God sends rain on the just and the unjust

[Humble_Pie]

Hello everyone.

I’m a long time lurker, first time poster.

I’d like to start off by thanking each and every one of you. I’ve been reading these threads for over a year now, and suffice to say I’ve learned more about my faith in the past year from reading what you people have to say than an entire lifetime spent in the Church. I was born and raised Catholic, but spent the past 15 years or so thinking I was too smart for the Church. Needless to say, my love for Christ’s Church has recently been reignited, thanks in no small part to what I’ve learned here. Some of you (NotWorthy comes to mind) have a staggering knowledge of the Church and I ALWAYS look forward to your comments.

Here’s my question.

Matthew 5:45 is where we find the famous line “God sends rain on the just and the unjust” (I apologize for the paraphrasing). While I’ve always assumed this basically meant that everyone has to suffer, I recently ran into a commentary here:

rodsgarden.50megs.com/godsrain.htm

In a nutshell, the author of this website claims that since this text was written to farmers in an area of little rainfall, the passage is talking about blessings, rather than suffering.

Does anyone here have any experience with this exegesis?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Spencerian]

Hello everyone.

I’m a long time lurker, first time poster.

I’d like to start off by thanking each and every one of you. I’ve been reading these threads for over a year now, and suffice to say I’ve learned more about my faith in the past year from reading what you people have to say than an entire lifetime spent in the Church. I was born and raised Catholic, but spent the past 15 years or so thinking I was too smart for the Church. Needless to say, my love for Christ’s Church has recently been reignited, thanks in no small part to what I’ve learned here. Some of you (NotWorthy comes to mind) have a staggering knowledge of the Church and I ALWAYS look forward to your comments.

Here’s my question.

Matthew 5:45 is where we find the famous line “God sends rain on the just and the unjust” (I apologize for the paraphrasing). While I’ve always assumed this basically meant that everyone has to suffer, I recently ran into a commentary here:

rodsgarden.50megs.com/godsrain.htm

In a nutshell, the author of this website claims that since this text was written to farmers in an area of little rainfall, the passage is talking about blessings, rather than suffering.

Does anyone here have any experience with this exegesis?

Thanks in advance.

Hi. I’ll toss in my interpretation based on the New American Bible online from the USCCB.

Showing the entirety of verses of Christ’s words will help better here:

**43 **"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
**44 **But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
**45 **that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

The NAB interpretation here emphasizes that, in the Old Testament, hatred of one’s enemy wasn’t specifically indicated but generally assumed as opposite of loving a neighbor. Christ turns that on his ear in his teachings, for He notes that the Father does not pick sides and will treat the good and wicked with equality in earthly matters, as we should also now:
*
[43-48] See Lev 19:18. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy, but the “neighbor” of the love commandment was understood as one’s fellow countryman. Both in the Old Testament (Psalm 139:19-22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy and the persecutor. His disciples, as children of God, must imitate the example of their Father, who grants his gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad.*

 

[Garyjohn2]

I think he is referring to blessings. Nowadays, rain is considered a bad thing, or a nusciance. Back then (and in some areas now) it’s a very good thing to have rain.

 

[Della]

Perhaps that’s been a Catholic way of viewing this passage due to the fact that Catholics believe in bearing all things equally from God, the bad as well as the good, while Protestants tend to think of the bad, such as loss of a job or the death of a loved one as strictly bad things to be warded off by faith. But Jesus’ meaning was as Spencerian cited–that God loves the sinner just as much as the saint. Paul echoes this by saying the Gentiles have no excuse before God even though they did not have the revelations given to the Hebrew prophets since they have the witness of nature to tell them the truth. They can’t say God wasn’t fair to them, and no one now can say God favors one person over another due to place of birth or upbringing or any other happenstance of life.

 

[rwoehmke]

I think he is referring to blessings. Nowadays, rain is considered a bad thing, or a nuisance. Back then (and in some areas now) it’s a very good thing to have rain.

Being a farm kid, this is how I have always understood this. God does not withhold good things on this earth just because someone is not perfect. He is generous.

 

[Humble_Pie]

Thank you, everyone. This has been most enlightening.

 

[MysticMissMisty]

(First of all, please forgive me if this is too “old” a post to revive, but I was also wondering about this passage recently, search for it, and found this, so I figured I’d try and respond instead of drudging up a whole new thread. Please let me know if it is too old and I might go ahead and start a enw thread.)

Surely, GOd’s causing the sun to shine on just and unjust may be interpreted as a good thing, but, what about the rain? Did Christ here intend the “rain” also to represent a positive or the opposite (negative) side of things? The context would seem to suggest a positive intepretation for both “sun” and “rain” here and also the Hebrew tendency to use parallel constructions.

So, what does everyone think is the meaning ofthe word “rain” here? Specifically, is it positive or negative? As a follow-up question, why do you interpret it in the way you do?

 

[BartholomewB]

This thread has reminded me of a very old joke.

The rain it raineth every day
Upon the just and unjust fella
But more upon the just, because
The unjust hath the just’s umbrella.

 

[DeckerdS]

I think they are both positive since Jesus was teaching love and prayer for your enemy. But in love is also all the things that God gives to all. Among these are true justice.

 

[clem456]

Hello everyone.

I’m a long time lurker, first time poster.

I’d like to start off by thanking each and every one of you. I’ve been reading these threads for over a year now, and suffice to say I’ve learned more about my faith in the past year from reading what you people have to say than an entire lifetime spent in the Church. I was born and raised Catholic, but spent the past 15 years or so thinking I was too smart for the Church. Needless to say, my love for Christ’s Church has recently been reignited, thanks in no small part to what I’ve learned here. Some of you (NotWorthy comes to mind) have a staggering knowledge of the Church and I ALWAYS look forward to your comments.

Here’s my question.

Matthew 5:45 is where we find the famous line “God sends rain on the just and the unjust” (I apologize for the paraphrasing). While I’ve always assumed this basically meant that everyone has to suffer, I recently ran into a commentary here:

rodsgarden.50megs.com/godsrain.htm

In a nutshell, the author of this website claims that since this text was written to farmers in an area of little rainfall, the passage is talking about blessings, rather than suffering.

Does anyone here have any experience with this exegesis?

Thanks in advance.

Context is everything in Scripture. Here is the immediate context:

38“You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ 39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

  43“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47“If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.