Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Matthew » Chapter 7 » Verse 16

Matthew 7:16 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

16 Ye shall know G1921 them G846 by G575 their G846 fruits. G2590 G3385 Do men gather G4816 grapes G4718 of G575 thorns, G173 or G2228 figs G4810 of G575 thistles? G5146

Cross Reference

Luke 6:43-45 STRONG

For G1063 a good G2570 tree G1186 bringeth G4160 G2076 not G3756 forth G4160 corrupt G4550 fruit; G2590 neither G3761 doth G4160 a corrupt G4550 tree G1186 bring forth G4160 good G2570 fruit. G2590 For G1063 every G1538 tree G1186 is known G1097 by G1537 his own G2398 fruit. G2590 For G1063 of G1537 thorns G173 men do not G3756 gather G4816 figs, G4810 nor G3761 of G1537 a bramble bush G942 gather they G5166 grapes. G4718 A good G18 man G444 out of G1537 the good G18 treasure G2344 of his G846 heart G2588 bringeth forth G4393 that which is good; G18 and G2532 an evil G4190 man G444 out of G1537 the evil G4190 treasure G2344 of his G846 heart G2588 bringeth forth G4393 that which is evil: G4190 for G1063 of G1537 the abundance G4051 of the heart G2588 his G846 mouth G4750 speaketh. G2980

Matthew 12:33 STRONG

Either G2228 make G4160 the tree G1186 good, G2570 and G2532 his G846 fruit G2590 good; G2570 or else G2228 make G4160 the tree G1186 corrupt, G4550 and G2532 his G846 fruit G2590 corrupt: G4550 for G1063 the tree G1186 is known G1097 by G1537 his fruit. G2590

James 3:12 STRONG

Can G3361 G1410 the fig tree, G4808 my G3450 brethren, G80 bear G4160 olive berries? G1636 either G2228 a vine, G288 figs? G4810 so G3779 can no G3762 fountain G4077 both yield G4160 salt G252 water G5204 and G2532 fresh. G1099

Matthew 7:20 STRONG

Wherefore G686 by G575 their G846 fruits G2590 ye shall know G1921 them. G846

2 Peter 2:10-18 STRONG

But G1161 chiefly G3122 them that walk G4198 after G3694 the flesh G4561 in G1722 the lust G1939 of uncleanness, G3394 and G2532 despise G2706 government. G2963 Presumptuous G5113 are they, selfwilled, G829 they are not G3756 afraid G5141 to speak evil G987 of dignities. G1391 Whereas G3699 angels, G32 which are G5607 greater in G3187 power G2479 and G2532 might, G1411 bring G5342 not G3756 railing G989 accusation G2920 against G2596 them G846 before G3844 the Lord. G2962 But G1161 these, G3778 as G5613 natural G5446 brute G249 beasts, G2226 made G1080 to G1519 be taken G259 and G2532 destroyed, G5356 speak evil G987 of G1722 the things that G3739 they understand not; G50 and shall utterly perish G2704 in G1722 their own G846 corruption; G5356 And shall receive G2865 the reward G3408 of unrighteousness, G93 as they that count G2233 it pleasure G2237 to riot G5172 in G1722 the day time. G2250 Spots G4696 they are and G2532 blemishes, G3470 sporting themselves G1792 with G1722 their own G846 deceivings G539 while they feast G4910 with you; G5213 Having G2192 eyes G3788 full G3324 of adultery, G3428 and G2532 that cannot cease from G180 sin; G266 beguiling G1185 unstable G793 souls: G5590 an heart G2588 they have G2192 exercised G1128 with covetous practices; G4124 cursed G2671 children: G5043 Which have forsaken G2641 the right G2117 way, G3598 and are gone astray, G4105 following G1811 the way G3598 of Balaam G903 the son of Bosor, G1007 who G3739 loved G25 the wages G3408 of unrighteousness; G93 But G1161 was G2192 rebuked G1649 for his G2398 iniquity: G3892 the dumb G880 ass G5268 speaking G5350 with G1722 man's G444 voice G5456 forbad G2967 the madness G3913 of the prophet. G4396 These G3778 are G1526 wells G4077 without water, G504 clouds G3507 that are carried G1643 with G5259 a tempest; G2978 to whom G3739 the mist G2217 of darkness G4655 is reserved G5083 for G1519 ever. G165 For G1063 when they speak G5350 great swelling G5246 words of vanity, G3153 they allure G1185 through G1722 the lusts G1939 of the flesh, G4561 through much wantonness, G766 those that were clean G3689 escaped G668 from them who live G390 in G1722 error. G4106

Jude 1:10-19 STRONG

But G1161 these G3778 speak evil G987 of those things which G3745 G3303 they know G1492 not: G3756 but G1161 what G3745 they know G1987 naturally, G5447 as G5613 brute G249 beasts, G2226 in G1722 those things G5125 they corrupt themselves. G5351 Woe G3759 unto them! G846 for G3754 they have gone G4198 in the way G3598 of Cain, G2535 and G2532 ran greedily after G1632 the error G4106 of Balaam G903 for reward, G3408 and G2532 perished G622 in the gainsaying G485 of Core. G2879 These G3778 are G1526 spots G4694 in G1722 your G5216 feasts of charity, G26 when they feast G4910 with you, G5213 feeding G4165 themselves G1438 without fear: G870 clouds G3507 they are without water, G504 carried about G4064 of G5259 winds; G417 trees G1186 whose fruit withereth, G5352 without fruit, G175 twice G1364 dead, G599 plucked up by the roots; G1610 Raging G66 waves G2949 of the sea, G2281 foaming out G1890 their own G1438 shame; G152 wandering G4107 stars, G792 to whom G3739 is reserved G5083 the blackness G2217 of darkness G4655 for G1519 ever. G165 And G1161 Enoch G1802 also, G2532 the seventh G1442 from G575 Adam, G76 prophesied G4395 of these, G5125 saying, G3004 Behold, G2400 the Lord G2962 cometh G2064 with G1722 ten thousands G3461 of his G846 saints, G40 To execute G4160 judgment G2920 upon G2596 all, G3956 and G2532 to convince G1827 all G3956 that are ungodly G765 among them G846 of G4012 all G3956 their G846 ungodly G763 deeds G2041 which G3739 they have ungodly committed, G764 and G2532 of G4012 all G3956 their hard G4642 speeches which G3739 ungodly G765 sinners G268 have spoken G2980 against G2596 him. G846 These G3778 are G1526 murmurers, G1113 complainers, G3202 walking G4198 after G2596 their own G846 lusts; G1939 and G2532 their G846 mouth G4750 speaketh G2980 great swelling G5246 words, having men's persons G4383 in admiration G2296 because G5484 of advantage. G5622 But, G1161 beloved, G27 remember G3415 ye G5210 the words G4487 which G3588 were spoken before G4280 of G5259 the apostles G652 of our G2257 Lord G2962 Jesus G2424 Christ; G5547 How G3754 that G3754 they told G3004 you G5213 there should be G2071 mockers G1703 in G1722 the last G2078 time, G5550 who should walk G4198 after G2596 their own G1438 ungodly G763 lusts. G1939 These G3778 be G1526 they who separate G592 themselves, G1438 sensual, G5591 having G2192 not G3361 the Spirit. G4151

Commentary on Matthew 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 7

Sermon on the Mountconcluded.

Mt 7:1-12. Miscellaneous Supplementary Counsels.

That these verses are entirely supplementary is the simplest and most natural view of them. All attempts to make out any evident connection with the immediately preceding context are, in our judgment, forced. But, though supplementary, these counsels are far from being of subordinate importance. On the contrary, they involve some of the most delicate and vital duties of the Christian life. In the vivid form in which they are here presented, perhaps they could not have been introduced with the same effect under any of the foregoing heads; but they spring out of the same great principles, and are but other forms and manifestations of the same evangelical "righteousness."

Censorious Judgment (Mt 7:1-5).

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged—To "judge" here does not exactly mean to pronounce condemnatory judgment, nor does it refer to simple judging at all, whether favorable or the reverse. The context makes it clear that the thing here condemned is that disposition to look unfavorably on the character and actions of others, which leads invariably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust, and unlovely judgments upon them. No doubt it is the judgments so pronounced which are here spoken of; but what our Lord aims at is the spirit out of which they spring. Provided we eschew this unlovely spirit, we are not only warranted to sit in judgment upon a brother's character and actions, but in the exercise of a necessary discrimination are often constrained to do so for our own guidance. It is the violation of the law of love involved in the exercise of a censorious disposition which alone is here condemned. And the argument against it—"that ye be not judged"—confirms this: "that your own character and actions be not pronounced upon with the like severity"; that is, at the great day.

2. For with what judgments ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete—whatever standard of judgment ye apply to others.

it shall be measured to you again—This proverbial maxim is used by our Lord in other connections—as in Mr 4:24, and with a slightly different application in Lu 6:38—as a great principle in the divine administration. Unkind judgment of others will be judicially returned upon ourselves, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. But, as in many other cases under the divine administration, such harsh judgment gets self-punished even here. For people shrink from contact with those who systematically deal out harsh judgment upon others—naturally concluding that they themselves may be the next victims—and feel impelled in self-defense, when exposed to it, to roll back upon the assailant his own censures.

3. And why beholdest thou the mote—"splinter," here very well rendered "mote," denoting any small fault.

that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?—denoting the much greater fault which we overlook in ourselves.

4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5. Thou hypocrite—"Hypocrite."

first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye—Our Lord uses a most hyperbolical, but not unfamiliar figure, to express the monstrous inconsistency of this conduct. The "hypocrisy" which, not without indignation, He charges it with, consists in the pretense of a zealous and compassionate charity, which cannot possibly be real in one who suffers worse faults to lie uncorrected in himself. He only is fit to be a reprover of others who jealously and severely judges himself. Such persons will not only be slow to undertake the office of censor on their neighbors, but, when constrained in faithfulness to deal with them, will make it evident that they do it with reluctance and not satisfaction, with moderation and not exaggeration, with love and not harshness.

Prostitution of Holy Things (Mt 7:6). The opposite extreme to that of censoriousness is here condemned—want of discrimination of character.

6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs—savage or snarling haters of truth and righteousness.

neither cast ye your pearls before swine—the impure or coarse, who are incapable of appreciating the priceless jewels of Christianity. In the East, dogs are wilder and more gregarious, and, feeding on carrion and garbage, are coarser and fiercer than the same animals in the West. Dogs and swine, besides being ceremonially unclean, were peculiarly repulsive to the Jews, and indeed to the ancients generally.

lest they trample them under their feet—as swine do.

and turn again and rend you—as dogs do. Religion is brought into contempt, and its professors insulted, when it is forced upon those who cannot value it and will not have it. But while the indiscriminately zealous have need of this caution, let us be on our guard against too readily setting our neighbors down as dogs and swine, and excusing ourselves from endeavoring to do them good on this poor plea.

Prayer (Mt 7:7-11). Enough, one might think, had been said on this subject in Mt 6:5-15. But the difficulty of the foregoing duties seems to have recalled the subject, and this gives it quite a new turn. "How shall we ever be able to carry out such precepts as these, of tender, holy, yet discriminating love?" might the humble disciple inquire. "Go to God with it," is our Lord's reply; but He expresses this with a fulness which leaves nothing to be desired, urging now not only confidence, but importunity in prayer.

7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you—Though there seems evidently a climax here, expressive of more and more importunity, yet each of these terms used presents what we desire of God in a different light. We ask for what we wish; we seek for what we miss; we knock for that from which we feel ourselves shut out. Answering to this threefold representation is the triple assurance of success to our believing efforts. "But ah!" might some humble disciple say, "I cannot persuade myself that I have any interest with God." To meet this, our Lord repeats the triple assurance He had just given, but in such a form as to silence every such complaint.

8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened—Of course, it is presumed that he asks aright—that is, in faith—and with an honest purpose to make use of what he receives. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (undecided whether to be altogether on the Lord's side). For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord" (Jas 1:5-7). Hence, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (Jas 4:3).

9. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread—a loaf.

will he give him a stone?—round and smooth like such a loaf or cake as was much in use, but only to mock him.

10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?—like it, indeed, but only to sting him.

11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him!—Bad as our fallen nature is, the father in us is not extinguished. What a heart, then, must the Father of all fathers have towards His pleading children! In the corresponding passage in Luke (see on Lu 11:13), instead of "good things," our Lord asks whether He will not much more give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. At this early stage of His ministry, and before such an audience, He seems to avoid such sharp doctrinal teaching as was more accordant with His plan at the riper stage indicated in Luke, and in addressing His own disciples exclusively.

Golden Rule (Mt 7:12).

12. Therefore—to say all in one word.

all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them—the same thing and in the same way.

for this is the law and the prophets—"This is the substance of all relative duty; all Scripture in a nutshell." Incomparable summary! How well called "the royal law!" (Jas 2:8; compare Ro 13:9). It is true that similar maxims are found floating in the writings of the cultivated Greeks and Romans, and naturally enough in the Rabbinical writings. But so expressed as it is here—in immediate connection with, and as the sum of such duties as has been just enjoined, and such principles as had been before taught—it is to be found nowhere else. And the best commentary upon this fact is, that never till our Lord came down thus to teach did men effectually and widely exemplify it in their practice. The precise sense of the maxim is best referred to common sense. It is not, of course, what—in our wayward, capricious, gasping moods—we should wish that men would do to us, that we are to hold ourselves bound to do to them; but only what—in the exercise of an impartial judgment, and putting ourselves in their place—we consider it reasonable that they should do to us, that we are to do to them.

Mt 7:13-29. Conclusion and Effect of the Sermon on the Mount.

We have here the application of the whole preceding discourse.

Conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:13-27). "The righteousness of the kingdom," so amply described, both in principle and in detail, would be seen to involve self-sacrifice at every step. Multitudes would never face this. But it must be faced, else the consequences will be fatal. This would divide all within the sound of these truths into two classes: the many, who will follow the path of ease and self-indulgence—end where it might; and the few, who, bent on eternal safety above everything else, take the way that leads to it—at whatever cost. This gives occasion to the two opening verses of this application.

13. Enter ye in at the strait gate—as if hardly wide enough to admit one at all. This expresses the difficulty of the first right step in religion, involving, as it does, a triumph over all our natural inclinations. Hence the still stronger expression in Luke (Lu 13:24), "Strive to enter in at the strait gate."

for wide is the gate—easily entered.

and broad is the way—easily trodden.

that leadeth to destruction, and—thus lured "many there be which go in thereat."

14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life—In other words, the whole course is as difficult as the first step; and (so it comes to pass that).

few there be that find it—The recommendation of the broad way is the ease with which it is trodden and the abundance of company to be found in it. It is sailing with a fair wind and a favorable tide. The natural inclinations are not crossed, and fears of the issue, if not easily hushed, are in the long run effectually subdued. The one disadvantage of this course is its end—it "leadeth to destruction." The great Teacher says it, and says it as "One having authority." To the supposed injustice or harshness of this He never once adverts. He leaves it to be inferred that such a course righteously, naturally, necessarily so ends. But whether men see this or no, here He lays down the law of the kingdom, and leaves it with us. As to the other way, the disadvantage of it lies in its narrowness and solicitude. Its very first step involves a revolution in all our purposes and plans for life, and a surrender of all that is dear to natural inclination, while all that follows is but a repetition of the first great act of self-sacrifice. No wonder, then, that few find and few are found in it. But it has one advantage—it "leadeth unto life." Some critics take "the gate" here, not for the first, but the last step in religion; since gates seldom open into roads, but roads usually terminate in a gate, leading straight to a mansion. But as this would make our Lord's words to have a very inverted and unnatural form as they stand, it is better, with the majority of critics, to view them as we have done. But since such teaching would be as unpopular as the way itself, our Lord next forewarns His hearers that preachers of smooth things—the true heirs and representatives of the false prophets of old—would be rife enough in the new kingdom.

15. Beware—But beware.

of false prophets—that is, of teachers coming as authorized expounders of the mind of God and guides to heaven. (See Ac 20:29, 30; 2Pe 2:1, 2).

which come to you in sheep's clothing—with a bland, gentle, plausible exterior; persuading you that the gate is not strait nor the way narrow, and that to teach so is illiberal and bigoted—precisely what the old prophets did (Eze 13:1-10, 22).

but inwardly they are ravening wolves—bent on devouring the flock for their own ends (2Co 11:2, 3, 13-15).

16. Ye shall know them by their fruits—not their doctrines—as many of the elder interpreters and some later ones explain it—for that corresponds to the tree itself; but the practical effect of their teaching, which is the proper fruit of the tree.

Do men gather grapes of thorns—any kind of prickly plant.

or figs of thistles?—a three-pronged variety. The general sense is obvious—Every tree bears its own fruit.

17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit—Obvious as is the truth here expressed in different forms—that the heart determines and is the only proper interpreter of the actions of our life—no one who knows how the Church of Rome makes a merit of actions, quite apart from the motives that prompt them, and how the same tendency manifests itself from time to time even among Protestant Christians, can think it too obvious to be insisted on by the teachers of divine truth. Here follows a wholesome digression.

19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire—(See on Mt 3:10).

20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them—that is, But the point I now press is not so much the end of such, as the means of detecting them; and this, as already said, is their fruits. The hypocrisy of teachers now leads to a solemn warning against religious hypocrisy in general.

21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord—the reduplication of the title "Lord" denoting zeal in according it to Christ (see Mr 14:45). Yet our Lord claims and expects this of all His disciples, as when He washed their feet: "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am" (Joh 13:13).

shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven—that will which it had been the great object of this discourse to set forth. Yet our Lord says warily, not "the will of your Father," but "of My Father"; thus claiming a relationship to His Father with which His disciples might not intermeddle, and which He never lets down. And He so speaks here to give authority to His asseverations. But now He rises higher still—not formally announcing Himself as the Judge, but intimating what men will say to Him, and He to them, when He sits as their final judge.

22. Many will say to me in that day—What day? It is emphatically unnamed. But it is the day to which He had just referred, when men shall "enter" or not enter "into the kingdom of heaven." (See a similar way of speaking of "that day" in 2Ti 1:12; 4:8).

Lord, Lord—The reiteration denotes surprise. "What, Lord? How is this? Are we to be disowned?"

have we not prophesied—or, "publicly taught." As one of the special gifts of the Spirit in the early Church, it has the sense of "inspired and authoritative teaching," and is ranked next to the apostleship. (See 1Co 12:28; Eph 4:11). In this sense it is used here, as appears from what follows.

in thy name—or, "to thy name," and so in the two following clauses—"having reference to Thy name as the sole power in which we did it."

and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works—or, miracles. These are selected as three examples of the highest services rendered to the Christian cause, and through the power of Christ's own name, invoked for that purpose; He Himself, too, responding to the call. And the threefold repetition of the question, each time in the same form, expresses in the liveliest manner the astonishment of the speakers at the view now taken of them.

23. And then will I profess unto them—or, openly proclaim—tearing off the mask.

I never knew you—What they claimed—intimacy with Christ—is just what He repudiates, and with a certain scornful dignity. "Our acquaintance was not broken off—there never was any."

depart from me—(Compare Mt 25:41). The connection here gives these words an awful significance. They claimed intimacy with Christ, and in the corresponding passage, Lu 13:26, are represented as having gone out and in with Him on familiar terms. "So much the worse for you," He replies: "I bore with that long enough; but now—begone!"

ye that work iniquity—not "that wrought iniquity"; for they are represented as fresh from the scenes and acts of it as they stand before the Judge. (See on the almost identical, but even more vivid and awful, description of the scene in Lu 13:24-27). That the apostle alludes to these very words in 2Ti 2:19 there can hardly be any doubt—"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

24. Therefore—to bring this discourse to a close.

whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them—see Jas 1:22, which seems a plain allusion to these words; also Lu 11:28; Ro 2:13; 1Jo 3:7.

I will liken him unto a wise man—a shrewd, prudent, provident man.

which built his house upon a rock—the rock of true discipleship, or genuine subjection to Christ.

25. And the rain descended—from above.

and the floods came—from below.

and the winds blew—sweeping across.

and beat upon that house—thus from every direction.

and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock—See 1Jo 2:17.

26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine—in the attitude of discipleship.

and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand—denoting a loose foundation—that of an empty profession and mere external services.

27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house—struck against that house;

and it fell: and great was the fall of it—terrible the ruin! How lively must this imagery have been to an audience accustomed to the fierceness of an Eastern tempest, and the suddenness and completeness with which it sweeps everything unsteady before it!

Effect of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:28, 29).

28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine—rather, "His teaching," for the reference is to the manner of it quite as much as the matter, or rather more so.

29. For he taught them as one having authority—The word "one," which our translators have here inserted, only weakens the statement.

and not as the scribes—The consciousness of divine authority, as Lawgiver, Expounder and Judge, so beamed through His teaching, that the scribes' teaching could not but appear drivelling in such a light.