WILL THE REAL ME PLEASE STAND UP? (MATTHEW 7:13-27)
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My fellow department coworker Roy returned from a holiday (July 31, 2017) and posted a scrrenshot to our chat group: “Rev Yap, look at this picture! Seems like your book has been pirated, Chinee IT people just told me abut it.”
The pirated copy of my book Fellow Disciples was selling for RMB$20, a huge drop-off from the HK$110 they sell in Hong Kong bookstores. When I reposted it to friends the response was hilarious:. Some were mad while others were tickled. The emojis ranged from angry emoji, shocked emoji to laughing emojis. Some said, “Praise the Lord” and others said, “You are famous.” The best suggestion was to order a copy to see if the contents were the same, which I never did.
The Sermon on the Mount, which begings in Matthew chapter 5 ends with at least three obvious contrasts: the straight gate and wide gate (v 13), the good fruit and the evil fruit (v 18), and the wise man (v 24) and the foolish man (v 26). Life has its crossroads or circumstances, choices and consequences, of which the worst of the lot include ending in destruction (v 13), being cast into the fire (v 19) and suffering a great fall (v 27).
What kind of choices in life please the Lord? How do we resist wrong decisions, wicked men and worthless pursuits in life? Why is the test of character a good a test as any for ourselves and the company we keep and choices we make?
Pick the Path
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Every morning where I live some residents run to a certain place – no matter men or women, overweight or skinny, young or old, high heels or tailored jackets. Why are they rushing? Where are they going? What is their purpose? They are heading to the pier to get into a eight feet wide gate to get into a ferry that will take them to Central. The next ferry on non-primetime and weekends is an hour away.
There is a notice taped to the glass door: Our staffs will, with immediat effect, close the pier gate punctually in order to facilitate the sailing on time and to minimize the interruption to the on-board passengers. Our company would like to request all passengers should reach the pier for boarding before the schedule time. For those late comers kindly please take the next sailing. Any inconvenience caused would be much regretted! 2 March 2009
Doors are eveywhere – at home, to the elevator, to bus, MTR gate and train, to work and to the restroom. Did I miss anything?
Verse 13 begins with a positve command – “enter!” The closest equivalent to this command is the similar “enter” command to the good and faithful servants: “Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matt 25:21, 23). Further, the phrase “to life” (v 14) or “into the life” in Greek occurs merely eight times in the Bible and only John 5:24 tells us specfically what this life is: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (NASU) The heart of God is always for His creation and children to follow Him and finish well and not fall asleep, fall aside or fall apart.
The three words “narrow” (stenos), “wide” and “broad” is a progression. Narrow (stenos) has a medical equivalent “stenosis,” for the narrowing or stricture of a passage or vessel. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through the spine to your arms and legs. Wide (plateia) is another translation for streets (Matt 6:5). In Greek plateia or platia for town square. Broad is (euruchoros), for which the preposition ‘eu” is good and “chora” is translated as land (Mark 1:5), ground (Luke 12:16), fields (John 4:35) and coasts (Acts 26:20).
The second progression is from “narrow gate” to “gate” or door, then to “way,” which is translated elsehwere as journey (Matt 10:10) or highway (Matt 22:9).
Destruction (v 13) is translated as waste (Matt 26:8), perdition (John 17:12), perish (Acts 8:20) and damnable (2 Peter 2:1). It is clear, complete and crushing loss or ruin. Those liable for destruction in the Bible include money (Acts 8:20), vessels of wrath (Rom 9:22), enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil 3:18-19), man of sin or the son of perdition (2 Thess 2:3), foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men (1 Tim 6:9), and false prophets, false teachers and their damnable heresies (2 Peter 2:1), ungodly men (2 Peter 3:7) and the beast (Rev 17:8).
The next “small/narrow” (v 14, small is the gate) and the first “narrow” in verse 13 are different in that the second ‘small/narrow” refers to affliction (Matt 7:14), trouble (2 Cor 4:8) and tribulation (1 Thess 3:4). Is is not about space but about suffering.
Prize the Produce
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Do you know how to buy fruits and vegetables in the supermarket? In the old days people used to touch, smell or even shake and hit the fruit. Nowadays what do peole check? Simple, the numbers on the bar code! A recent friend in town gave me an orange from his guest room that has the number 3108. Fruits and vegetables in the supermarket have bar codes that begin with 3,4, 8 or 9. Guess what number fruit to avoid? 8 rhymes with egg, looks like zero or naught. The “0” reminds one of GMO, genetically modifed food.
All others, like 3 or 4, are neither GMO or organic. They are conventionally grown. This means the growers could have applied poisons to the food, including pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizer. But the food itself is not genetically modified.
9 is best. It is organic, not genetically modified and not coated with poison.
Verse 15’s “watch out” is an imperative, translated as take heed (Matt 6:1), beware (Matt 7:15), regard (Acts 8:11) and attend (Acts 16:14). It means to be cautious, careful and cognizant, not careless, calloused or carefree. It is in the present tense. False prophets is not singular but plural, and there are eight references to false prophets (plural) to three references to false prophet (singular) in the Bible. Two of the eight references to false prophets are “many false prophets” (Matt 24:11, 1 John 4:1). The contrast to sheep is not wolves, but ferocious wolves. Ferocious (v 15, harpax) is derived from “harpazo,” which can be translated as take by force (Matt 11:12), spoil (Matt 12:29), catch away (Matt 13:19), pluck (John 10:28) and pull (Jude 23). It is to seize, snatch, shake, split and spoil. False prophets claim authority, affiliation and advantages they do not have.
From people we progress to fruits and trees. Notice “good fruit” and not “evil fruit” is the emphasis – thrice to twice. Grapes and figs (v 16) are healthy, consummable, but thorns and thistles are harmful. Grapes and fruits are, after all, fruits and not the barks, briers and bristles. Grapes and fruits are consummabe, edible, tasty, and sellable.
The overwhelming repetion in the passage is fruit, which occurs seven times in five verses (vv 16, 17 2x, 18 2x, 19, 20). The two vebrs associated with fruit are recognize/know (vv 16, 20) and “make” (fruit). The verb “recognize” (epiginosko) is not knowledge but acknowledgement. The difference is like between look and see, speak and communicate something, hear and listen.
It is obvious, objective and observable; indisputable, irrefutable, incontestable. The tree is not qualified as “bad” (v 17) , but “corrupt” (sapros) in KJV, meaning rotten, ruined, worthless. Not a form but its formation, not its DNA but its development. Cut down and thrown into fire (v 19) is different in that the second is diseased, displaced, disfavored, discarded, destroyed, disintegrated.
Contrast:
Matt 7:15
sheep's clothing
ravening wolves.
Matt 7:16
grapes
thorns
Matt 7:16
figs
thistles
Matt 7:17
good tree bringeth forth good fruit corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Practice the Profession
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
IF I CONDEMN YOU, BLAME ME NOT.
Ye call Me Master and obey me not,
Ye call Me Light and see Me not,
Ye call Me Way and walk not,
Ye call Me Life and desire Me not,
Ye call Me wise and follow Me not,
Ye call Me fair and love Me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask Me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust Me not,
Ye call Me noble and serve Me not,
Ye call Me mighty and honor Me not,
Ye call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame me not.
~~Inscription inside the Lübeck Cathedral, Germany.
Verse 21 contrasts the “Lord, Lord” with “My Father.” The negative “never” (v 23) occurs only 17 times in the Bible, of which this is the first, the same negation Peter used in his bold prediction (Matt 26:33, “I will never be offended”) and the prodigal son’s brother (Luke 15:29 “I never transgressed your commandment” amd “You never gave me a kid”).
The first imperative (v 13, enter) has to do with our effort, and others (v 15, watch out) in the second imperative but the last imperative (v 23) concerns our relationship with God. The imperative “away/depart” (apochoreo) also describes the devil’s departure from a man’s demon-possessed son (Luke 9:39). It is derived from “choreo, which is room (Mark 2:2), place (John 8:37) or containing (John 2:6). It mean out of sight, put distance, nothing in common,
There are four closely related verbs: say (v 21, lego), say (v 22, ereo), prophesy (v 22) and tell plainly/profess (v 23, homologeo).
There are four “do” in this last section but they are two sets of contrasts:
Matt 7:21 doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matt 7:24
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
26 heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not
The one who practices God’s Word is likened to a wise man who builds his house on a rock. The rock is the surest, sturdiest, and soundest foundation in nature. In Greek, the word “foundation” (v 25) is actually a verb (“founded”) and not a noun (“foundation”). Elsewhere the same word is translated “established” (Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:23). And it is used of God laying the foundations (Heb. 1:10) of the earth and of believers being steadfast (1 Peter 5:10). The digging (Luke 6:48) of the foundation is an extensive, expensive, and exhausting job without modern tractor, tools, and technique. It is a tiresome, thankless, and treacherous job with the workload, the workforce, and the working hours involved.
The contrast with rock is sand. According to Wikipedia, sand particles range from 0.002 to 0.078 inch in diameter (0.0625 to 2 millimeters). Sand is lightweight, porous, and soft. Sand easily sinks, slides, and shifts. It has spaceand it does not stick, thereby it is never stable. Rock, on the other hand, does not easily buckle, budge or break.
Conclusion: In Christ, there is no room for neutrality, negativism or naiveté; only the newness of life. There is no room in His kingdom for frauds, fans and fool, but for followers, who not just to mouth something but mean something, not just to say it but to show it. Are you manifesting the Lord in your public and personal life? Are you fastened on the rock? Are your eyes fixed and focused on Jesus? Are you formed and fed by His word?
