merit. Criminals and saints alike begin each morning bathed in the same warmth.
• This daily generosity is part of what theologians call common grace—God’s kindness that sustains a fallen world (Acts 14:17: “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons”).
• By pointing to the sun, Jesus reminds us we are to reflect that same impartial benevolence, shining whether or not the recipient deserves it (Philippians 2:15).
• In an agrarian society, rain meant life. Deuteronomy 11:14 promises the obedient Israel, “I will send rain for your land in its season,” yet here Jesus notes that even the rebellious receive it.
• Job 5:10 praises God “who gives rain upon the earth and sends water upon the fields.” The Lord does not cancel needed showers because farmers dismiss Him.
• Isaiah 55:10-11 links rain with God’s purposeful word; both “accomplish what I please.” When we bless antagonists, our actions echo that divine purpose, watering dry hearts with tangible love.
• James 5:7 urges believers to “be patient… see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil,” underscoring that faith-filled kindness, like rainfall, eventually bears fruit.
Matthew 5:45 teaches that God’s children mirror their Father’s indiscriminate kindness. Just as He daily grants sunlight and rain to saints and sinners alike, we are called to extend love beyond our comfort zone. Doing so confirms our identity, showcases God’s common grace, and becomes a living testimony that the gospel is both true and transformative.
(45) That ye may be.--Literally, and with far fuller meaning, that ye may become. We cannot become like God in power or wisdom. The attempt at that likeness to the Godhead was the cause of man's fall, and leads evermore to a like issue; but we cannot err in striving to be like Him in His love. (Comp. St. Paul's "followers [or, more literally, imitators"] of God" in Ephesians 5:1.) And the love which we are to reproduce is not primarily that of which the children of the kingdom are the direct objects, showing itself in pardon, and adoption, and spiritual blessings, but the beneficence which is seen in Nature. Our Lord assumes that sunshine, and rain, and fruitful seasons are His Father's gifts, and proofs (whatever may be urged to the contrary) of His loving purpose. Here, again, the teaching of the higher Stoics presents an almost verbal parallel: "If thou wouldst imitate the gods, do good even to the unthankful, for the sun rises even on the wicked, and the seas are open to pirates" (Seneca, De Benefic. iv. 2, 6).Verse 45. - Parallel passage: Luke 6:35, which is more full, but hardly so original in form. That ye may be the children (ὅπως γένησθε υἱοί); sons (Revised Version); cf. ver. 9, note. The meaning of the clause is not certain. It may be:(1) Love to enemies is the means whereby you may become possessed of the full privileges involved in the nature of sons. These privileges are more than the mere participation in Messianic glory (Meyer), and are rather all the blessings present and future which belong to sonship.
(2) Love, in order that on each occasion you may become in fact (almost our "show yourselves") sons of your Father, sons corresponding in ethical conduct to your position already received. Your Father. Not "the Father" (cf. ver. 16, note). Which is in heaven: for ὅτι The privileges generally, or the resemblance on each occasion, can only be obtained by behaviour similar to his, namely, kind treatment of those who injure you; for this is what he himself shows. He maketh his sun to rise (ἀνατέλλει). If we may lay stress on the Greek, our Lord expresses the popular notion of the sun ascending. It must, however, be remembered that the word he himself probably used was זרח in hiph. (, Peshito), which contains no thought of motion, but rather of appearance. Sun... rain. The two great sources of maintenance. On the evil and on the good... on the just and on the unjust. The first pair connotes, as it seems, the extreme of evil (Matthew 6:13, note) and good, in each case manifesting itself according to its opportunities; the second, the life and character as tried by the standard, especially the human standard, of just dealing. Notice how, by chiasm, the emphasis is laid on the ungodly alike at the beginning and at the end. Our Lord here brings out God's active love as seen in nature, nourishing and maintaining men, irrespective of the qualities of individuals and of their treatment of him and his laws. The thought is found elsewhere, e.g. in Seneca (vide Meyer), "Si deos imitaris, da et ingratis benelicia; ham et sceleratis sol oritur, et piratis patent maria" (cf. Bishop Lightfoot, on 'Philippians' ["St. Paul and Seneca," p. 281], for a collection of parallels to the sermon on the mount).
Parallel Commentaries ...