Taking Jesus at His Word: What Jesus Really Said in the Sermon on the Mount

by Addison Hodges Hart

Again, let us recall what Jesus says we see the Father doing: “He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.… You, therefore, must be perfect [in your love], as your heavenly Father is [in his]” (5:45, 48). In biblical thinking, forgiveness, like love, is not a feeling but an action. It is a mark of impartiality, and of refusing to allow our feelings or passions to bully us into straying from the way of righteousness. It is one aspect of doing good, and it means — quite simply — “to let go” of something. In this case, it means to let go of any intention of retaliation, of getting even, or of getting back what one thinks one is owed by another. It is letting go of anger, not letting it dominate one’s heart and behavior. Even if one has sustained grave hurt from another, even abuse or injury to one’s self or someone else whom one loves, the right thing to do is seek to let go of seeking vengeance.