NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER SEVEN

Part III

Verse 12a: Do for others what you would want them to do for you.

Jesus now extrapolates from how fathers should treat their sons, to how neighbors should treat their fellow man. The idea that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us is known as the Theory of Reciprocity, or The Golden Rule, an ethic that emerged and continued through what German philosopher Karl Jaspers described as the Axial Age (c. 800-200 BC). We see this in the writings of all the major religions of that period:

Egypt: 1970-1640 B.C. in a manuscript titled The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant we find “Do for one what you might cause him to do for you.” And since Moses lived in Egypt amost half of his life, he certainly could have become familar with this axiom.

Judaism: 1280 B.C. as Moses wrote down what he believed God was inspiriting him to write, he penned, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18). And in the Seven Rules of Hillel (60 BC to 20 AD), he too wrote down what had been passed on to him from time immortal: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor that is the whole Torah.” (Babylonian Talmud, Masekhet Shabbath, folio 31a).

Persia: 700 B.C. Zoroastrianism teaches “That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self.”

China: 500 B.C. In Daoism (or Taoism) the Sage says, “Make the self of the people yourself.”

China: 500 B.C. Confucius taught, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.” And in another writing “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”

India: 500 B.C. Buddha taught, “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

India: 500 B.C. In Jainism it was taught, “Therefore, neither does he cause violence to others nor does he make others do so.”

Greece: 384-322 B.C. To the question how we should behave to friends, Aristotle answered, “As we should wish them to behave to us.”

India: 150 B.C. In the great epic Mahabharata we read, “This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”

Also, we read where one Rabbi was speaking about the customs and manners of the Karaite Jews who lived among the Mongolian tribal confederation, that this golden rule could be found in their saying; “All things that a man would not take to himself, it is not fit to do them to his brethren.”¹ Then, the wise seer Rabbi Abraham Saba commented: “Not only must one not harbor negative feelings against one’s fellow, but (as a general rule) one must strive to love one’s peers in a manner that sows one considers his peer’s personal interests as just as dear to one as he does himself”.² Not only that, but talked about all the positive commandments of Rabbinic origin such as visiting the sick, comforting mourners, preparing a bride, going to a funeral, etc. But he summarizes by saying: “Although all these commandments are of Rabbinic origin, they are included in the Scriptural commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’³ That charge implies that whatever you would like other people to do for you, you should do for your comrade in the Torah and mitzvot.”⁴

Jewish wiseman Maimonides also sees this rule played out where he says: “When a person harvests his field, he should not harvest the entire field. Instead, he should leave a small portion of the standing grain at the end of his field⁵.”⁶ One scholar offers this explanation: “Ideally, the law of sharing is fulfilled by leaving a portion of one’s field unharvested and allow the poor to harvest it.”⁷ We also read that a non-Jew came to a Rabbi and asked to be made a proselyte, but only on the condition that the Rabbi teach him the whole Torah while the non-Jew stood on one foot. This upset the Rabbi who threw a builder’s measuring rod at him. So he went to the great Rabbi Hillel and made the same request. The venerable teacher said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbour: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.”⁸

We also learn that the heathen Roman Emperor Alexander Severus was so impressed with the Golden Rule, that he either learned from Christians in Rome or from the Babylonian Talmud,⁹ that it says: “…he adopted it as his motto, instilling it in his subjects whenever they were about to inflict a wrong on any one. He caused this maxim to be inscribed also upon his palace and upon public buildings In his private chapel where he was accustomed to pray every morning, he had, besides the images of Apollonius, Orpheus, and Jesus, also an effigy of Abraham.”¹⁰ The question here is not whether Jesus was quoting any one of these sources, but that He was reiterating what was already known as an axiom.

Chrysostom speaks on this saying in a unique way. He writes that after Jesus explained how we can petition God for those things we need in order to know Him better and be able to carry out His will is by asking, seeking and knocking, he now goes on to explore how we should determine our expections when we deal with our fellowman. It is simple: Whatever it is that you want people to do to you, do the same to them. Chrysostom adds: “Do you see how He has shown that together with prayer we need to regulate our behavior. Also, He did not say, ‘Whatever things you want God to do for you, do the same for your neighbor.’ That way you cannot find an excuse by saying, ‘that is not possible. He is God, and I’m a human being.’ Instead, He said ‘Make sure that whatever you do to your fellow man, is the same thing you would want them to do to you.’ Now, what is so hard about that? What can be any fairer than this? Then the recognition you will receive before your reward is received will be exceedingly great. For this is what the law and the prophets said.¹¹ Wherefore, this is abundantly clear, that virtue is defined by our attitude; that we all know within ourselves what our duties are; and that it is not possible for us ever to claim innocence due to ignorance of the law.”¹²

Verse 12b: Then He ties it to a source that He knew all of those who heard Him respected: This is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.

This is a reference to the Scripture that says: “Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”¹³ Israel lived by this guideline as taught to them: “Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.”¹⁴ Jeremiah made sure to repeat this statue: “You must be fair to each other. You must be fair to strangers. You must help widows and orphans.”¹⁵ The prophet Ezekiel also touches on this,¹⁶ and Micah also adds his point of view: “Be fair to other people. Love kindness and loyalty.”¹⁷ So there would have been no reason for Jesus’ listeners to find this statement as odd or new. So what Jesus says next, is contingent upon those who have found the right path to follow.

Augustine gives us his undersanding of this exegesis by Jesus out of the Torah. He writes: “Moreover, this precept seems to refer to the love of our neighbour, and not to the love of God, seeing that in another passage He says that there are two precepts on which hang all the law and the prophets. For if He had said, All things whatever you want done to you, do likewise; in this one sentence He would have embraced both those precepts: for it would soon be said that every one wishes that he himself should be loved both by God and by men; and so, when this precept was given to him, that what he wished done to himself he should himself do, that certainly would be equivalent to the precept that he should love God and men. But when it is said more expressly of men, nothing else seems to be meant than, ‘You should love your neighbor as yourself.’”¹⁸ In other words, there is no reason to include God, because what can we do for God that He has not already done for us?

Augustine continues: “But we must carefully make note of what He adds here: ‘for this is the law and the prophets.’ Now, in the case of these two precepts, He does not merely say, ‘The law and the prophets depend on them;’ but He has also added, “the whole law and all the prophets,”¹⁹ which is the sum of prophecy. Also, by not including the word ‘whole’ here, He has kept a place for the other precept, which refers to loving God. Nonetheless, Here He is expounding on the precepts with respect to those with a single heart. But there should be great concern for anyone dealing with people who have a divided heart, because their real motives may be hidden. For there is almost no one that would wish that anyone with a divided heart would have dealings with them. It is highly unlikely that anyone with a single heart will try to do something for their fellowman unless they do so without any intention of taking advantage of them.”²⁰

Verse 13: You may enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way.

The theme that our Lord introduces here has been interpreted by many to be a comparison between the narrow way to heaven and the broadway to hell. But when looking at the context in which this is said, we see that He has just been talking about not being critical of others while seeking to improve one’s own life, and being fair and just in all we do to and for others. In other words, how to experience and practice true living, instead of just existing for the sake of existing. So how do we get there? The Master says, it’s not all that easy. You have to ask about it, take time to look for it, and when you arrive at the gate, knock so you can get in. Then he compares this to how easy it is to develop a lifestyle that leads to a meaningless and unproductive life.

Later He will talk more about this gate and what it signifies in relationship to Him as the good Shepherd. In the Babylonian Talmud we find a discussion on roads and paths, both public and private. The discourse finally comes down to what constitutes the width of a road meant for many and the path mean for a few. We are told that the private path should be no more than four cubits (6 feet) wide, while the public road must be at least sixteen cubits (12 feet) wide.²¹ And we also find these private roads and public roads are spoken of as dividing lines for sowing seeds.²² So when Jesus referred to narrow paths and wide roads, He was not referring to alleyways and backstreets where the homeless and vagabonds congregate. His listeners certainly understood how they were used and for whom they were intended.

Augustine sees a connection here between the narrow path leading to a single gate and the taking of His yoke upon themselves, that Jesus will speak about later.²³ He first goes back to where Jesus started with His instructions to those who desire more wisdom and guidance to ask, seek and knock. This then will lead them to a narrow path that leads to a single gate. The narrowness of this way is taken by him and other scholars of his day to represent the self-denial and hardships that will come when they deal with others the same way they wish to be dealt with themselves, and the possible persecution and trials that will ensue.

In that context, this is the price of being righteous and faithful to the calling and mission believers receive. Jesus describes the yoke of grace as being comfortable and light, not rough and heavy like the Law. But it is yielding to His guidance and going where He leads that can bring on dark nights and tempestuous seas that must be navigated with His help. Thus, there are fewer that follow that narrow path than those who turn away from the invitation of the yoke that leads to abundant life, and chooses instead the independent way that leads to living for nothing and having all we do being destroyed as of no value.²⁴

Preacher Chrysostom has a similar view that ties this together with how believers should pray with more than just themselves in mind; how they should continue to ask, seek and knock until they gain the wisdom and leading necessary in order to deal with their calling and mission and how it affects others; which leads them to always keep in mind that any decisions made in the process are the same kind as they would wish to receive from others for the same reasons. Thus He is mapping out the path on which the journey will be taken when yoked together with Him, a path that is narrow and leads to a gate that is constricted, and one that only He can open. The motivation, of course of following this more narrow way is that all those things on the broadway are temporal and lead to nothing being gained at the end, while those things on the narrow way are meant for eternity and will be waiting for the believer on the other end as a reward for being faithful. Both ways can be unpleasant and painful at times, as well as pleasant and enjoyable. However, the broadway experience is for losers, while the narrow way is for winners.²⁵

Chrysostom concludes: “And not only does the journey along the way prove to be worthwhile, but by the time we reach the end it becomes worth everything. For it is not just enduring sweat and tears, but also the anticipation that the things to come when we reach our wonderful destination will be sufficient to encourage every traveler to keep going. For this narrow road leads to life everlasting. And the result is that both the temporary toils and labor along with the eternal nature of the victor’s crown, combined with the fact that these toils may come first but the victor’s crown will come at the end, should be enough to give every fighter encouragement and hope for the future²⁶.”²⁷

This leaves us with another thought to consider. Most people will tell you that when they go hunting for an item that is rare and very valuable, they don’t go down to the local dime store. It can often only be found in small antique shops, sometimes in back alleys or bazaars in far away places. So it is that Jesus was telling His followers that not all of life’s answers are found easily because they are on open display, sometimes it requires asking, searching, and pounding on doors before a gem of wisdom is found. That’s why I’ve always consider the Bible to be the place I search most often, digging deep into the meaning of its words, looking in every chapter and under every verse for some nugget of wisdom I can learn from and share with others. It certainly can become a joyful labor of love.