48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

How can this be possible? The modern day quip, “No one is perfect” finds no allowance in this terse statement from the Lord. Is this the proverbial carrot hanging in front of the donkey, dangling from a stick tied to its back—always motivating but never attained?

Peter apparently reflected on this later, “… like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Actually, he was quoting Leviticus 19:2 (which is found in other OT passages as well), so this is not a new idea. Those who follow Christ are called to be like God, perfect and holy! Some sects of Christianity do claim it is possible to reach a state of perfection in this life. The Apostle John, however, undermines that notion: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

Our verse here provides a key to understanding Jesus’ discourse on the mountain. He presented a standard that far exceeds normal, humanly accepted righteousness. To the Jews the standard was the outward, superficial teaching and behavior of the Pharisees and the scribes (see Matt 5:20). Religious people today, likewise, tend to create or accept religious standards that, while seemingly difficult, are well within reach of human endeavor—things like giving to the poor, attending church, etc.

Jesus calls us to begin our return to God with repentance, precisely because God’s standard, when understood as Jesus interprets it, proves us to be sinners. None of us meets the perfect requirements as measured against God Himself, namely perfect holiness. Rather than acknowledging spiritual failure, humans tend to substitute a lower standard that allows them to claim a righteousness of their own, more attuned to human pride than to humility.

The word “perfect” translates the Greek word “teleios” which can also be rendered “genuine, complete or mature.” Jesus calls His disciples to return to God’s original design. He made us in His image, to walk in His ways, under His leadership. We are called to fulfill our true humanity, to be like God. In other words, we are to aim for perfection!

Lord, I find my true identity in the realization that I was created in Your image. My greatest desire is to return to that ancient, yet future calling, namely, to walk in Your ways.