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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 7
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Chapter Level Commentary:
READING CYCLE THREE (from "hyperlink")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
BACKGROUND TO Mat_7:1-29
A. The Lucan parallel starts the same section with a positive statement "Be merciful as. . ." Luk_6:36-38; Luk_6:41-42. Usually Luke's accounts of Jesus' sermons are briefer than Matthew's, but here Luke records more of Jesus' words.
B. This chapter has several asyndetons (lack of linking particles, which was very unusual in Greek), Mat_7:1; Mat_7:6-7; Mat_7:13; Mat_7:15. It was a grammatical way of highlighting individual truths. It is presuppositional to assume that Jesus' sermon had a unifying theme or structured outline. He may have been following the common rabbinical teaching technique called "pearls on a string," which links unrelated topics together. Although some of the individual subjects at first seem unrelated to their surrounding contextual units, it is the best hermeneutical approach to interpret them in light of (1) context and (2) their usage in other Gospel parallels. The author of Matthew did have a unified theme and structured outline determining which of Jesus' teachings to record and in what order to record them.
C. It is possible to relate Mat_7:1-12 to the preceding context in the following manner:
1. Mat_7:1-5 show the danger of Mat_5:20; Mat_5:48
2. Mat_7:6 shows the danger of sentimental, nondiscerning love
3. Mat_7:7-11, prayer is the believer's key to proper discernment
4. Mat_7:12 is a summary of the great truth which should characterize all kingdom people
D. This section, like all of the Sermon on the Mount, paints life in black and white. An excellent discussion of the relation between Mat_7:1-6 is found in William Hendricksen's commentary on Matthew, "The Lord has been admonishing his listeners to abstain from judging others (Mat_7:1-5), yet also to judge (Mat_7:6); not to be hypercritical, yet to be critical; to be humble and patient, yet not too patient," p. 360.
E. Remember this is not a presentation of the gospel, but an ethical message about life in the Messianic kingdom. Its three major truths are
1. the sin of religiosity
2. the supremacy of Jesus' teaching about God
3. our response to Jesus and His teachings and God's judgment of our response
F. The Sermon on the Mount ends with three or four invitations and warnings related to the two choices facing mankind (Mat_7:13-27): (1) two ways, (2) two fruits, (3) two professions, and (4) two foundations. They all relate to the end-time judgment based on now-time actions.
G. Mat_7:28 is a summary statement by Matthew. Matthew concludes all five of Jesus' teaching sections with a summary statement. They may have formed his structure for the Gospel.
1. Mat_7:28
2. Mat_11:1
3. Mat_13:53
4. Mat_19:1
5. Mat_26:1
H. It must be remembered that at this early stage of Jesus' preaching/teaching the full gospel was not yet known. The hearers, even the disciples, did not fully realize who Jesus was and the price discipleship would require to follow Him in persecution, rejection, and death.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Is it sinful for Christians to judge one another?
2. What does Mat_7:6 mean?
3. Does Mat_7:7 imply that human persistence can avail in prayer?
4. Does Mat_7:13 imply that it is hard to be saved? What exactly are the two ways?
5. How do you know who is a false prophet?
6. What does the term "fruit" mean?
7. Is it possible for successful ministries to be empowered apart from a personal relationship with Christ?
8. What is the relationship between hearing and doing in the Christian faith?
9. Is persecution necessary in the Christian life?