1 `Judge not, that ye may not be judged,
2 for in what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you.
3 `And why dost thou behold the mote that `is' in thy brother's eye, and the beam that `is' in thine own eye dost not consider?
4 or, how wilt thou say to thy brother, Suffer I may cast out the mote from thine eye, and lo, the beam `is' in thine own eye?
5 Hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 `Ye may not give that which is `holy' to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, that they may not trample them among their feet, and having turned -- may rend you.
7 `Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you;
8 for every one who is asking doth receive, and he who is seeking doth find, and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.
9 `Or what man is of you, of whom, if his son may ask a loaf -- a stone will he present to him?
10 and if a fish he may ask -- a serpent will he present to him?
11 if, therefore, ye being evil, have known good gifts to give to your children, how much more shall your Father who `is' in the heavens give good things to those asking him?
12 `All things, therefore, whatever ye may will that men may be doing to you, so also do to them, for this is the law and the prophets.
13 `Go ye in through the strait gate, because wide `is' the gate, and broad the way that is leading to the destruction, and many are those going in through it;
14 how strait `is' the gate, and compressed the way that is leading to the life, and few are those finding it!
15 `But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.
16 From their fruits ye shall know them; do `men' gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?
17 so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits.
18 A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits.
19 Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:
20 therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.
21 `Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things?
23 and then I will acknowledge to them, that -- I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.
24 `Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock;
25 and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 `And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;
27 and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,
29 for he was teaching them as having authority, and not as the scribes.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 7
Commentary on Matthew 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
This chapter continues and concludes Christ's sermon on the mount, which is purely practical, directing us to order our conversation aright, both toward God and man; for the design of the Christian religion is to make men good, every way good. We have,
Mat 7:1-6
Our Saviour is here directing us how to conduct ourselves in reference to the faults of others; and his expressions seem intended as a reproof to the scribes and Pharisees, who were very rigid and severe, very magisterial and supercilious, in condemning all about them, as those commonly are, that are proud and conceited in justifying themselves. We have here,
Mat 7:7-11
Our Saviour, in the foregoing chapter, had spoken of prayer as a commanded duty, by which God is honoured, and which, if done aright, shall be rewarded; here he speaks of it as the appointed means of obtaining what we need, especially grace to obey the precepts he had given, some of which are so displeasing to flesh and blood.
Mat 7:12-14
Our Lord Jesus here presses upon us that righteousness towards men which is an essential branch of true religion, and that religion towards God which is an essential branch of universal righteousness.
Here is,
Mat 7:15-20
We have here a caution against false prophets, to take heed that we be not deceived and imposed upon by them. Prophets are properly such as foretel things to come; there are some mentioned in the Old Testament, who pretended to that without warrant, and the event disproved their pretensions, as Zedekiah, 1 Ki. 22:11, and another Zedekiah, Jer. 29:21. But prophets did also teach the people their duty, so that false prophets here are false teachers. Christ being a Prophet and a Teacher come from God, and designing to send abroad teachers under him, gives warning to all to take heed of counterfeits, who, instead of healing souls with wholesome doctrine, as they pretend, would poison them.
They are false teachers and false prophets,
Mat 7:21-29
We have here the conclusion of this long and excellent sermon, the scope of which is to show the indispensable necessity of obedience to the commands of Christ; this is designed to clench the nail, that it might fix in a sure place: he speaks this to his disciples, that sat at his feet whenever he preached, and followed him wherever he went. Had he sought his own praise among men, he would have said, that was enough; but the religion he came to establish is in power, not in word only (1 Co. 4:20), and therefore something more is necessary.
Now,