The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:1-12 (Sermon)

Perspective 

We all see the world through glasses that alter our view of things. Often, our perspective could use an adjustment. We could get a better look at ourselves and be more merciful to others. Well, it puts us on track with Jesus’s commands. Jesus predicted some would reject this kindness, righteousness, and helpful advice. Some will even go on an attack. Can you believe that? But that is what we did to God before we started seeking him. How do we relate to people when they don’t meet our expectations? How do we be a healthy church and have families, marriages, and friendships amid disagreements? The Bible has an answer. 

Text 

I am going to have L.T. read for us this morning. Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 12. Please stand with me if you are able. 

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? 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? 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. 

“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. 

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 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! 

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:1–12)

Pray 

Let’s pray. Dear Father, please move in power. Open eyes, ears, and hearts to hear from your Word. You are kind and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. You treat us better than we deserve. In Jesus’s name, we pray, amen. You may be seated.

Context 

Matthew’s book is about following the promised king into his kingdom. Jesus is the king God had promised. He hiked up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach. He shared with them what it meant to follow God. The journey starts in the heart: a heart moving toward humility, poverty of spirit, purity, justice, and righteousness. The world may persecute Jesus’s people, but God will bless them. God the Father blesses his children. Jesus invited them to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. He clarified that he didn’t come to abolish the Law or Prophets but to fulfill them. He then challenged his little band of believers, pointing them back to his introduction repeatedly. He explored six religious principles from the Old Testament: adultery, murder, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love. He took everything up a notch. He expounded on those rules. He called for complete perfection to get to heaven. This benchmark propels us back to the beatitudes. In chapter 6, Jesus brought up three good works that people consider religious: giving, praying, and fasting. Yet, not all work is equal. Attitude matters. Some do good for people’s recognition, while others do it for God’s reward. That doesn’t mean God’s followers stand on their self-righteousness. Nor can we make God do our bidding. God is not a lackey. He is the Father who responds on his terms and gives generously when he wants. Some people don’t believe it. They seek rewards in this life, neglecting God’s. Others seek security in the temporal. They worry about the here and now. Both can supplant a pursuit of God and his kingdom. Both tempt us. The bottom line is that God is the Father and cares for his children. He sent his Son and made way for those who hunger and thirst for his kingdom. 

CHAPTER 7 

In chapter 7, we see two major sections. The first, verses 1 through 12, relates to how we treat each other, and the second, verses 13 through 27, describes two types of people: those in the kingdom and those outside it. Verses 28 and 29 offer a summary of chapters 5 through 7. As we dive into the first twelve verses of chapter 7, we see three sets of word pictures and a summary statement: 

Logs and Specs (vs 1–5)

Dogs and Pigs (vs 6)

Stones and Snakes (vs 7–11)

The Golden Rule (vs 12) 

Those four sections guide our time. They have sequential logic. 

THE BIG IDEA: Treat Others As You Want To Be Treated

Verse 12 is critical. It parallels the first two verses.

Judge not, that you be not judged. 

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, 

and with the measure you use it will be measured to you…. 

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, 

for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:1–2, 12)

Do you see the parallel? Your judgment of others will be used on you. Your measure on others will be used on you. Conversely, how you want to be treated is how you should treat others. Deep down we desire mercy and that is what God offers. Thus are to share this mercy with others when things don’t go our way. Verses 1 and 2 and 12 are not simply a bookends to this chapter but verse 12 is a bookend to the body of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus began with the Law and the Prophets and ended his message with them. Verse 12 is what we call the golden rule. It is an ethical principle found in many cultures and religions. Why did Jesus say this rule is Law and Prophets? What Law? There are plenty of laws in the Old Testament, hundreds. Jesus responded to a question about what is the most significant law with two: 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. (Matthew 12:30–31) 

The apostle Paul summarized the Law in Galatians and Romans as love. God calls us to love him and others. In chapter 5, Jesus went so far as to issue this challenge: love your enemies. How in the world can a person love his or her enemies? Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14, states that the love of Christ compels us. First John tells us that we love because he [God] first loved us. That begs the question, “How did God love us?” How have we been treated? Let us count the ways. 

ALDI

Before we do that, how many of you shop at Aldi? I love Aldi, by the way. I am so excited about the one coming to Stevensville. No offense to Meijer employees. I shop there too. I bring this up because Aldi requires you to use a quarter for a cart. What do you do when you get a cart for free? I am so cheap that I have thought of a money-making scheme with those quarters. I could enlist my children like gypsies for the parking lot to return carts and pocket the quarters. What do you think? Is that a good idea? That could go sideways. There is another way to look at a free cart. Instead of me gleaning the world for pocket change, I could view those little blessings as an opportunity to bless others. It feels great to get something free. How cool is it to give what I want to others? Treat others as you wish to be treated. Verse 12. To do that, I need to remember my blessings.   

GOD’S BLESSING 

I need to remember. Let’s count our blessings beyond our shopping carts and quarters. We can begin with the thought, “Things could be a whole lot worse.” We don’t have earthquakes here in Michigan, although some have felt small ones over the decades. We don’t have corruption like in Haiti. We don’t have healthcare problems like in Afghanistan. We don’t have food shortages like in Yemen. We don’t have a war like Ukraine. Instead, we have jobs and little unemployment. We have roads, education, and social safety nets. We have a strong dollar, banks, and schools. We have freedom of religion, assembly, and speech. Not only that, we have relative health. You could go through each bone, muscle, tendon, and ligament and thank God for each. We have families. We have a church. We have faith. We have the Bible. We have a heavenly Father who loves us and tells us so repeatedly. Each sunrise and rain shower is an expression of his affection. We could comb the Bible from beginning and end to find everything we have from God and see the blessings with fresh eyes. Let us count the ways. Why? The love of Christ compels us to love others. God wants us to treat others the way he has treated us. Golden Rule.  

TREASURE 

Jesus tells a story of a man who found a treasure. He sold all he had and bought the field. God has given us a prize greater than any treasure we can store in a bank, by sending his one and only Son, Jesus, for us. We need to remember. It is not because of how great we are but how kind he is. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve or pay us back for how we have ignored and rejected him. Instead, he has forgiven us through Jesus dying in our place. God has treated us way better than we could ever dream. 

KNOWING 

Remembering how blessed we are can inspire us to bless even our enemies. Paul wrote, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). 

Logs and Specs 

That is all nice and good. However, isn’t it loving to confront at times? Jesus confronted his followers. What do we do when people are not meeting expectations? What do we do with the knot in our stomach telling us that we have to speak up? How do we process a burning need to confront kids, co-workers, and nearest neighbors? The words flow through our minds like a swelling spring. Our email drafts pour onto our computer, and the text expands like an accordion. We feel like we have to say something. We have to. What do we do? There are times when we need to confront. Yes. And there are times we feel like we need to confront. They are not the same. Jesus cautioned us in chapter 7 using the images of,  

Logs and Specs (vs 1–5)

This might be one of the most quoted passages of our day.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? 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? 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. (Matthew 7:1–5)

Admittedly, people are too critical. They were in the time of Jesus and in our time. People haven’t changed. People sin. People mess up. People can be annoying. What was Jesus saying? We all have frameworks, biases, and lenses through which we look at the world. We also all have sinned. Both hinder our ability to operate peacefully in the community and confront conflict. Jesus wanted to reform his people to look inwardly before dealing with each other. If we don’t follow this principle, we will cause more problems. Have you ever met someone who has a standard but doesn’t live up to it? We call that hypocrisy. Jesus’s word picture was quite comical: a person is doing surgery while having 2x4s sticking out of their eyes. If you were to go to Great Lakes Eye Care this week and the doctor had this in front of his face, would you want him to cut you? No way. Jesus suggested that this eye problem is evident to all but the surgeon. Friends, if you go this week to Great Lakes and see this guy, run the other way! 

PAUSE AND SWALLOW

Jesus is talking to the surgeon. If that is us, what should the surgeon do? Pause. Don’t operate. Take a dose of humility and try on your medicine before you dispense it. 

IMAGINE

Imagine if everyone stopped before they sent the email, tweet, or post. What if they asked themselves, would I want to be spoken of like this? Consider waiting a day to send an emotional message. Then, run it by someone uninvolved who will give you honest feedback. We need censors in our heads editing and moderating. This will save you so many headaches. Show some humility and mercy. 

But… WHAT ABOUT? 

But, maybe you are reading this verse, thinking, “I wish so-and-so would read it. They need to get the log out of their eye.” Ironic. We can be judgmental of judgmental people. Remember, blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Remember, blessed are the meek. Show a little compassion and swallow a little pride. 

ORDER OF OPERATION 

Now, do we throw all observations and feedback out the window? Was that Jesus’s point? No. Jesus made this an order of operation, just like math. You first do multiplication and division before you add. First, look inwardly, and then maybe pull out your scalpel for elective surgery. 

SECTION 2: Dogs and Pigs 

Let’s say we bring an observation, and people reject it. Doesn’t that stink? It happens. What are we supposed to do if we don’t think people will listen? Look at verse 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” (Matthew 7:6). 

The dogs in Jesus’s day were not like our dogs. They were dirty scavengers, coyote-like. When I was in India, one was under the stairs with her babies by the garbage pile. Although they were cute, people had warned me to look out for these dogs because they carry rabies. Psalm 59:14–15 used this analogy for people. 

Each evening they come back, 

      howling like dogs 

      and prowling about the city. 

They wander about for food 

      and growl if they do not get their fill. (Psalm 59:14–15)

PIGS 

Jesus used a second animal in verse 6. Pigs. Pigs were disgusting. Some people still think they are. I love bacon and Charlotte’s Web. Wilbur is cute. 

However, people in Jesus’s day considered pigs unclean. They ate anything. They were living garbage disposers. So Jesus was saying, “Don’t waste your time correcting these people. These people are not going to hear your precious observations.” 

EXAMPLE OF THIS

Do we have an example of this? Yes, in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sent out his disciples to tell about the good news of the kingdom of God. If people didn’t receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on. To keep sharing would only waste time and energy. The fields were ripe with the harvest. We don’t have time to argue with people who like to fight but don’t want to change or listen. But how will they ever change: in the same way we are changed; by the Spirit. We can’t be the Holy Spirit for people. We are poor substitutes. 

ARGUMENT 

In high school, my strategy of evangelism was an argument. How many people do you think I convinced? None. Jesus’s method was mercy, meekness, generosity, and love. He spoke the truth but carefully chose his words and timing. It is okay to confront and good to witness, but timing, tone, and message matter. This can be frustrating because we might not see people change using Jesus’s method. Be patient. Remember, God probably got frustrated with us at some point. No one is born Christian. We have all been pigheaded and running astray. How did God treat us when we were stuck in our sins? He was patient. He waited. He expressed his love. The following section helps us deal with frustration, disappointment, and unmet desires. We have seen the Specs and Logs and Pigs and Dogs. 

SECTION 3: STONE AND SERPENTS 

Now, let's learn about, 

Stones and Snakes (vs 7–11)

Look at verses 7: 

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 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! (Matthew 7:7–11)

What was Jesus saying? As good parents want to give good things to their children, God, the Father, wants to give good things to his children. Even more so. He is greater than them. He is better than them. He is more loving. He is more compassionate. He is more kind. He is more powerful. He is more aware. He is more. You can go to him when others reject you or aren’t behaving the way you like. You can talk to him, seek him, and ask him. The line of communication is open. He is not busy, too weak, and too old. God is good and strong. First Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” That casting is like fishing. You throw out your requests to God. What do you have to lose? Lob your cares at him. The Bible says we have not because we ask not.

EXERCISE 

Let’s cast our cares on him right now. What is one thing you care about? Please write it down. Talk to God about it now. Don’t let the entire week go by to do this again. God cares. God hears. He invites you as a child to go to him. Ask. Seek. Knock. Don’t block him out, mute him, or unfriend him. Hear his heart and respond in prayer. After the sermon, we have an offering; we can offer God our requests on a connect card. We, as leaders, pray for you. You don’t have to be alone. You can share with us your prayer request. If you want the whole body praying, let us know. We can put it in our weekly email and bulletin. If you wish to have people after the service praying for you, we can do that too. We usually have a couple of people upfront praying with people after the service. Cast your cares on him because he cares for you. 

SECTION 4: GOLDEN RULE 

The final verse, verse 12, summarizes the section. We have already talked about this.  

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

How do you want people to treat you? Think about that. You want respect. You want compassion. You want to be heard. Deep down, you probably desire love. How do you want to be treated? God wants us to extend that to others. So, how do we overcome our fears of being friendly to those who could care less, don’t reciprocate, or treat us poorly? 

• First, we must remember who is asking, Jesus, God’s only Son. Remember Jesus. He is inviting us on a faith journey with him. 
• Second, we must remember Our heavenly Father. He knows we are poor and needy. 
• Third, we must remember we are blessed. Blessed are the persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
• Fourth, we must remember we can’t do this on our own. God is here to help. 
• Fifth, we must remember how God has treated us. He loves us. 

7.8 Earthquake 

Before dawn in Syria and Turkey this week, an earthquake shook the world with a 7.8 magnitude quake. In the village of Qatma, a woman gave birth to her baby girl as the five-story apartment building collapsed on them. It killed the mother and father and four siblings. But, miraculously, this baby survived. 

Isn’t she cute? Rescuers pulled her from the wreckage, still attached to her mother. She is doing well. I imagine the loving mother giving birth and sheltering her baby as she passed away. Friends, we were like this baby. God sacrificed his one and only Son on our behalf so that we may live. He saved us not from some evil outside us but the evil inside of our hearts. He died in love so we may live and share his care with others. We, who once were God’s enemies, have a place at his table as sons and daughters. We are royalty by adoption. We are ambassadors of mercy and peace, offering what the world doesn’t know they need. We are “works in progress” We must keep pursuing meekness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking. Our heavenly Father wants to help. Let’s ask him and seek him. 

PRAY

Let’s pray. 

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