The Golden Rule Series

INTRODUCTION

- A marriage counselor told a troubled couple they needed to be more sensitive to each other's needs.

- He challenged them to apply the Golden Rule to their marriage, look at things through their spouse's eyes, and treat them the way they would want to be treated.

- The husband really wanted to save their marriage, so one day the next week, he came home a little early with a dozen roses in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other.

- He opens the door and when his wife sees him and burst into tears. In between sobs, she says, "Little Johnny threw up, your parents called and said they were coming over for dinner, and to top it all off, you come home drunk!" (Dan Raymond)

- Have you ever heard something so profound, sounded so simple, yet is very difficult to do in life?

- Our passage in Matthew 7:12 Week 22 of Core 52, also known as the Golden Rule, is a verse from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew.

- The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of teachings and sayings of Jesus Christ, delivered to his disciples and a large crowd on a mountainside in Galilee.

- The historical context of Matthew 7:12 is vital to understand the significance of this verse.

- Remember, at the time when Jesus delivered this sermon, the region of Galilee was under Roman occupation, and the Jewish people were subject to Roman rule.

- This period was marked by social and economic inequality and religious tensions between different Jewish sects.

- In this context, the Golden Rule was a radical and revolutionary teaching.

- The teaching was not totally new; it had existed in some form throughout the ages.

- As you read your Core 52 lesson this week, Mark Moore gives plenty of examples of this, so I will not repeat what he wrote.

- Usually, the rule was stated from a negative perspective: don't do evil to others, catches the flavor of the way it was stated.

- Some have called this negative way of stating the thought as the silver rule.

- It is good not to do evil to others; however, Jesus will bring us a deeper way of life.

- Matthew 7:12 emphasized the importance of treating others with kindness, compassion, and respect, regardless of their social status or background.

- The passage is so radically different than simply not doing evil to someone.

- The passage we are examining challenged the prevailing cultural norms of the time, which often prioritized power, wealth, and social status over compassion and empathy.

- Let's turn to Matthew 7:12 together.

Matthew 7:12 (NET 2nd ed.)

12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.

SERMON

I. The regulation.

- When you understand the context of when Jesus presented the passage, the opening two words in verse 12 are truly radical!

- The NET 2 translates the words IN EVERYTHING; other translations will say WHATEVER YOU WISH THAT OTHERS WOULD TO YOU.

- The cultural context makes this passage sound so simple, yet in practical terms, not so easy.

Matthew 7:12 (NET 2nd ed.)

12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.

- The Golden Rule is that we are to treat others as we would want them to treat us.

- Ok, that is easy, or is it?

- Let's go back a little bit to something that I think is easier: don't do evil to others, or put it simply, do no harm.

- Some would call this the silver rule, and I imagine most of us here have no issue with following the silver rule.

- The silver rule says DON'T DO UNTO OTHERS, whereas Jesus says DO UNTO OTHERS.

- The silver rule has more of a negative connotation, "don't do anything bad to others."

- By the way, the silver rule at its core is a good thing; we should not be perpetrating evil or harming others.

- The silver rule does not require you to do anything, it does not encourage engagement with others, it promotes avoidance and separation.

- The Golden Rule encourages us to engage people and do something positive.

- Remember the context: the people were basically under Roman captivity; the Jews did not like the Gentiles or anyone who was not Jewish.

- The silver rule would be easy to apply to all those folks: just stay away from them.

- Don't engage them.

- Simple.

- Here is Jesus stirring the pot again.

- Why did He have to say in EVERYTHING?