Matthew 7
BolesMatthew 7:1-5
- AGAINST JUDGING OTHERS
1, 2 Judge not, that ye be not judged.—“Judge” carries with it the meaning of “condemn” or harsh, censorious judgment. Jesus here forbids censuring others hastily and uncharitably, for in so doing one invites the severe judgment of others. (Romans 2:1; Romans 14:3-4; Romans 14:10; Romans 14:13; 1 Corinthians 4:3-5; James 4:11-12.) The word “judge” here does not mean “form an opinion,” for everyone must do this of many persons and things; it means that we should not impute wrong motives, put the worst construction on the words and actions of others; the judgment that we pass on others will be passed on us; hence Jesus says, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” We judge ourselves or condemn ourselves by judging others, when we are guilty of the same sin; again we are judged by our fellow men, for we give occasion and invite severe judgment from others when we pass sentence on others; again God will severely judge us if we harshly judge others. As we censure others they will be very apt to censure us; by the rule with which we deal out censure and judgment to others, by that rule others will mete out to us judgment. Our own standard of judging others will be applied to us. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7); “he that diggeth a pit shall fall into it” (Ecclesiastes 10:8).
[The word “judge” means “condemn”—condemn not. Do not cultivate a harsh, bitter, faultfinding spirit that looks on the ill side of persons and actions and that seeks to see evil in others so they can find fault and complain. It is one of the fixed and unchangeable principles of right and justice among men that a man must be judged by the same principles with which he judges others. God so arranges that men will so judge and fix the fate or destiny of each other, paying back each in his own coin, and God will be greatly governed by the same principle. The faultfinding spirit soon runs to the unreasonable and harsh extreme that men with great faith overlook these in finding motes in the walk and character of others .]
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye?—The word in the original from which we get “beholdest” means to stare at from without, as one who does not clearly see; it means to observe with scrutiny. ‘Mote" is a little speck, chaff, or wood; the figure as used by Jesus here means a small particle of dust, chip, or splinter of the same material with the “beam.” A “mote” may be so small that it takes very close staring to see it. Jesus asks why “beholdest” the mote that is in another’s eye, “but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye.” A “beam” is a log, joist, rafter; it indicates a great fault. Jesus shows how morally grostesque the conduct of the faultfinder is; it is implied that the censorious judge or faultfinder is, to the eye of the candid onlooker, himself characterized by some greater fault than the person whose fault he is taking such zest in pointing out. Such a faultfinder has always this greatest of all faults, he is destitute of sympathy and love for the other. What a mote is to one looking on another is to that other himself a beam; the order is reversed in the estimation by each. It is common for us to minimize our own faults and magnify the faults of others; what may seem to be a minor defect of conduct in ourselves becomes a gross fault in others.
4, 5 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye?—How can we have the face to say to the other that he is guilty of a sin, when we are guilty of the same sin in a magnified form? It is an absurdity for one to attempt to criticize another for the same sin of which he is guilty. It is ridiculous for one who has a large beam in his own eye to offer his services to his brother who has a small speck in his eye; he does not realize that he is blind. One cannot cure his neighbor’s faults except in a spirit of humility. (Galatians 6:1.) Victory over evil in ourselves will give us strength to help our brother; if we clear up our own moral vision, we can then see how to help our brother. Jesus calls the one who attempts to correct the mistakes and sins of another, when he has not corrected his own larger mistakes and blunders, a hypocrite. He tells us to correct our own mistakes and then we can help correct others.
The first thing for us to do is to correct our own lives and then encourage others to correct their lives. We should look at the sins of others with undistorted vision because we cannot help them if we do not see properly their faults. One of the causes of judging others harshly is self-conceit again one recognizes the excuses for his own failure, but will not consider the excuses that the other offers. From this teaching of Jesus we have the proverbs: “He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones”; “the pot should not call the kettle black”; “the kiln calls the oven burnt house” and “Satan rebuking sin.”
[No man is permitted by Jesus Christ to hunt motes in his brother’s eye, or faults in his brother’s walk and character, while his own is full of much greater sins; and no man can look upon the character and work of his brother with a censorious, bitter, faultfinding spirit. If he comes to look on his brother’s character or work with a bitter, faultfinding spirit, he should at once be stopped and told to purify his own life. “Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? . . . thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God?” (Romans 2:21-23.)
Matthew 7:6-14
- A CAUTION; PRAYER
THE GOLDEN RULE; THE TWO WAYS
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs.—The meats which were offered on the altar were holy; the holy things prepared for the temple service were to be regarded as holy as they aided men in worshiping God; “whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy” (Exodus 29:37); hence a part of the sacrifice which was placed on the altar was reserved for the priests (Leviticus 2:3), and was regarded among the Jews as peculiarly sacred. This must not be given to “dogs,” but must be used as Jehovah directed. Dogs and swine were regarded as unclean animals; they were regarded as scavengers of the city and were fed refuse and other putrefied things. Neither were they to “cast your pearls before the swine”; to give that which was holy to dogs and to cast their pearls to the swine involved the same principle. The swine could not appreciate the pearl and were just as ferocious as ever; they would “trample them under their feet” and devour the ones who gave pearls to them. Swine could not appreciate the beauty of pearls nor understand their value.
The meaning of this caution is that the disciples of Jesus must learn the true value of sacred things and must not misuse or abuse them by giving them to those who were incapable of appreciating them. The church and all that belongs to it is sacred and must not be used for an unholy purpose; when the truth is presented and people reject it, then one should not waste time with them any longer; some people are so sensual and their hearts so hard that they will not accept the truth and a persistent presentation of it only provokes their anger; so it is best not to press the truth upon this class.
7, 8 Ask, and it shall be given you.—Jesus here uses three words—ask, seek, and knock; these three words imply distinct degrees of intensity. There is the “asking” in the spoken words of prayer, the “seeking” in the efforts and labors which are put forth in carrying out prayer, and the “knocking” at the gate with the urgent importunity which claims admission to the Father’s house. Earnest prayer is encouraged here. These three words forbid any ritualistic or formal prayer. Those who so ask and seek and knock are assured that they will receive, “for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Corresponding to the three words—ask, seek, and knock—are the three words—receiveth, findeth, and shall be opened. The climax is reached by “knocking,” and this implies an importunity that will not be denied; seeking may be anywhere, but we knock at the door of the one from whom we expect to receive.
Prayer must be in faith; God answers prayers in three ways: (1) In the praying itself is an answer as we commune with God; (2) there is the giving of the exact thing for which we as; (3) the prayer is answered in the spirit of our prayer when something else is better than that for which we ask is given. Acceptable prayer must be made in harmony with God’s will; we must ask in faith (James 1:6-7); we must not ask to gratify our own lust (James 4:3); and we must ask according to the will of God (1 John 5:14.)
[God looks with more than an earthly father’s love and care upon those who serve him. He is more willing to bestow good things on those who seek his blessing than the best of earthly fathers are upon their children. He requires that they should ask, seek, knock for the good where it is to be found on the conditions he proposes to give. Jesus not only proposes that he will bestow good on those who ask it, but even beyond what they ask or know bounties and blessings shall be bestowed upon the humble and lowly.]
9-11 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone?—Jesus here appeals to the affection of an earthly parent to emphasize the great truth of God’s willingness to give to those who ask, seek, and knock. No earthly father would mock his child when he asked for bread by giving him “a stone.” The love of sinful men to their children is here contrasted with that of God. There is implied here that God will answer prayer and give that which is better than that for which we ask; since his love is divine and ours human, and since human love prompts us to give that which is best for our children, so God will give that which is best to those of his children who importune him. If a child asks for a fish, the father will give that which will sustain life and not mock him by giving his child a serpent. God is able to do more for us than we can ask or think; his love for us prompts him to do that which he is able to do for us. Jesus here makes his own application and enforces his own conclusion by saying that if imperfect and sinful beings will do that which is best for their children, how much more will a just, merciful, and loving father “give good things to them that ask him?” God gives “good gifts” unto his children; all that God gives is good, and all that is good comes from God. If God does not answer prayer, and if what he gives us in response to our asking is not the best for us, then God is not as good as an earthly parent; if he does answer prayer, and if he does give unto those who ask him that which is best for them, then his goodness becomes the boon of our lives.
12 All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.—This has universally been called “The Golden Rule.” Jesus draws the conclusion as expressed here, not from the preceding paragraph, but from that part of his sermon which precedes this verse. This principle forms the basis of the relationship that God’s people should bear to each other and the world; it expresses a fundamental principle of the kingdom of heaven. It is an expression of God’s wisdom in guiding us; it is positive, not negative; it was coined by him who wrought as well as taught righteousness. Other teachers had expressed this principle in part in a negative way, but it was left to Jesus to express clearly and fully in a positive way such a simple, and yet profound principle.
[The Golden Rule, properly understood, is a rule for settling all difficulties and matters in the church or out of it, if a Christian can have a difficulty not a matter of church discipline. That law does not require us to do what our fleshly impulses and passions would prompt us to desire one would do to us. It means to do to others as we, enlightened by the word of God, desirous of doing his will, would desire them to do to us. This would lead us to do what would promote the spiritual good of the other. Certainly this is what should be done in discipline.]
13, 14 Enter ye in by the narrow gate.—Jesus here presents in a very vivid way the two ways—the narrow way and the broad way. These two ways are brought in contrast by a series of words; narrow is opposed to wide; few, to many; and life, to destruction; the “straitened” way has an entrance of “the narrow gate,” and “few” enter the narrow gate and travel the straitened way and find “life”; while the broad way has a “wide” entrance, “many” enter this broad way and travel to “destruction.” The narrow way is as broad as the love of God can make it; Jesus did not make the way narrow; he only states it is a necessary fact. The narrow road cannot be made wider without lessening the good which is to be gained.
[The way to life is entered through a narrow gate. The pathway to life is hedged and hindered by many difficulties and troubles. It must be walked with care and watchfulness, lest the way be missed and evil befall us. The way of life is a plain and simple way; but there are obstacles and difficulties in man’s tendencies to go his own way that hinder his walking this pathway with safety. The road that leads away from God and downward to ruin is broad, and many go therein. One narrow gate with a straight way leads to life; all other ways, paths, and directions lead to death and ruin; the narrow way is difficult; the others are easy to follow.]
Matthew 7:15-29
- SOLEMN
15 Beware of false prophets.—The first of the solemn warnings that Jesus gives here concerns “false prophets.” He has just presented the “two ways” and has encouraged them to enter the narrow gate and travel the straitened way, and now he tells them ’to beware of those who would mislead them. “Prophets” is derived from the Hebrew word which originally signified to boil over, and it embodies the idea of a fountain bursting forth from the heart of man into which God had poured his ideas or words; a “prophet” in the true sense means one who speaks for God; a “false prophet” is a false speaker or teacher one who claims to speak for God, but God has not put his words into the heart or mouth of the speaker. It may include the Pharisees and religious leaders of that time, but it certainly includes all false teachers. (Matthew 24:11; Matthew 24:24.) Hence, a false prophet is not merely an erroneous teacher, but a lying teacher, one pretending to be inspired, but who does not have the spirit of God; “false prophets” may include any teacher who deliberately deceives others; it does not signify one deceiving himself; and so unconsciously deceiving others. (2 Timothy 2:17-18; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1-3.) These false teaches appear to be gentle and meek, interested in the spiritual welfare of others, but they are like wolves which come in “sheep’s clothing.” The metaphor here is of a wolf putting on the sheep’s skin in order to deceive.
16-20 By their fruits ye shall know them.—Jesus now tells how false teachers may be detectsd; it is “by their fruits.” The question would naturally arise, how can these false teachers be detected? They are disguised in appearance; the answer is, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Jesus here calls to attention the figure of fruit trees; it may be that the trunk, limbs, and foliage of certain trees are very much alike; they may be similar in appearance in many ways, but one definite way of knowing the nature of the tree is by its fruit. The wolf may appear like a sheep; it may for a time act as a sheep, but its nature will be revealed sooner or later. “Fruits” do not necessarily mean the doctrines of false teachers, but the entire moral effect of their teaching. The infallible test of all religious teaching is its practical result in the lives of those who receive it. The hypocrisy of all false teachers will be detected by those who closely watch them. The good fruit of a good life cannot be had from false teachings and bad principles; men do not “gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles.”
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.—This was a matter of common observation; worthless shrubs do not bring forth good fruit; the good tree does bring forth good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. The only way to have good fruit in our lives is to have good hearts and righteous principles to guide our conduct. The fruit of a worthless tree is evil—that is, it is good for nothing. All teachings of a religious nature contrary to the teachings of Jesus produce evil fruit; all the teachings of Jesus will produce good fruit. The truth of God yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. No evil heart can bear good fruit; no good heart can hear evil fruit.
Trees in an orchard which do not bear good fruit are “hewn down, and cast into the fire”; they are worthless and should be destroyed; so they are not to be left to take the place of good trees. The destruction of worthless trees indicates the final destruction of false prophets and all who accept their false teaching. The judgment denounced against false teachers here should be a warning to all. Verse twenty is a repetition of verse sixteen.
21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.—Jesus laid down here the principle in a negative way of entering his kingdom; it is by obedience to the will of God. His warning here is against formal and mere external worship, and includes not only entering the church or kingdom of God on earth, but also of gaining an entrance into the heavenly kingdom; we must do the will of God to enter the church, and we must continue to do the will of God to enter heaven. No mere profession of piety or worship will do; the will of God must be done by all who receive the reward of heaven. Not all who profess Christ repeatedly and loudly by saying “Lord, Lord” shall enter the kingdom of heaven; God’s real spiritual kingdom, where Christ rules in the heart, must be entered by doing God’s will; all who remain as citizens in that kingdom must do his will. False pretenses are of no avail.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.—“That day” is the final day, the day toward which all other days look forward, and in which all time merges—the great judgment day. The warning here is against ignorance of God’s will; people may live deceived, die deceived, and come before God in judgment deceived. This warning has refence to false teachers; we are not to let them deceive us. We have now the complete will of God expressed to us, and there is no excuse for anyone being deceived or being ignorant of the word of God. The repetition, “Lord, Lord,” expresses strong importunity; those who come before God in judgment need not make importunity to God to change his will at the judgment. They will claim that they have prophesied in his name, cast out demons by his name, and done “many mighty works” by the name of Jesus, and plead for mercy on these grounds.
Such will have taught some truth of God and taken their place with the people of God; they seemed to have taken a stand at times against the devil, the archenemy of Jesus, but they did this with the wrong motive; they even will claim that they have done wonderful things or wonderful works by the name of Jesus, but the decision at that time against them will be, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Jesus will say that he did not recognize them as true disciples, for all the time that they were acting Jesus looked into their hearts and saw the wrong motives. As their claim of relationship to Christ is unfounded, he will say “depart from me,” that is, he will banish them from him. (2 Thessalonians 1:9.) They are called workers of “iniquity”; these false teachers and all who do not follow the will of God are lawless, sinful, and workers of iniquity. We are warned here against deceptive dealings with the teachings of Christ and impure motives of heart.
[Jesus had testified that every tree in his vineyard was to be judged according to the fruit it produced; by this he gave to us the true standard of knowing teachers. He now warns against these false prophets and false motives of heart. Doing the things he has commanded is the test and declaration of our faith in God and willingness to obey him. Faith that does not work is dead. The only test of man’s confidence in God is found in his doing what God commands, and doing it because God commands it. A man may do things God commands from other motives than to do God’s will and please him. It is not acceptable service to God unless done to obey and please him.
Here Jesus gives us beforehand a conversation at the last judgment. These people were honest at that day and made the claim that they had served the Lord and had done many works in the name of Jesus. They thought they had really done these things or they never could have made this plea at the judgment seat of God. Yet they were deceiving themselves in reference to this service, and so fatally and fearfully doing it that only the sentence of the Judge, “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity,” would undeceive them. God regards all service to him, save obedience to his commands, as iniquity and sin. Since this is true, many who claim to be his servants and doing wonders in his name will be driven from the presence of God for doing what they imagine good service to him. We cannot be too cautious in doing his commandments and in rejecting from his service everything not commanded by him. “If a man love me, he will keep my word” (John 14:23) is the law of God by which man must be judged.
24, 25 Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them.—Growing out of his solemn warning concerning facing God at the judgment, Jesus now presents a picture of two classes of hearers; he has dealt with, by implication, two classes of teachers—false prophets and true prophets —and now gives warning to the two classes of hearers. The picture is not of two men deliberately selecting foundations upon which to build a house, but it contrasts one who carefully chooses and prepares his foundation with the one who builds carelessly. This is more strongly brought out by Luke (6:48) when he says, “Who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock.” The one who hears the words of Jesus and obeys them is “likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock”; this means those who do the will of God (verse 21) are like the man who carefully prepared the foundation and built his house. The hills of Palestine were subject to heavy rainstorms at certain seasons of the year, and consequently to floods; water rushing down the ravines would soon undermine the foundation, if the house was not built on a rock. If the house is built on the rock, it is safe; so the one who builds his character by hearing and doing what Jesus teaches will stand approved of God in the day of judgment.
26, 27 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not.—The other class of hearers is the one who hears, but does not do what God commands. Both classes are alike in that both hear, but they are different in that one does and the other does not. This class of hearers is likened unto a “foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.” The points of similarity of the two classes are that both hear, build a house, rain descended upon it, floods came, winds blew and beat upon the house. The differences in the two classes are that one does and the other does not; one is wise, the other foolish; the one built upon a rock, the other upon sand; the one stood, the other fell. It is worse than useless to hear and not to do; such hearing only aggravates guilt; the more the hearer knows of his duty, the more guilty is he if he obeys it not; such guilt brings down upon his vainly-founded house the torrents of swift, utter retribution and destruction. This illustration of Jesus makes its own impression. He who hears the words of Jesus, and does them, is safe against all the evil influences of the world, safe forever; he who simply hears, and does not do, is doomed to fail of salvation, and be crushed in utter destruction.
28, 29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words.—Jesus concluded this sermon with the simple, yet beautiful, figure of the two classes of hearers; Matthew now adds his comment. The sermon was delivered to “his disciples” (5:1), but the multitudes were present. Matthew gives no comment as to the effect of this sermon on “his disciples,” but confines his remark to the effect that it had upon “the multitudes.” The crowds were “astonished at his teaching”; the people were astounded, amazed “at his teaching.” The simplicity, the content of the sermon, its profound philosophy of life, and the authority by which Jesus spoke “astonished” “the multitudes.” Jesus did not pose as a hero, but the simple gospel historian recorded the effect that it had upon the people. Jesus’ manner was not dogmatic, dictatorial, nor with an authoritative air which self-conceited, shallow men are accustomed to assume. His innate dignity of surpassing moral power—a bearing of himself as one who consciously came from God, and therefore could not speak with clear, impressive thought—impressed his hearers as they had never been impressed before. “Their scribes” could not speak with the authority of originality; they could only speak as interpreters of the law of Moses; they could quote what others had commented about the law, but they could not go any further. The scribes made it their business simply to state, to explain, and to apply the teachings of the Old Testament, together with the decisions of Jewish tribunals; they could go no further. Jesus has spoken with authority of God; we have a record of the will of God, we dare not go further; his will as recorded in the w Testament has the same authority that Jesus had in speaking it.