7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 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.
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Section Overview
The connection between Matthew 6 and 7 is not clear, and scholars relate the passages in various ways. Hagner sees a “relatively abrupt break” at 7:1 and “no real connection” between 7:7–11 and what precedes or follows.108 Morris sees a tight but antithetical connection: “Jesus turns from a negative attitude in one’s own affairs (worry) to a negative attitude . . . to others.”109 Keener, Bruner, and others link the prohibition against judgment to the Lord’s Prayer, particularly the petition to “forgive us our debts” (6:12–15).110 Bruner sees “Judge not” as the fifth beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful” (5:7), in reverse. He also sees links to the themes of mercy and a refusal to retaliate (5:38–48; 9:13; 12:7).111
The diversity of opinions on the absence of explicit connections in Matthew means certainty is elusive; the lack of connectors at the outset of 7:1–12 may function in at least two ways. Several scholars agree that 7:1–12 teaches disciples how to treat others. This suggests a progression in the way disciples relate (1) to the law (5:21–48), (2) to the world (6:1–34), and (3) to neighbors (7:1–12). Disciples of the king are fearless (6:24–34), not judgmental (7:1–6). If they face needs, they need but ask (7:7–11).112 Matthew 7:1–12 also teaches readers how to handle the commands and ideals of 5:1–6:34: Let no one use Jesus’ instruction to judge others (7:1–6). Instead, disciples should ask God for capacity to follow (7:7–11). The call to right relationship with God then closes the sermon (7:13–29). Each of these proposals has merit, and there are family resemblances among them. At a minimum, 7:1–12 describes the right way to relate to neighbors (7:1–6, 12) and to God (7:7–11).
In passing, we can note that passages such as 7:7–11 lead scholars to posit that both Matthew and Luke had access to the same source (“Q”) of sayings of Jesus. Large portions of the Sermon on the Mount appear in Luke, in a variety of locations. Matthew 7:7–11 appears in a different location, but with identical wording of several sentences (cf. Luke 11:9–13), making it likely that the Evangelists quote the same source.
Section Outline
III.E. Jesus Calls to Discipleship (7:1–12)
1. No Judgment, Unless Necessary (7:1–6)
2. Ask, Seek, Knock (7:7–12)
Like most of the Sermon on the Mount, 7:1–6 is tightly structured. If 6:34 forbids worry, a negative disposition toward one’s own affairs, then 7:1 forbids judgment, a negative disposition toward the affairs of others. Secular readers seize upon “Judge not” in order to enlist Jesus for their ethical relativism, but a proper outline of verses 1–5 corrects that error. Garland notes, “The imperative ‘do not judge’ hooks the attention of the listener because it challenges an everyday . . . activity.”113 The poetic structure of verses 1–3 is easy enough to follow. “Judge not, that you be not judged” is the overture. The reason, echoed in Romans 2:1, is that the standard a judge uses on others will be applied to himself as well (Matt. 7:2). The judge, according to verse 3, has an absurd position, fixing on specks in a brother’s eye while ignoring logs in his own. The chiastic structure of verses 4–5 reveals Jesus’ intent:
7:4b: Let me cast the speck from your eye,
7:4c: and behold (untranslated by ESV)
7:4d: the beam is in your eye.
7:5c: and then you will see clearly
7:5d: to cast the speck from your brother’s eye. [AT]114
If this outline is correct, Jesus instructs disciples to assess and improve themselves first before condemning others. Since “judge not” follows eighty verses of instruction, Jesus wisely warns his disciples not to use his instruction to condemn others. On the contrary, “First take the log out of your own eye.” The apparently contrary command, “Do not give dogs what is holy,” concludes the section.
After Jesus declares, “Do not judge,” he supplies reasons for heeding his command. First, God is the judge of mankind, and no one has a right to usurp that role (v. 1). Second, anyone who judges others invites judgment in return, from both God and humanity (vv. 2–3). Third, since no one can see himself accurately, why should he attempt to detect and critique the flaws of others (vv. 4–5)? Instead of judging neighbors, one should ask God to remove his own sins (vv. 7–11).
Verses 7–11 comprise three sections. The passage opens with tight parallels in verses 7–8. When disciples ask, seek, and knock, God gives, people find, and God opens doors. Next, two instances of human faithfulness illustrate God’s faithfulness in a lesser-to-greater pattern: If a sinful father gives his son bread rather than stones and fish rather than serpents, how much more will the Father in heaven “give good things to those who ask him” (vv. 9–11)?
Verse 12 is not clearly connected to verses 7–11. Most likely this word from Christ functions as a summary and conclusion of his instruction.
Response
Matthew 6 ends with a prohibition, “Do not be anxious” (6:34), and chapter 7 begins with one, “Judge not” (7:1). “Do not be anxious” forbids a negative attitude toward one’s own affairs: worry. “Judge not” forbids a negative attitude toward others: a critical spirit.118 In 6:33, Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” In 7:1, he refines the point. Instead of criticizing the unrighteousness of others, disciples should first address their own unrighteousness (7:1–5). Christians must make judgments (John 7:24), but they must do so humbly, mindful of their own sins (Gal. 6:1). They shun the censorious spirit (Rom. 14:3–4, 10–13; 15:7) that uses laws to condemn others, and they renounce the ambition to take God’s role as judge.119
Nonetheless, it is human nature to hear a penetrating message and think of friends who need to hear it. The impulse can be loving or evasive. After sermons, congregants often tell pastors, “Powerful sermon, pastor. I wish my friend had been present to hear it.” The pastor, gently redirecting the conversation, may reply, “Yes, we all need to hear God’s Word, don’t we?”
It is possible that “Judge not” has become the best known, most affirmed of Jesus’ sayings. Paradoxically, torrents of criticism and invective pour from all media, with singular scorn reserved for the intolerant. This is not as contradictory as it seems in a secular age governed by expressive individualism and the constant imperative to “Follow your heart.” Anyone who judges, censures, or, worse yet, prohibits freely chosen acts that (ostensibly) harm no one necessarily seems to attack the gospel of self-actualization and to interrupt the mantra of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Biblically grounded judgments seem wrong because they impose an external authority, one that dares to say no to the passions and dreams of others. Scripture and the church say that certain free choices—premarital cohabitation, divorce at will, sexual experimentation, maybe even gambling—are unjust and exploitative, not harmless. The prevailing mindset of the age assumes that any sincere action that expresses the heart or the passions is good, provided that it does no harm and occurs between consenting adults.120 If Christians oppose harmless, consensual acts, they are judgmental and controlling, possibly even bigoted or hateful.
The Christian replies that apparently harmless acts may be destructive. Secondhand smoke was once considered harmless. Millions have the same opinion of premarital sex, even though the social data support Scripture. The goal of the church in forbidding desirable, apparently harmless acts is not to forbid happiness or to exercise control. The church believes there is a God who knows how the world works and who legislates accordingly. So the living God exhorted Israel “to keep the commandments . . . of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good” (Deut. 10:12–13).
Matthew 7:7–11 leads back to the model prayer of 6:9–13, answering three questions disciples ask about prayer: Does God know their needs? Yes (6:32). Will he answer? Yes (7:7–8). Is he indifferent or inclined to our good? The latter; he gives good gifts (7:9–11).
Calvin wrote that the Golden Rule restates the duty of justice. Quarrels occur, he taught, because men “knowingly and willingly trample justice under their feet,” even as they demand justice for themselves. Wars, whether personal or international, start that way. Calvin’s letters suggest that he might have had himself in mind when he said men that can “explain minutely and ingeniously what ought to be done” for them. Sadly, we are rarely so diligent with the rights of others.121 Here again, the thorough exposition of Jesus’ message drives the reader to despair of obedience, to seek mercy for sin, and perhaps to rush onward to the climax of the book of Matthew, Jesus’ death and resurrection.