God’s Saving Word: Wisdom
Introduction
Matthew 7:1-14: Chapter 7 concludes Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount,” and today’s reading includes what is often referred to as the “Golden Rule” (verse 12). A warning is given about judging others, and Jesus encourages his followers to ask, seek, and knock to emphasize a lifestyle of prayer and doing God’s will.
Scripture Reading
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, 2 for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. 3 Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? 4 How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs—they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs—they will only trample them underfoot.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock. 9 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? 10 Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets.
The Narrow Gate
13 “Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. 14 But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it.
Today’s Key Verse: Matthew 7:12
[Jesus said:] “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets.”
Reflect
Reread verses 7-11. What do you need to ask of God today? Reread verse 12. How does this teaching impact your relationship with others? Jesus warns his followers to avoid the “gate to hell” which is wide because “the road that leads to it is easy” (verse 13). Instead, he says that “the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard” (verse 14). What is your understanding of this teaching? Why does Jesus say that “few people find it”?
Pray
Lord Jesus, teach me to ask, seek, and knock in accord with your will. May my actions this day reflect your love as I treat others in ways that mirror life in God’s Kingdom. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Matthew 7:15-29: All those who hear Jesus’s teachings are amazed.