In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has covered the ‘who’ citizens of the kingdom are, then in the next three verses He told them ‘what’ they should be to the world around them, salt and light. He then challenged the dead religion of outward acts by taking everything back to the heart. He started with what the law says about sin, then he dealt with outward acts of righteousness and dealing with earthly possessions and wealth. In all aspects he draws the attention back to the heart. In this section of Jesus’ sermon, he teaches how we are to interact with one another.
The Golden rule is well known, you probably learned it as a young child either from your parents, at school, or maybe even from Saturday morning cartoons. Many major religions from around the world have recognized some form of the golden rule as a necessary ethic. Many religious leaders in history including Confucius laid down the rule as a negative. He said “Do nothing to your neighbor which afterward you would not have your neighbor do to you.”
The Bible presents it as a positive. The earliest mention of “the golden rule” in the bible is found in the Old Testament. In Leviticus 19:18 God tells Moses “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord”. It was part of the Mosaic Law handed down by God.
Matthew 7:12- In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Jesus summarizes the Old Testament commandments and this section of the Sermon on the Mount with His version of the golden rule. Jesus also presents it as a positive. It’s not just a matter of not doing what you don’t want done to you, but rather doing to others what you would want done to you.
DO NOT JUDGE
Matthew 7:1 is one of the most well known and most often quoted verses in the bible. It seems even those who rarely consider the scriptures know this verse.
Matthew 7:1-2- Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
However, we must consider the rest of the passage. Jesus is giving a wonderful, concise message on how to live with one another. He says not to be judgmental with one another. His warning is that we will be held to the same standard. In other words, if you’re a harsh, condemning person, you should expect others to treat you with the same harsh condemning spirit. It’s a similar principle to the beatitude of mercy He taught at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The blessing to a merciful person, is that they will receive mercy in return (Matt. 5:7). What Jesus is saying is the inverse of the same principle.
Matthew 7:3-4- Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do you not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your bother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold the log is in your own eye?
Jesus points out why we shouldn’t be judgmental. After pointing out that the same measure of judgment will return to us, He also points out that we all have our own problems. In fact, we should view our own sins as greater than our neighbor’s sins. Jesus uses the imagery of comparing your own sin issues as a “log” compared to the “speck” that is your neighbor’s sins.
Does this mean we can never form an opinion about the actions of another and express that opinion? Does it mean we must accept and condone every action we see by someone else?
WHEN TO JUDGE
Jesus shifts gears in the next verse and indicates when it is right to judge.
Matthew 7:5- You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brothers eye.
If you stopped reading after verse 4 you would come away with the idea that it is never appropriate to discuss someone else’s sin other than your own.
Who is the hypocrite Jesus is referring to? Remember that Jesus commonly refers to the Pharisees and scribes as hypocrites. The major issue Jesus has with them is their self righteousness. The Pharisees were practicing their religion for selfish gain. Jesus uses the same word to describe the person enacting judgment on another.
Jesus tells them to “remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” So what does that mean in practice? It means you would approach your brother without self righteousness and with a pure heart. You would have only one agenda, to help them out of their sin because of how much you love them. Jesus also points out that this type of confrontation is reserved for “brothers”.
Matthew 7:6- Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you apart.
Jesus is continuing the thought from the previous passage. What is “holy” in this context is the correction of the sin that you’re bringing to your brother. A “brother” is a fellow believer or follower of God. For anyone living in open rebellion to God and His Word, Jesus says not to give what is Holy to the dogs or a pearl to swine.
Keep in mind, Jesus is preaching to a Jewish audience. Dogs were not cute pets like we think of them, they were street scavengers and held in low regard. Pigs were considered unclean. Jesus is encouraging us not to give our judgment (which is of great value) to those who are unable to see it’s value because they do not value the Word on which it’s based. Not only will they reject it, they will destroy the message and the messenger. Therefore, endeavoring to correct a non- believer’s sin is a losing proposition. They need to hear about the Savior who died for that sin!
THE FATHERS HELP
This all seems difficult to navigate. How do we know for sure who a brother is vs a dog/swine? How can we know for sure that we’re confronting a brother’s sin without any self righteousness? Jesus offers help.
Matthew 7:7-8- Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Jesus gives an invitation to ask for help. In the context of this passage he’s offering help specifically with wisdom and understanding in dealing with other people and obeying the commands we’re looking at here. But I believe it’s also safe to say that this would apply to any spiritual wisdom in any area of our lives.
In Matthew 7:9-11 Jesus reminds them that God loves them perfectly and He is eager in His goodness to grant you the help that you need in obeying Him! He says …how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask HIM!
ASK/SEEK/KNOCK
Jesus says in three different ways to pursue God’s will in living this out. He says to ask, to seek, and to knock. I like to think of it this way. We can ask by praying for the Lord to help. We can seek by carefully studying God’s Word. And We can knock by persistently pursuing God’s will. In doing so, He promises to grant to us ‘what is good’!
CONCLUSION
That brings us back to Matthew 7:12, The golden rule. Jesus wraps up this section about how to interact with one another and the difficulty that lies in his commands with an invitation to ask for help and He gives an all encompassing summary: In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12). May we honor God with how we treat one another.