Matthew 7:1-12
Jesus knew nothing was sadder than watching a person’s life crash in the storms of life. He also knew nothing was more magnificent than a person facing life’s storms with strength and courage.
Certainly he had watched people in his village, even some in his own family, go through such storms, and he, like any of us, had faced some of life’s troubles. We know one great crisis he faced—his temptation in the desert.
Jesus thought a person made choices that determined the overall quality of life he or she lived. Earlier, he had described this as picking one of two roads for life. Here, with different imagery, he said a person builds a life like a carpenter builds a house. When good choices—that is, putting the words of Jesus into practice—are made during construction, a grand, strong life is created.
Some of Jesus’ teachings directly related to possible life crises; for example, worry, broken marriage, and oppression and abuse. All of his teachings built the inner strength necessary to face them.
To some, Jesus’ claim about the power of his words might sound like a most astounding display of ego. The listening crowd recognized that he assumed for himself the right to simply say what was true on any topic without any reference to precedent or other authority. He spoke as if he knew more about God’s thoughts than anyone else, including their religious leaders.
The most noticeable assumption of authority by Jesus was seen when he expanded on current religious teaching. He quoted the teaching (“You have heard …”) and then expanded it (“but I tell you…”) without any logical argument, reference to religious authorities, or statement of precedent.
Normally, people are put off by this type of attitude. However, the crowds listening to Jesus were at least fascinated by him, and some thought he spoke hope into their lives and made sense like nothing they had heard before.
Jesus the carpenter knew how to build a house that would withstand rain and flood. Jesus the teacher knew how to build a human life that would withstand storms of crises.
Matthew 7:13-23
Was Jesus angry at people who did not do what he thought they should? Was he threatening them?
Typically this passage is interpreted as if he was angry at those on the wrong road and was threatening them with hell.
Previously in the sermon, Jesus used “life” referring to the existence we now experience and its quality, not what we will experience after death. When he talked about “the road … to life” and “the road … to destruction,” it was likely in relationship to the quality of life he had been teaching about earlier in the sermon.
Jesus, a keen observer of human nature, had noticed that each person fits in one of two categories. Some people tend to make day-by-day choices that led to the quality of life he had been teaching about. Others make choices that bring destruction to their life, especially to the inward, spiritual part.
It was as if each person he met was on a road, some on a road leading to life and others on a road leading to destruction of all that is glorious about being a human. And, he had noticed it is easier for a person to get on the road to destruction than the road to life. Jesus’ reference to “false prophets” probably meant the respectable religious people who had become spiritual leaders, a group he had already mentioned in 5:21. Several times earlier in the sermon when he said, “you have heard…,” he likely was referring to their teachings.
Jesus’ warning about spiritual leaders was very important to the common folks because, sensing intuitively the principle about the two roads, they naturally turned to established religious leaders for help.
He urged the common folks not to take the righteousness of these leaders at face value but to put them under the microscope to see what was true. This was a turnaround—religious leaders usually do the testing, mainly of the lives of their followers.
Jesus said these false prophets would come to believe they were the image they projected. When his kingdom, based on heavenly principles, would soon be revealed, they would assume they had the right to enter. He would personally block their entrance.
No, Jesus was not threatening people about wrong choices; he was describing, more with sadness than anger, the true human condition. He was willing to do anything to get a person on the right road for a journey to new life.
Matthew 7:1-12Jesus seemed to be talking in a stream-of-consciousness mode.
In the space of a few minutes, he talked about worrying, judging, fixing other people, God’s fatherly care, and treating others like ourselves (note that chapter and verse divisions were added much later). On the surface, these seem to be a randomly assembled chain of teachings. However, there may be an underlying thread of logic holding them together.
Judging and fixing others and worrying tend to be human preoccupations that interfere with the quality of life Jesus envisioned for his listeners, a life full of zest and busy with things of the kingdom of God.
All three preoccupations run counter to the thinking of God. He thinks worry is useless because He takes care of all that is necessary. He thinks He is more capable than any of us at judging and fixing people, actions which are His sole prerogative.
Jesus gave a two-part solution for our worrying, judging, and fixing preoccupations. One part is learning to trust God to handle our needs.
When children feel insecure about the parental figures in their lives, they tend to worry or to mistreat other children. Similarly, adults tend to worry or to judge and fix others when they feel insecure about the care of God, the heavenly Father.
Jesus first knew about the power of fatherly love from his good and decent stepfather, Joseph. He also know about it from observing seriously flawed fathers in the village where he had lived and worked, men who still took good care of their children’s needs.
Jesus wanted us to know God as the best, doting father, waiting to spoil us. Knowing such love calms our inner fears and reduces our tendency to worry, judge, and fix.
A second part of the solution is learning how to treat other people like we want to be treated.
Jesus knew the hurts and dreams of humans because he had studied his own human experience like a scientist observing an experiment in a laboratory, and from the knowledge he gained, he figured out how to treat other people. He invited each of us to join him in the laboratory, each to study our own human experience, and from the knowledge gained, to learn how to treat other people.
Jesus had a grand plan for a grand life for each of us. He intended that nothing get in the way of that life.
Matthew 6:25-34Jesus thought it was glorious to be a human, and he lived life with zest. He wanted the same for his listeners.He understood life was fragile and dangerous. When he said “Each day has enough trouble of its own,” perhaps he thought back to troubles in the lives of Mary and Joseph, such as those around the time he was born, or troubles in his life, such as his recent time in the wilderness.Jesus knew a person could lose life in quality as well as quantity. He was especially concerned about how worrying corroded away the quality of life, and worrying about things God already took care of seemed extremely senseless to him.Jesus drove his point home with two wonderful lessons drawn from nature. The birds fly and sing, providing us great enjoyment, yet they do not worry about food. Also, the flowers of the field are clothed in magnificent beauty, but they die and dry out and are gathered with the straw used to coax the fire to life. If God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers, Jesus said, He will certainly take care of us.Obviously, his zest for life included a great appreciation for the beauty of nature. As a youngster, he and his friends probably played in the fields around the village, wondering at what they saw. We can image them lying on their backs on a hillside studying the clouds. Even as an adult, when he had a few free moments, he went on walks through the countryside, admiring the flowers and trees and watching the birds and other animals. Jesus' zest for life included more than just appreciation for nature. As he contemplated nature, he saw great truths about God revealed. It was as if he read nature like a theologian reads a scholarly book.When we live the fulfilled life Jesus wanted for us, instead of worrying about necessities of life, we will act and think like him, including looking out for the things of his spiritual kingdom. With his kind of zest for life, perhaps we too will be able to read some theology from the birds and the flowers.
Posts
