Matthew 7:1-12
“Relating To Others”
We all have people in our lives who are different from us.
They have different approaches.
They hold a different perspective.
They have different Christian priorities.
“Their” approach to life can be quite outside “our” approach to life.
It can be messy … unpredictable … challenging.
In Matthew 7:1-12 one of the outcomes Jesus provides is to equip us to respond to this mess … and unpredictability … and challenge … in a Godly manner.
1 ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 ‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
7 ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 ‘Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will Your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
We are taking these verses as one unit because of the way they are structured.
The section starts with
1 ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged
The section closes with
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
This opening and closing directs us towards an overall theme of how we interact with the people around us … the “others”.
What attitudes are we to avoid?
What attitudes are we to adopt?
What’s our approach to the “others” – the ones who are different to us?
As we make our way through 5hses verses let’s all be open to the possibility that we need to be better equipped to deal with the “others”.
So, how should we approach those who are different to us? Jesus starts with
1 ‘Do not judge
When Jesus says, Do not judge, He is not saying. “Just accept everyone’s behaviour.”
How do we know that isn’t what Jesus is saying that?
Jesus talks about specks and logs – a person with a log in their eye can still make a discerning judgment about a speck in someone else’s eye.
Jesus talks about not giving dogs what is sacred … and not throwing pearls to pigs. At the very least you will have to judge who is a dog and a pig.
Later in the sermon Jesus will talk about wolves in sheep’s clothing … and using the fruit of people’s lives to discern what sort of tree they are. They are judgement calls.
Do not judge is not the same as saying “stop being discerning.”
Do not judge is not the same as “no one can comment on my sin, or rebuke my sinful behaviour.”
Do not judge is not the same as “tolerate unacceptable behaviour without comment”.
Jesus is not prohibiting any and every form of judgement.
Jesus is prohibiting unmeasured judgement.
Put up but don’t read.
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Measure for measure.
Accepting that, when we judge, we need to be prepared to be judged by others with the same standard that we have judged them?
What’s our approach to the “others” – to the ones who are different to us.
We use the same measure or standard of judgement that we would apply to ourselves.
Not being hypocritical in our judgement because we are applying a standard to others that we are not willing to apply to ourselves.
Jesus wants us to be aware of the reality that when it comes to our approach to others, we can’t be bad optometrists.
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3 ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Have you noticed how easy it is to have 20-20 vision when it comes to everyone else’s faults ... but when it comes to our own faults we are as blind as a bat?
I am just being firm in my views ... but you are being pig-headed.
I have reconsidered my position ... but you have gone back on your word.
I have strong convictions ... but you have anger issues.
My character sometimes gets the better of me ... you are totally out of control.
We are like eagles aren’t we. We see the smallest movements and dive down to point them out. At the same time, we have a truck-load of faults that we pretend don’t exist.
That is the plank and speck issue Jesus is talking about.
And notice the connection between the two optometry issues.
There is a speck of sawdust in one person’s eye.
There is a plank … the word is used to describe a house beam that holds up your roof … a plank in the other person’s eye.
The sawdust and the plank are made of the same substance … they are just different sized pieces of wood.
We have observed … yes … there is a speck of sawdust in that person’s eye.
That speck shouldn’t be there.
That person should behave differently.
So, very dutifully, we help them remove the speck.
All is well. Until …
… that same person who had the speck.
… that same person who we felt needed to behave differently.
… they are now pointing at our eyes and saying, “You have a plank load of specks in your eye.”
When the next response is “What plank? DO NOT JUDGE ME.”
That’s the bad optometry of not accepting that, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
When it comes to our approach to the “others” who are different to us we can’t be bad optometrists.
Especially because the others being spoken of in Matthew 6:3-5 …
… they are brothers … and sisters.
… they are fellow believers.
… they are part of the family of Jesus.
So here is this group of people with planks in their eye, who go around judging people with specks in their eye, but who are not willing to be judged with the same measure by which they have judged others.
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4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
All of this is happening in the one body of Christ.
Where we have one Spirit and are called to one hope.
With one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.
Yet
… because of a different approach to moral issues.
… or because of a different perspective on theology.
… or because of differing Christian priorities.
… or different ministry strategies.
… or different opinions on Christian spiritual practises.
… or different tolerance levels of sin.
Because of these differences we end up with a massive game of specks and planks.
It is an approach to others that Jesus calls us to avoid.
Not being bad optometrists.
At the same time we also want to be sure that, when it comes to our approach to the “others” we are not to be dog and pig feeders.
In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says
6 ‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
No matter which way you look at it, these words of Jesus seem really harsh … almost derogatory.
When Jesus says “dogs” and “pigs” don’t think of Lassie and Babe.
The dogs in Jesus’ day were not pets, they were street animals. Wild, feeding on garbage, always hungry for scraps, they were dangerous creatures.
For a Jewish person a pig is an unclean animal which Jews were forbidden to eat.
The dogs and pigs were despised, and they had no sense of what is valuable. Indeed, such animals are just as likely to trample over you and tear you to pieces.
Now when we apply this to people.
Jesus is saying that there are people in our lives where it is appropriate for us to disengage from them because they are behaving as dogs and pigs towards that which is sacred and pearls.
We don’t have to let them trample over us, or allow them to tear us to pieces.
Jesus uses strong language to describe a harsh situation.
That is the easier part to understand.
The more difficult part is to know who are these people that are “dogs” and “pigs”.
One possibility is connected to the historical reality that, in the days of Jesus, the Jews referred to the Gentiles as “dogs”. Also, in the mind of a Jew, a Gentile was unclean like a pig, because Gentiles did not follow the biblical laws on how to go about making oneself clean.
In this case the “dogs” and “pigs” are unbelievers, and particularly those unbelievers who, when we tell them the Gospel, are argumentative, disparaging, and quite willing to trample the Gospel and tear us to pieces.
When it comes to such people Jesus is giving us the permission to just walk away and leave them.
There is no point giving them the pearls and the sacred.
We are not obligated to be trampled and torn
Another possibility as to the type of people who are “pigs” and “dogs” can be discerned from 2 Peter 2:20-22
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.’
In this case the “dogs” and the “pigs” are people who were once living as faithful followers of the Jesus
… or said they were followers of Jesus.
… but, who now, have turned away by becoming entangled in the world. So much so these same people are now at work trying to bring other believers into their deception.
They have become argumentative and aggressive towards the body of believers.
When it comes to such people Jesus is giving us the permission to just walk away and leave them.
There is no point giving them the pearls and the sacred.
We are not obligated to be trampled and torn
Through these harsh words
… which are spoken in a context where Jesus says “Do not judge”
Jesus is equipping us to recognise that there are times when the measured response is to put distance between ourselves and these “other” people.
When we are faced with “dogs” and “pigs” who want nothing more than to trample and tear … our approach to these others is that we are not to be dog and pig feeders.
That is pretty heavy going, isn’t it.
But let’s remember that Jesus equips us in this way because He knows that we live in a world where we all have to deal with “others”.
The speck and plank “others”.
The dog and pig “others”.
Situations that require great wisdom and discernment as we ensure that we are making judgements that are “measure for measure”.
It is complicated. It is messy. It is even quite confronting.
But it is not impossible.
Indeed, Jesus gives us a strategy.
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7 ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 6:7-8
Ask ... Seek ... Knock ... that we can receive … and find … and have the door opened.
When it comes to our approach to the “others” do be a praying door banger.
That is the strategy.
We can apply these words in s general way to all sorts of prayer requests.
But we also do need to remember … these words are spoken in a context.
From the context what sorts of issues would Jesus want us to be praying about?
We are to be praying that we will be people who, when we make a judgement, that our judgement is measure for measure.
That we are not hypocrites in our judgement.
That we are not putting judgements and expectations on others which we would not put on ourselves.
That we don’t show favouritism to some, but not others.
We would also be praying for discernment. The discernment required to see specks in the eyes of others. The greater discernment to recognise when we have planks in our own eyes.
Praying for the wisdom to deal graciously with the plank carriers.
We would be praying for humility. Having the humility to accept that … yes indeed … we have a speck in our eye. Having such humility even when someone with a plank in their eye is focussed on our speck.
Praying that we will not behave like bad optometrists.
We would also be praying for the “dogs” and the “pigs”.
For repentance.
For an openness to the Gospel.
For a softening of heart and approach.
For transformation.
For God to whatever He needs to do – that this person will come into relationship with Jesus.
We would also be praying for wisdom that we are not labelling people as “dogs” and “pigs” when they are not.
When we put ask … seek … and knock into its context, these are the sorts of prayers which are going to result.
Jesus isn’t giving us a Heaven Gift-Card where we just ask for what we want and get it.
And if we don’t get what we want … we just seek a bit harder in prayer.
And if that doesn’t work … we start banging on the door to God’s throne room.
That is not what is happening here.
Rather Jesus is equipping us with one strategy which will enable us to spiritually navigate the complicated … messy … confronting situations that result when we are approaching “others” who in one way or another are different.
That strategy is to saturate the whole situation in prayer.
But prayer isn’t the only strategy. The other strategy, when it comes to our approach to the “others” is to be a Bible summary.
Put up but don’t read
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
There will be times when judgements against us are unmeasured, and unwarranted, and unfair.
We don’t do to “them” what they did to “us” … do to others what you would have them do to you.
There will be brothers and sisters who point out the speck in our eye … while completely denying the existence of the plank in their eye.
But these plank-eyed people are still brothers and sisters … so do to them what you would have them do to you.
The “dogs” and the “pigs” in our lives have trampled and torn apart. In that case it is very tempting to retaliate by trampling and tearing. But we don’t … because we are to do to the “others” what we would have them do to us.
Whatever you don’t want to happen to you, don’t do it to another person.
That is an action which is the sum total of putting the law and prophets into action.
When we live this way we are being a visual example of a Bible summary.
Indeed, in living this way, we are following the example of our Saviour.
Prophetically Isaiah tells us that Jesus would be
7 (He was) oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.
Isaiah 53:7
Looking back to the work of Jesus Peter says,
23 When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:23
As we look to Jesus we see the Saviour who did exactly what He is calling us to do.
Doing to others what He would have them do to Him.
Indeed Jesus went a step further … for the “others” would never offer to die in the place of Jesus. But Jesus came to die in the place of all the “others”
… the ones who judge in an unmeasured way.
… the ones with the specks and the planks.
… even the “dogs” and the “pigs”.
Jesus died so that all of them may have life.
As we look to Jesus and see His work … and as we follow Jesus in obedience.
Jesus will equip us to be a Bible summary even when we are engaging with those who are different to us.
We all have people in our lives who are different from us.
They have different approaches.
They hold a different perspective.
They have different Christian priorities.
“Their” approach to life can be quite outside different to “our” approach to life.
It can be messy … unpredictable … challenging.
However, when we allow the Spirit of Jesus to work in us
… when we seek to live in humble obedience.
… we are equipped to deal in a Godly manner with the “others” who are different to us.
What does that equipping look like?
We can’t be bad optometrists.
Playing the game of specks and planks.
We can’t be “dog” and “pig” feeders.
Jesus gives us permission to disengage from such people.
We do want to be praying door bangers.
Continually bringing “the others” before the throne of God.
We do want to be a Bible summary.
Doing to others as we would have them do to us.
Let’s all prayerfully seek to rely on this equipping the next time that “other person” steps into our lives.
Prayer
