Matthew 5:46 is the forty-sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the third verse of the final antithesis, that on the commandment: "Love thy neighbour as thyself". Jesus here gives another example of why one most love one's enemies.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?The World English Bible translates the passage as:
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 5:46
The basic argument here is that if one only loves those who are close to you, you are no better than the most despised members of society, because they also show love to friends and family. Thus to be truly holy and above the sinful one must go the extra step and not only love friends, but also enemies.
Publican/tax collector is used as an example of a malignant group. These tax collectors were Jews in the employ of the Romans who would collect the Roman imposed taxes from the people. They were viewed both as traitors to the Jewish people and as one of the main supports for the Roman occupation. Tax collectors also tended to extort even more money than was owed out of the people. St. Matthew, the traditional author of the Gospel of Matthew, was said to have been a tax collector before becoming a follower of Jesus. Matthew mentions tax collectors three other times in the gospel, at 9:10, 18:17, and 21:31-32. All the mentions depict them in an unfavourable light. Luke's parallel version of this verse simply has sinners, without stating what type.
This verse again reflects Matthew's interest in rewards, a view some scholars see as one arguing that the main reason to be good is the possible benefits later on.