Chapter 7

Chapter 7. — On Judging No One. On Asking and Seeking. On Being Wary of the False Prophets

¹ Judge not, that you be not judged. He does not forbid the rebuking [of others], but the condemning. For reproof is unto profit, but condemnation unto reproach and contempt — and that especially when a man who himself has great sins reproaches others for lesser ones, which God is about to judge.

² For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you. And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me cast out the mote from your eye, and behold, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the mote from your brother’s eye. He who is about to rebuke others must be blameless. For if he himself, having a beam in his eye — that is, a great log, or sin — finds fault with another who has a mote, he has made that one more shameless. And the Lord shows that one who sins greatly cannot even rightly see his brother’s sin; for he who has a beam in his eye, how should he see another who is moderately harmed?

³ Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Dogs are the unbelievers; swine are those who believe, yet have a filthy life. One must not, then, speak the mysteries to unbelievers, nor the bright and pearl-like words concerning theology to the unclean; for the swine trample, that is, despise, the things spoken, while the dogs, turning, tear us in pieces — as do those called philosophers, when they hear that God was crucified, who tear us with their syllogisms, sophistically [arguing] that this is impossible.

⁴ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; for everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened. In the foregoing he commanded great and difficult things; so here he shows how they shall be accomplished — namely, through continual prayer to God; for “Ask,” he said, meaning “always”; for he did not say, “Ask once.” Then he confirms what was said by an example drawn from human life.

⁵ Or what man is there of you, of whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? And if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Here he teaches that one must both ask earnestly and ask for things that are profitable. For you, he says, see your children asking for fitting things, bread and a fish, and you give to them when they seek such things; so do you seek the spiritual things, not the carnal.

⁶ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? He calls men evil, comparing them with God, since our nature is good, as God’s creation, but by choice we do evil.

⁷ All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them; for this is the law and the prophets. He shows the short road to virtue; for we men know of ourselves what is fitting. For if you wish to receive good, do good; if you wish to be loved by your enemies, love your enemies also. For indeed the law of God and the prophets say those things which the natural law too enjoins upon us.

⁸ Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are that go in by it. By the narrow gate he means the trials — both the voluntary, such as fasting and the rest, and the involuntary, such as bonds and persecutions. As, then, a fleshy man, or one carrying much, cannot enter through the narrow [gate], so neither can the luxurious or the rich; but through the broad [gate] such men enter. And showing that the strait place too is temporary, and the broadness passing, he called it a gate and a way; for the one who suffers hardship passes through the gate, that is, the hardship, while the one who lives in luxury passes along his luxury as along a way. Since, then, both are temporary, the better is to be chosen.

⁹ How narrow is the gate, and strait the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it! The “How” is an exclamation; for he marvels — alas, how narrow it is! How then does he say elsewhere, My yoke is light? Because of the recompenses to come.

¹⁰ But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves; by their fruits you shall know them. The heretics are crafty and treacherous; for this reason he says, Beware. For they put forward fair speech, and feign a solemn life, but within is the hook. And the sheep’s clothing is also the gentleness which some assume in pretense, in order to flatter and deceive. And by their fruit they are known — that is, by their works and their life. For even though they play the hypocrite for a season,

¹¹ Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruits, but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruits. Thorns and thistles are the hypocrites: thorns, as wounding secretly; thistles, as crafty and many-sided. And a corrupt tree is everyone whom a sodden and dissolute life rots away.

¹² A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruits. So long as it is corrupt, it cannot; but if it be changed, it can. For see that he did not say, “It will not be able,” but that, so long as it is corrupt, it brings forth no good things.

¹³ Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. These things are aimed at the Jews, for John also said such things to them. And he likens man to a tree, because he can be grafted from fruitless sin into virtue.

¹⁴ Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Here he shows himself to be Lord, in saying, Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord — so that he calls himself God. And he teaches us that, if we have faith without works, we are nothing profited thereby; for “he that does the will” — he did not say “he that does it once,” but “he that does it until death.” And he did not say “my will,” lest he should give offense to the hearers, but “my Father’s”; and from this [it follows] that the will of the Father and of the Son is one, since the Son is no rebel.

¹⁵ Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works? And then will I confess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you that work iniquity. Many at the beginning of the preaching cast out demons, even being unworthy, the demons fleeing because of the name of Jesus; for grace works even through the unworthy, just as we are sanctified even through unworthy priests. Judas too worked signs, and the sons of Sceva. And the “I never knew you” means, “Not even then, when you were working wonders, did I love you”; for knowledge here is called love.

¹⁶ Everyone therefore who hears these my words, and does them, I will liken to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. Without the word, virtue cannot be accomplished; for this reason he says, I will liken him to a wise man. The rock is Christ; the house is the soul. Whoever, then, builds his soul upon the working of the commandments of Christ — him neither the rain, the devil fallen from heaven, nor the floods, the men begotten of such rain, nor the winds, the spirits of wickedness, nor, in a word, any of the trials whatsoever, can cast down.

¹⁷ And everyone who hears these my words, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. He did not say, “I will liken him,” but, “he shall be likened” of himself to a foolish man — that one who indeed believes, but does not act; this man builds upon sand, upon the rottenness of his works; therefore he also falls by the trials. For when a trial strikes — that is, dashes against — him, he falls a great fall. But none of the unbelievers falls, for they always lie upon the ground; rather it is the believer that falls. And for this reason the fall is great, because it is a Christian that falls.

¹⁸ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. For he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. It was not the rulers that were astonished — for how should they be, who envied him? — but the guileless multitude. And they marveled not at the phrasing of the words, but at the boldness; for he showed an authority above the prophets. For those [prophets] said, “Thus says the Lord”; but Christ, as God, said, “I say to you.”