HOW THEY ARE TO JUDGE AMONG THEMSELVES AND VIEW OUTSIDERS (7:1-6). Jesus now comes to the question of judgment made about others, and especially how it should be conducted under the Kingly Rule of Heaven. The question of judgment among God's people was always a central issue when new beginnings were... [ Continue Reading ]
Do not judge, in order that you are not judged, For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, And with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Clearly the first question here is as to what Jesus means by ‘judging'. The term has a wide meaning moving from ‘assessing' on the o... [ Continue Reading ]
And why do you behold the splinter (or ‘speck of sawdust') that is in your brother's eye, But do not consider the plank that is in your own eye? Jesus had a full understanding of the weaknesses of men. Elsewhere He says quite blatantly to His disciples, “If you then, being evil ---” (Matthew 7:11;... [ Continue Reading ]
Or how will you say to your brother, Let me cast out the splinter from your eye, And lo, the plank is in your own eye? So He asks them to consider the folly of the person who with a great plank sticking out of his eye goes up to his brother and offers to remove the splinter from his eye. The pictur... [ Continue Reading ]
You hypocrite, cast out first the plank out of your own eye, And then you will see clearly to cast out the splinter from your brother's eye. So the first thing that someone who would help another should do is to undergo a strict examination of himself, otherwise he is simply a hypocrite. (For a sin... [ Continue Reading ]
A Do not give what is holy to the dogs, B Nor cast your pearls before the swine, B Lest the result is that they trample them under their feet, A And turn and rend you. These words close down with a firm warning the major chiasmus commencing at Matthew 6:1, the sub-section chiasmus commencing at M... [ Continue Reading ]
A Ask, and it will be given to you, B Seek, and you will find, C Knock, and it will be opened to you. As we have seen these words connect back to their dealings with ‘what is holy' (Matthew 7:6). While His disciples are not to degrade what is holy by offering it to those not ready to receive it,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEANS BY WHICH THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS WILL BE FULFILLED IN THE COMING OF THE MESSIANIC AGE THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE (7:7-12). Having outlined in some depths the Messianic interpretation of the Law and some of the ‘holy teachings' connected with it, Jesus now explains to His disciples... [ Continue Reading ]
A For every one who asks receives, B And he who seeks finds, C And to him who knocks it will be opened. And as they persevere in prayer for the coming of His Kingly Rule and the power of His Holy Spirit, along with all His other precious gifts, they will ask and will receive, they will seek and fi... [ Continue Reading ]
Or what man is there of you, Who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, Will give him a stone; Or if he will ask for a fish, Will give him a serpent? He then gives them examples in order to strengthen their faith and confidence in their Father. God is their heavenly Father, so let them first cons... [ Continue Reading ]
If you then, being evil, Know how to give good gifts to your children, How much more will your Father who is in heaven, Give good things to those who ask him? And thus they are to recognise that if they, with all their imperfections, can behave so faithfully towards their sons, how much more cert... [ Continue Reading ]
All things therefore whatever you would that men should do to you, Even so do you also to them, For this is the law and the prophets. ‘Therefore.' This connecting word makes clear the connection of this verse, both with the previous verses, and with the whole of the central part of the Sermon com... [ Continue Reading ]
EXHORTATION TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT WAY AND PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT BY FULL OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORDS SO AS TO ENTER INTO LIFE AND AVOID DESTRUCTION (7:13-27). We now move on to the application part of the Sermon, and we soon find that it is applied with a punch. For from here to Matthew 7:27, in contrast with... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TWO WAYS (7:13-14). Jesus commences His closing exhortation by setting before them a choice as to which way they will take in the future. His words reveal that He is very much aware that among the group of disciples are some whose commitment is not genuine (compare John 6:66) for He knows men's... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WARNING AGAINST FALSE PROPHETS (7:15). In Matthew 5:10 the disciples were seen as prophetic men, and on that basis Jesus expected them to be persecuted for His Name's sake. But wherever there are such prophetic men, false prophets will also arise making even greater claims and seeking to muscle... [ Continue Reading ]
a Beware of false prophets, b Who come to you in sheep's clothing, b But inwardly they are ravening wolves. a By their fruits you will know them. ‘Beware of false prophets.' The false prophets come ‘as though in sheep's clothing'. That is, they somehow linked themselves with the Name of Jesus and... [ Continue Reading ]
a Do men gather grapes of thorns, a Or figs of thistles? b Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit, c But the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. d A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, c Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. b Every tree which does not bring forth... [ Continue Reading ]
Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, Will enter into the Kingly Rule of Heaven, But he who does the will of my Father, Who is in heaven. Note how this echoes the Lord's Prayer. ‘Hallowed be Your Name (Lord, Lord), Your Kingly Rule come (will enter into the Kingly Rule of Heaven), your will... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SAY ‘LORD, LORD'. THE TEST OF MEN IS FOUND IN DOING THE WILL OF GOD (7:21-23). Jesus now widens His words to include all who profess to be disciples. He declares that a man may be totally orthodox in what he says, but that that is not enough. The true test of whether a man is ac... [ Continue Reading ]
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, Did we not prophesy by your name, And by your name cast out demons, And by your name do many mighty works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you, Depart from me, you who work iniquity. And then with remarkable suddenness Jesus brings them... [ Continue Reading ]
“Every one therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them,” The emphasis here is on the fact that they have heard His words _and done them_ It is not enough to hear, and to approve, and to ‘believe'. All these are good but they must end in action. His orders are there to be carried out. I... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TWO DESTINIES (7:24-27). Having given His firm warning Jesus now returns to the idea of the two choices which are open before them, but this time in terms of two houses built on two ‘foundations'. Yet it is not the foundations that the emphasis is on but the destinies. All must now decide how t... [ Continue Reading ]
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, And the winds blew, and beat on (‘fell on') that house,” Being on a sound foundation was no guarantee that trials and tribulations would not come, for come they would (Matthew 5:11). Everything would be thrown at them, _apart from the smiting of God_... [ Continue Reading ]
“And every one who hears these words of mine, And does not do them,” In contrast are not those who do not hear His words, but those who do hear them but do not do them. The words are firmly addressed to would be disciples. There is no sadder picture that these people who hear the words of life, ta... [ Continue Reading ]
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, And the winds blew, and smote on that house,” But then he had to face the same problems as the wise man's house, the rain and the floods and the storm. But there was also one more thing that he had to face, and that was God's smiting. The distinction i... [ Continue Reading ]
CLOSING SUMMARY (7:28-29). ‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.' Matthew now ends Jesus' words with a summary which is very similar to the summaries in Matthew 1... [ Continue Reading ]