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Matthew 7

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Judging Others 1–6

1
Judge not, that ye be not judged. ​
2
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ​
3
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ​
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, 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. ​
6
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. ​

Assurance in Prayer and the Golden Rule 7–12

7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ​
8
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
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? ​
12
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. ​

The Narrow Gate 13–14

13
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: ​
14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Warning Against False Prophets 15–20

15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ​
16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ​
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.
19
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

I Never Knew You 21–23

21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ​
22
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ​
23
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. ​

The Wise and Foolish Builders 24–27

24
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: ​
25
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: ​
27
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The Authority of Jesus' Teaching 28–29

28
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: ​
29
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Matthew 7

Verse 1

Judge not, that ye be not judged — One verb, krino, three times; v.2 turns it to krima, the verdict received. What is forbidden is the censure of v.5's hypocrite, not discernment: this chapter itself calls for telling dogs and swine (v.6) and false prophets (vv.15–16), and 'judge righteous judgment' (John 7:24). Compare Rom 2:1.

Verse 2

with what measure ye mete — Two matched sayings, 'judgment' (krima) and 'measure' (metron); 'it shall be measured to you again' is one verb, antimetreo, measured back. Luke 6:38 gives it with giving: 'with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.' Jas 2:13: 'he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy'.

Verse 3

the mote… the beam — Karphos is a dry twig or straw, dokos a beam of timber; the contrast is the point. The speck is looked at (blepo), but the beam goes unconsidered: 'considerest not' is katanoeo, to observe fully. The same figure stands in Luke 6:41–42. Gal 6:1 gives the right use: 'restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself'.

Verse 5

Thou hypocrite — Hypokrites is a stage-player, one acting a part; the scribes and Pharisees are called by it in 23:13, 28. The beam goes first, then 'shalt thou see clearly' (diablepo, found elsewhere only in Luke 6:42) 'to cast out the mote': the brother is still to be helped, and the order is what the verse fixes.

Verse 6

cast ye your pearls before swine — Swine were unclean to Israel (Lev 11:7). 'That which is holy' is not to be given to those who will 'trample' and 'rend'. The proverb stands alongside 'Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee' (Prov 9:8) and the Lord's charge to the twelve to 'shake off the dust of your feet' (Matt 10:14).

Verse 7

Ask… seek… knock — All three verbs are present imperatives: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. The answers are 'given', 'find', 'opened'. The promise of seeking runs through the Old Testament: 'ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart' (Jer 29:13); 'The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him' (Ps 145:18).

Verse 11

being evil, know how to give good gifts — 'Evil' (poneros) sets sinful fathers against the heavenly Father; the argument is 'how much more' (posos mallon). Luke 11:13 names the gift: 'the Holy Spirit to them that ask him'. Compare 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above' (Jas 1:17) and 'how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?' (Rom 8:32).

Verse 12

this is the law and the prophets — 'Therefore' gathers vv.7–11: as the Father gives good to those who ask, so do to men. 'The law and the prophets' is the whole Scripture of the time, summed again in 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself… On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets' (22:39–40; Lev 19:18). Rom 13:10: 'love is the fulfilling of the law'.

Verse 13

the strait gate — Stenos, narrow. The wide gate and broad way lead 'to destruction' (apoleia), and 'many there be which go in thereat'. The two ways are Scripture's own: 'I have set before you life and death… therefore choose life' (Deut 30:19); 'the way of the righteous… the way of the ungodly shall perish' (Ps 1:6). Christ says, 'I am the door' (John 10:9).

Verse 15

ravening wolves — Harpax, rapacious. False prophets (pseudoprophetes) wear the look of the flock but are 'inwardly' (esothen) predators. The figure is Scripture's: princes 'like wolves ravening the prey' (Ezek 22:27); Paul's warning, 'grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock' (Acts 20:29). The Lord adds that 'many false prophets shall rise' (24:11).

Verse 16

Ye shall know them by their fruits — Epiginosko, to know fully. The test is what a life produces, not appearance or claim, drawn from orchards: 'every tree is known by his own fruit' (Luke 6:44; Matt 12:33). 'Grapes of thorns… figs of thistles' find their answer in James: 'Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries?' (3:12).

Verse 21

Lord, Lord — The doubled address is the confession without the obedience. The test is 'he that doeth the will of my Father'. Poieo, 'doeth', is the verb of 'bringeth forth' in vv.17–19 and of 'doeth' in vv.24, 26, so fruit and obedience run as one thread. Compare 'why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?' (Luke 6:46).

Verse 22

in that day — Three claims, each 'in thy name': prophesying, casting out devils, 'many wonderful works' (dunamis, works of power). The Lord does not answer the claims; he answers in v.23 with what is missing. Compare the gifts without love in 1 Cor 13:1–2, and 'depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity' in Luke 13:25–27.

Verse 23

I never knew you — 'Profess' is homologeo, to confess openly: his open word answers theirs, as in 'Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father' (10:32). 'Depart from me, ye that work iniquity' draws on Ps 6:8. 'Iniquity' is anomia, lawlessness, the opposite of doing 'the will of my Father' in v.21.

Verse 24

built his house upon a rock — Phronimos, prudent. The wise man is defined by two verbs, 'heareth' and 'doeth' (akouo, poieo), as in 'be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only' (Jas 1:22). 'Rock' is a title of the LORD in the Psalms: 'The LORD is my rock, and my fortress' (Ps 18:2). 'These sayings of mine' (logos) are the Sermon just given.

Verse 26

a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand — Moros, foolish, the word set against 'wise' (phronimos) in 'five of them were wise, and five were foolish' (25:2). Both builders hear 'these sayings'; the difference is the 'doeth them not'. Luke 6:49 puts it: 'a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth'.

Verse 28

astonished at his doctrine — Ekplesso, struck with astonishment; 'doctrine' is didache, teaching. 'These sayings' are the Sermon begun at 5:1, 'seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain'. The same response is recorded at Capernaum: 'they were astonished at his doctrine' (Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32).

Verse 29

as one having authority — Exousia, the right to speak with the final word. The Sermon showed it: 'But I say unto you' (5:22). The scribes (grammateus) were the interpreters of the law, and he did not teach 'as the scribes'. Mark gives the same verdict: 'he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes' (1:22).