Matthew 5:48 Jesus said,
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
(speaking about the fulfilling of the will of God which is reflected in the law. And how that fulfilling has to surpass even that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.)
Do not murder, be reconciled with your enemies for God loves the whole world.
Do not commit adultery, and whatever causes you to sin, cut it off, because God loves the sinner.
Do not dishonor your marriage in divorce, except for reasons of sexual immorality, because God blessed the marriage covenant.
Do not bear false witness. No more lies, always do the honorable thing and keep your oaths, because God knows the heart.
Do not return evil for evil, give mercy where others choose force, because God has shown you mercy.
And finally,
Love your neighbors and your enemies, pray for your persecutors, because God has forgiven you.
Jesus contrasts the righteousness of the Pharisees and Rabbinic leaders with the righteousness of God. The perfection is obvious. God is always just in his judgments, for all people have sinned and missed the mark, but God repents of his anger and chooses mercy and grace. If God destroyed all humanity he'd be justified in that choice. We deserve his wrath. We deserve nothing but separation from Him. And yet in all his righteousness he goes even beyond into extraordinary love. He forgives the entire wicked history of mankind for the sake of the ones he has chosen for his Son's kingdom.
The principle of love stands behind all of Jesus' statements and he has that authority because he fulfilled the law of love in his life and his perfect sacrifice. Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, showed that God requires obedience (submission) from the heart. How? Because that's what he told us when he told us to be perfect. Perfect submission. Perfect love. The entire law, summed up in that command to love perfectly.
And he has chosen you for this perfecting.
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you..." (John 15:16)
"you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..." (1 Peter 2:9)
"he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love." (Ephesians 1:3-4)
"To this he has chose you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:14)
Therefore...
Matthew 5:48 Jesus said,
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Jesus said, "wisdom is proved right by her deeds."
He was comparing the faithful prophetic people to children playing in a marketplace. They run and jump, sing and dance, they call out to others, and they are rejected by the elders. No matter what they try they're told to be quiet, go away, stop fooling around, leave the adults alone. SILENCE! Or we'll silence you.
He came down to their towns. He came into their synagogues. He spoke in their temple. He performed miracles for them. He called out to them with gospel wisdom. And they rejected him because they were not willing to accept him. And so their rejection by God is justified. They made their choice.
And as that wicked generation tried to shut him up, Jesus said, "no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
There it is...perfection explained.
"no one knows the Father except the Son"
No one, that's you and me. Except Jesus who knows God perfectly.
"Come to me..."
He chose you who have ears to hear. He chose you who did not reject him. He chose you to be his royal family. And HIS perfection makes YOU perfect.
It's kind of like this:
We're said to be running the race of sanctification. People say it's a process, maybe a life long race. And so here we all are, most of us pacing ourselves, maybe running in someone's draft. Some are out front leading the way, and others lagging behind winded. But we're all running together and none are perfected yet. We haven't finished yet. But we're all running away from sin and racing towards the finish line.
And we're already perfect.
(Shocked look 👀)
We're what?
Perfect.
How?
Jesus sprinted ahead...he finished the race. You were perfected in Him. And he chose us all who hear him for his team. And now he's there at the finish line calling to us,
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
It's that easy. The Son chooses who he perfects. He chose you. He called you. You heard him. You can't hear him if he didn't make it possible for you to hear him. His Spirit is in you as you continue to run through the world. He's showing you, reminding you about the way. And The Lord is there waiting for you to cross over where you'll receive perfect "rest for your souls".
Perfect because he said, "I am the Lord who makes you holy." (Leviticus 20:7-8)