Matthew 7:1-12

On Monday, I posted about the difficulties in reading Matthew 7 as a whole. Far easier to read a paragraph in isolation; hard to
articulate what the chapter as a whole is about and how each paragraph contributes to that.

Yesterday, I had a go at trying to articulate the structure and overall message of Matthew 7:13-27.

Today, I intend to do the same for Matthew 7:1-12.

Again, there are 4 paragraphs to this section.

• 7:1-5 - Logs and specks
• 7:6 - Pearls and pigs
• 7:7-11 - Stones and snakes
• 7:12 - What would you like me to do to you?

Before trying to work out how they function together, let's be clear what each one is saying:

Matthew 7:1-5 - Logs and specks

Jesus warns against being judgemental. He's not saying we should never criticise someone else, or that we should never make judgements about other people - verse 6 rules that out, along with quite a few things Jesus says in Matthew 5-7 and elsewhere. Rather, we should not be hypocritical (applying a fine standard to other people's failings, whilst cutting ourselves great slack), and judgemental (looking to pull others down by finding fault with them). The right approach is to be a true brother or sister. First deal with our own faults, and then use our new-found sight to help others with theirs.

Matthew 7:6 - Pearls and pigs

This sentence is somewhat cryptic on first reading. We have to be clear on the picture first. The dogs here are not domestic pets but wild-dogs. The pigs are also semi-wild, and capable of aggression. Feeding pigs pearls is a mistake for two reasons: 1. The pig may attack you, once it realises it's been fed a joke as opposed to real food. 2. The pearl is too precious to waste on something that won't appreciate it.

Elsewhere, Jesus compares the gospel to the costliest pearl in the world. Elsewhere in the New Testament, persistently unrepentant people are compared to dogs and pigs (2 Peter 2:22). So could it be that Jesus is telling us not to give the precious gospel to those who will only trample both it and us underfoot?

Matthew 7:7-11 - Stones and snakes

Jesus teaches on prayer that we should ask, seek and knock with boldness and persistence. This is based on the character of God. He is our heavenly Father, who knows what we need and loves to give us good things. We find this passage hard, because at times it seems God doesn't answer our prayers. We have to trust our Father's wisdom. If we ask for a stone or a snake, he's too loving to give it to us. Only he, being in heaven, has the full picture and can make that decision.

Matthew 7:12 - What would you like me to do to you

Jesus sums up the whole of Old Testament law with the so-called "golden rule" - do to others as you'd have them do to you. Other religions have this statement in negative form (if you wouldn't like this done to you, don't do it to others). The positive version is much more demanding to live out. Elsewhere, Jesus sums up the Old Testament with the two commands to love God and neighbour. This command only concerns our neighbour, but true love for neighbour is only possible as an outworking of a prior love for God.

Putting it together - the cuckoo in the nest

So what's the story running through this half of Matthew 7?

Again, we find a cuckoo. Verses 1-5, 6 and 12 all concern how we should relate to others. Verses 1-5 warn us against being judgemental or hypocritical about the faults of others. Verse 6 warns us against the other side of the coin - we shouldn't be so unquestioning and charitable that we fail to draw any distinction. The ratio is 5 verses to 1, and most Christians need reminding of the dangers of judgementalism 5 times as often as they need reminding to be discerning about who they give the gospel to. And then verse 12 draws it all together, asking us how we would like to be treated (when we are at fault, or at any time) and to treat others likewise.

In between comes verses 7-13 on prayer. We may wonder why this did not come in chapter 6 when prayer was the subject under discussion. Why interrupt how we treat others with a treatise on prayer?

Does the context not suggest a different purpose for this teaching on prayer? Jesus has just asked us to pay prior attention to our own flaws before helping others, and yet to discern when it is a waste of the gospel and a risk to ourselves to tell someone. That requires supernatural wisdom to discern the difference, and great patience, self-knowledge and restraint to put into practise. So we pray.

Furthermore, we are to pray specifically for entrance. We are to knock for the door to be opened. Later on, Jesus will ask us to enter through the narrow way. There's no verbal connection here (verse 7 does not have a word for "door") but there is a common picture - of entrance. The way Jesus is calling us to live in Matthew 7:1-6 is a hard way. To walk that path needs God's help.

Therefore, before summing up how we should relate to others with the most challenging expression of all (verse 12), he pauses to remind us that we do this only with God's enabling. We relate to others rightly only in trusting dependence on God. This is exactly why the beatitudes came first, (but more on that tomorrow). Jesus calls the poor in Spirit to follow him, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness to be satisfied in him.

Earlier on, I pointed out that Jesus sums up the whole Old Testament in a command that only relates to our neighbour, not to God. I said that this is because we can only truly love our neighbour when we have a prior love for God. When I said that, it could have sounded like a cheat's answer, made up to suit. Once we put verses 7-11 in between verses 6 and 12 it ceases to be that. It is what Jesus actually says. The whole Old Testament can be summed up by the requirement to do to others as we would have them to do us. This can only be done by those who know God as their heavenly Father, and are transformed by that relationship.

The whole section: Matthew 7:1-12

This section is about how we relate to our fellow human beings.

We are not to be judgemental, forever finding faults with others. We can be of help to others, but only after dealing with our own faults.

That is not to say we are to be totally undiscerning. This especially concerns how we handle the precious pearl of the gospel - there are a few people that we are not to waste it on.

What Jesus is asking of us is very hard. He asks us, who are full of faults, to relate to others as kind brothers and sisters. This is not something we can just do. It needs God to give us the grace, humility and wisdom to walk this way. So we must pray.

Considering how to relate to others, we can sum it all up like this: How would you like to be treated? Treat others in that way.