Sermon on the Mount/Matthew Chapter 7:1-6/Commentary

The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 7:1-6/Lesson 10

One of the ways that we can break down Matthew chapter 7 is into the various relationships that the Christian will encounter in his or her life, including:      

Our brothers and sisters (7:1-5).

Those who reject the gospel (7:6).

Our heavenly Father (7:7-11).

Everyone in general (7:12).

False prophets (7:15-20).

Our Lord (7:21-27).

“Jesus does not anticipate that the Christian community will be perfect.

On the contrary, He assumes both that there will be misdemeanors and that these will give rise to tensions, to problems of relationships. In particular, how should a Christian behave towards a fellow member who has misbehaved?” (Stott p. 175).

Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge lest you be judged” This is probably the most misunderstood statement in the Bible. Many have taken this to mean that as Christians we cannot make any distinctions between good and evil and that we must never confront someone who is doing evil. First of all, such an interpretation contradicts the context, for in the context of Matthew 7 we are commanded to make some judgments. We must be able to judge if we have a beam in our eye (7:5). We must be able to judge if a brother has a speck in his eye (7:5). We must be able to recognize people whom Jesus calls dogs and pigs (7:6). We must be able to discern false prophets (7:15-20), and we

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must be able to tell what the will of the Father is and if we are doing it (7:21-27).

Other passages inform us that:      

We must judge not according to appearance, but with righteous judgment (John 7:24).

We are commanded to confront brethren who sin, which demands a judgment (Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1).

We are expected to distinguish between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14), and test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

We must examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:28).

Civil government must make judgments (Romans 13:1-4).

We must judge various doctrines and teachers to see if they are true (1 John 4:1-3; Revelation 2:2).

In 1959 Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote the following: “We are living in an age when definitions are at a discount, an age which dislikes thought, and hates theology and doctrine. It is an age which is characterized by a love of ease and compromise. It is an age that dislikes strong men because, it says, they always cause disturbance. It dislikes the man who knows what he believes and really believes it. It dismisses him as a difficult person who is ‘impossible to get on with’. There have been ages in the history of the Church where men were praised because they stood for their principles at all costs. But that is not so today. Such men are regarded as being difficult, self-assertive, non-co-operative and so on.

The man who is now glorified is the man who can be described as being in ‘the middle of the road’--a pleasant man, who does not create difficulties and problems of his views. At a time like this, then, it is of utmost importance that we should be able to interpret correctly this statement concerning judging, because there are many who say that ‘judge not’ must be taken as meaning that the truly Christian man should never express an opinion about others. They say that there must be no judging whatsoever, that we must be easy, indulgent and tolerant, and allow almost anything for peace and quiet, and especially unity” (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, pp. 161-162).

If we read the context, we find that the type of judging that Jesus is condemning is hypocritical judgment, where a person condemns someone, while at the same time is involved in an even greater spiritual and moral problem (7:3).

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“Lest you be judged”: Unfortunately, some have taken this to mean that if you never say anything bad about anyone, then God will not say anything bad about you; yet even faithful Christians will stand before God’s judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10). The above statement must be taken together with the next verse, that is, lest one be judged by the type of hypocritical judgment that one is exercising.

Matthew 7:2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” “For in the way you judge”: James taught the same thing. Those who offer condemnation without any opportunity for mercy, will be judged by the same standard (James 2:13). “Jesus has deliberately not named the one who will judge and give back equal measure” (Fowler p. 398).  

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God: As noted above, God will extend no mercy to the person who has refused to demonstrate mercy. This same truth is found in Matthew 18:21-35 and Romans 2:1.

Men: “We all tend to respond to the kind of treatment others give us, by paying them back in their own coin, whether it be love, appreciation and generosity, or whether it by lynx-eyed criticism, fault-finding, and no more helpful service than is absolutely necessary” (Fowler p. 399).

Ourselves: People who become hypocritical, blind to their own faults, and hypercritical of others, believe that people are just as cynical about them. “They are forced to beware of all others, feeling that others are looking at them with severely critical eyes” (Fowler p. 399).

Matthew 7:3 "And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

“Look at”: There are two words here for perception, “look” and “notice”.

While this person clearly sees the speck in the eye of another, he or she completely misses the log in his or her own eye. The word translated “notice” is katanoeo, which is a strengthened form of perceive, and denotes the action of the mind. Vincent says, “look at” means, staring at from without, and “notice” means to perceive from within, what should have been a far deeper perception. In other words, if one can see “specks”, one is without excuse for not first seeing one’s own huge beam.

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“Speck”: We should notice that the “speck” is something that needs to be removed (7:5). This is not a situation where a person is being confronted over some non-issue. “The log that is in your own eye?”: First, there is a warning here. We can become completely blind to major moral problems (2 Timothy 3:13). Here is one reason why we must continue to study the Scriptures on a regular basis, for the Scriptures will reveal such logs as well as specks (Hebrews 4:12). The log under consideration here is a beam or huge timber such as the type that are used as rafters in a house. Here is an example where Jesus uses humor in the attempt to make us see how ridiculous such hypocrisy really is.

Years ago, Robert Turner wrote an article entitled, Did Christ Laugh? He notes, “Absurdly ridiculous situations make us laugh. Imagine someone trying to hide a donkey underneath his shirt. Nor how about someone carefully straining his tea to remove a gnat; then striving to swallow an ungainly, club-footed, two-humped camel that stepped into the same tea? Laugher may be a specific remedy for vanity, especially when we can be made to see ourselves in the situation, and laugh at ourselves. It is a humbling experience, which may bring a man one step closer to heaven” (Plain Talk, Volume 17/9/2).

7:3 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?”

“The lesson stings: he who has a serious and disgusting character fault but overlooks it and goes around offering his services to one who has some small fault is exactly what the Lord called him: a hypocrite” (Fowler p.

400).    

It is easy to condemn sins in others, but excuse the sins we are committing. It is so easy to be blind to our own faults.

If we are involved in sin, then we are not qualified to assist others. In addition, the man with the speck will probably resent criticism coming from someone who has an even bigger problem.

We need to make sure if we are trying to lead others in the right way, that we are not blind leaders (Matthew 15:14). Beware of giving blind leadership!

“Disciples will not get nearer the truth than the teacher does; therefore teachers must beware of being blind and uninstructed, especially with regard to knowledge of self---The disciple will not excel his master; at the best he will only equal him. And, if the master has faults, the disciple will be likely to copy them” (Fowler p.

402).

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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 brother’s eye” “You hypocrite”: God hates a lack of integrity and honesty. “First, take the log out of your own eye”: Jesus believes that we can overcome even the “logs” in our lives. Jesus does not believe that once one has a log in their life that they can never remove it successfuly. Some people today claim that a person can never have a clear spiritual vision, and therefore we are all just consigned to remain in our own selfishness. Jesus teaches that anyone who has a log can remove it (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Peter 4:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-3).

“Then you will see clearly”: “Some people suppose that in the parable of the foreign bodies Jesus was forbidding us to act as moral or spiritual oculists and meddle with other people’s eyes, and is telling us instead to mind our own business. This is not so. The fact that censoriousness and hypocrisy are forbidden us does not relieve us of brotherly responsibility towards one another. On the contrary, Jesus was later to teach that if our brother sins against us, our first duty (though usually neglected), is ‘go and tell him his fault between you and him alone’ (Matthew 18:15)” (Stott p.

179). Remember, Jesus is not condemning judging, rather, He is condemning judging of others when we exercise no comparable judging of ourselves. Therefore, true brotherly love will correct others when we see them sin (Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1). This section of Scripture also tells us that we do not lose our right to teach others just because we had a log in our eye at one time. Hypocrisy can be overcome, and a former hypocrite can become a very effective personal worker.

“To take the speck out of your brother’s eye”: That speck needs to be removed, because even such a speck, if left untreated, can develop into a log. Some people seem to justify their lack of commitment to God by saying, “There are hypocrites in the church”. Jesus agrees that the church will have its share of hypocrites, yet such a reality does not excuse unbelief or unfaithfulness.

7:6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” “At first sight and hearing this is startling language from the lips of Jesus, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, and indeed immediately after His appeal for constructive brotherly behavior. But Jesus always called a spade a spade. His outspokenness led Him to call Herod Antipas ‘that fox’ (Luke 13:32), and hypocritical scribes and Pharisees ‘whitewashed tombs’ 5

and a ‘brood of vipers’ (Matthew 23:27,33). Here He affirms that certain human beings who act like animals, may therefore be accurately designated ‘dogs’ and ‘pigs’” (Stott p. 180). Here we find a healthy balance. On the one hand, we are not to judge others while we are guilty of the same thing or something even worse. On the other hand, we are not to ignore their sins either and pretend that everyone is the same.

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs”: “The dogs that Jesus had in mind were not the well-behaved lapdogs of an elegant home but the wild dogs, vagabonds and mongrels, which scavenged in the city’s rubbish dumps” (Stott p. 181). The idea is that a Jew would never hand over “holy food” (perhaps food that had been previously offered in sacrifice) to such wild dogs. Nor would they ever dream of throwing pearls to pigs.

“Not only were they also unclean, but they would probably mistake the pearls for nuts or peas, try to eat them and then—finding them inedible— trample on them and even assault the giver” (Stott p. 181). 

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In the context, the dogs and pigs are people who persistently reject either the gospel, or attempts from brethren to turn them back to the truth. Jesus is warning us that we will encounter people who will not appreciate our attempts to help them overcome a sin. Peter spoke of unfaithful Christians as “dogs” (2 Peter 2:20-22).

“Do not persist in offering what is sacred or of value to those who least appreciate it” (Fowler p. 405).

In the book of Proverbs we find the same teaching, “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8).

Why did Jesus give this teaching? Because well-meaning and humble Christians sometimes are so conscientious that they feel guilty for not attempting to talk to someone “one more time”. Jesus is trying to protect us. If someone is rejecting the gospel or refusing to come back to God, Jesus here tells us we must realize when we are aren’t making any progress. Remember, the world is filled with lost people, and spending all our time on one person means that we can’t spend our time with others who need the gospel.

Examples of This Teaching 

Jesus’ dealt with the crowds who clamored for more loaves and fishes (Luke 6:26), and rather than continuing to feed them, He

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preached to them a sermon that scattered the ones who were unwilling to accept Him (6:60-68).

Jesus refused to give additional signs to those who would not accept His previous miracles (Matthew 16:1-4).

He refusal to perform for Herod (Luke 23:8-9).

He commanded the apostles to move on to other cities when some would not receive their message (Matthew 10:11014).

Consider Paul’s own personal example in dealing with antagonist unbelievers (Acts 13:44-52; 18:5-7; 28:17-28).

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