Matthew 7:6, 12-14
Chapter 7
6
Holy Things
Do not give what is sacred to dogs, or toss your pearls before pigs. They might trample them and then attack you, tearing you apart.12
The Golden Rule
So, do to others whatever you would want them to do to you: there you have the law and the prophets.
13
The Narrow Gate
Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many go that way.
14
How narrow is the gate that leads to life, and how rough the road; few there are who find it.
Commentaries
Judging Others – Holy Things.
The Sermon on the Mount gradually dismantles the internal barriers and conditioning that imprison and enslave people from a new perspective that transforms ethics and all traditional human behavior: the presence of the kingdom of God. It does so by addressing the law of retaliation, the desire to possess, and anxiety about tomorrow; now it also challenges judgment against one’s brother.
Perseverance in Prayer – The Golden Rule.
At this point in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ disciple-listener might feel overwhelmed by the radical challenges posed by the kingdom of God, challenges that seem utopian, bordering on the absurd, and beyond our human ability to understand and accomplish.
The “golden rule” (12) is not a new concept; it appears in the ethical codes of all religions and cultures in some form. What is new is the radically different perspective from which it is now presented: the presence of the kingdom of God among us, which changes our behavior toward each other and unleashes a love that knows no limits.
The Narrow Gate.
Matthew concludes the Sermon on the Mount with an epilogue that highlights the difficult situation faced by Christians of his time, who were not protected from hostility and persecution. While the evangelist is thinking of the communities he is writing to, Jesus’ words are meant for followers of all eras, for whom living by the Gospel’s values often runs counter to the norm—socially, politically, and sometimes religiously.