Very often when we read the words of Jesus we are confronted with truths, revelations or even demands that seem extreme, strange and, often, impossible. The last verse of Matthew is once such statement of the Lord that seems to fly in the face of common Christian religious thought. While our mindset is that no one is, or can be, perfect on this earth; He states, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:48
How are we to understand this? Are we really being called by Jesus to live absolutely sinless lives and in every way be as perfect as God is perfect? How could He demand such a thing from us? In my opinion, the real meaning of this instruction is much deeper and almost as difficult and extreme as the above... Allow me to present how I understand it at this time based off of its context and, of course, the language and thought pattern behind the words.
To begin with, we cannot always expect that the English word that is used as a translation from the original language is to be understood only as it is understood in our modern thought and language. You will see what I mean shortly. Before we look deeper into the language, let's just read this statement in the context it is presented. The words spoken before the 48th verse of Matthew chapter 5 were very clear in their purpose. Jesus was instructing His disciples in what ways they should seek to be like God the Father. "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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; 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." - Matthew 5:43-45
I believe that Jesus' statement that His disciples to be perfect was to be understood in this way and in this context: In these ways therefore be "perfect." In other words, the instruction to "be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" was a summary of His teachings about truly showing love to others as God shows to His creations: giving grace, loving, giving life and good things both to those who are good and to the ones who say things against Him and "spit in His face."
The above is what I believe is clearly the contextual meaning of what Jesus was saying. But why did He use the word "perfect?" Well, in the Greek of the New Testament, the word "perfect" is "teleios" and could better be translated as "complete, of full age." This word directly ties into the Hebrew word "tammim," which means "whole, complete, perfect, full." This Hebrew word is present in the following which was asked of Abraham: "...I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." - Genesis 17:1b
Jesus' statement on this topic of "perfection" was most likely said with this verse in mind. In Jewish thought, the patriarch Abraham's character was seen as the epitome of kindness, hospitality and love, and this character is exactly what Jesus was calling His disciples towards. In fact, according to Jewish teachings, Abraham was said to have manifested God's attribute of kindness in the world through his life and actions.
Here are three points to summarize what we have been investigating:
Jesus asks us to be "perfect." This Greek word in its full meaning is better understood as "complete, of full age" and corresponds to the Hebrew word that entails being "whole, complete, perfect, full."
In context, I don't believe Jesus is asking for perfect sinlessness but rather that we be mature in our virtue and choose to love others and treat them with lovingkindness and understanding whether or not they deserve it, just like God does, instead of acting immaturely and giving equivalent retaliation that is based off of others' actions.
The one who was specifically commanded to be "perfect" in the Old Testament was our father Abraham. He's the father of those who are of faith in the Messiah (according to Paul in Romans and Galatians) which are also those who are called to act out God's attribute of kindness with Him to all of His creations!
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” – Proverbs 8:11
All Bible Verses are from the KJV Unless Otherwise Noted
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