the wise aned oolish Buileders Matthew 7:26 | 1519
will be opened to you . 8 For ev ery one who asks re ceives ; the one who seeks finds ; i 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 chil dren , how much more will your Fa ther in heav en give good gifts to those who ask him ! 12 So in ev ery thing , do to oth ers what you would have them do to you , j for this sums up the Law and the Proph ets . k
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “ En ter through the nar row gate . l For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to de struc tion , and many enter through it . 14 But small is the gate and nar row the road that leads to life , and only a few find it .
7:8 i Pr 8:17 ; Jer 29:12 , 13
7:12 j Lk 6:31 k Ro 13:8-10 ;
Gal 5:14 7:13 l Lk 13:24
7:15 m Jer 23:16 ; Mt 24:24 ; Mk 13:22 ; Lk 6:26 ; 2Pe 2:1 ; 1Jn 4:1 ; Rev 16:13 n Ac 20:29
7:16 o Mt 12:33 ; Lk 6:44 p Jas 3:12
7:19 q Mt 3:10
7:21 r Hos 8:2 ; Mt 25:11 s Ro 2:13 ;
Jas 1:22
7:22 t Mt 10:15 u 1Co 13:1-3
7:23 v Ps 6:8 ; Mt 25:12 , 41 ; Lk 13:25-27
7:24 w Jas 1:22-25
Mt 7:24 ❖ How can we best put Jesus ’ words into practice today ?
not bear bad fruit , and a bad tree can not bear good fruit . 19 Ev ery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . q 20 Thus , by their fruit you will rec og nize them .
True and False Disciples
21 “ Not ev ery one who says to me , ‘ Lord , Lord ,’ r will en ter the king dom of heaven , but only the one who does the will of my Fa ther who is in heav en . s 22 Many will say to me on that day , t ‘ Lord , Lord , did we not proph e sy in your name and in your name drive out de mons and in your name per form many mir a cles ?’ u 23 Then I will tell them plain ly , ‘ I nev er knew you . Away from me , you evil do ers !’ v
The Wise and Foolish Builders 7:24 – 27pp // Lk 6:47 – 49
24 “ There fore ev ery one who hears these words of mine and puts them into prac tice w 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 , be cause it had its foun da tion on the rock . 26 But ev ery one who hears when the disciple faithfully prays for unbelieving family members ’ salvation , shares the gospel , and demonstrates gospel values in their life . 7:9 – 11 The heavenly Father , who is absolutely trustworthy , will always give to the disciples what they really need . 7:12 Jesus ’ teaching on prayer and the Golden Rule brings to light two significant points about stability in one ’ s discipleship . First , stability will come as disciples learn how to depend on their heavenly Father . Second , stability will come through a healthy commitment to live for the benefit of others .
7:1 – 12 The kind of balance advocated in this passage means to take two seemingly opposite truths and live with them both at the same time , even though we may not be able to understand completely how they fit together . In this section we come across a number of issues that require us to balance two truths . Doing so is demanding , because we are always thinking and weighing our actions and thoughts . We must recognize that in the Christian life , we are always in process . But our pursuit of the goal to understand and apply all of God ’ s truth is what will help us to stay balanced .
7:13 – 14 One can travel comfortably on the roomy road . However , the comfort is deceiving , because it
UNCORRECTED PROOF
True and False Prophets
15 “ Watch out for false proph ets . m They come to you in sheep ’ s cloth ing , but inward ly they are fe ro cious wolves . n 16 By their fruit you will rec og nize them . o Do peo ple pick grapes from thorn bush es , or figs from this tles ? p 17 Like wise , ev ery good tree bears good fruit , but a bad tree bears bad fruit . 18 A good tree canends in “ destruction ,” a common word for eternal punishment . The narrow gate and road are more restrictive because they are limited to Jesus and his manner of discipleship . The way of discipleship stretches throughout one ’ s years on earth , ultimately leading to eternal life . 7:15 – 20 Jesus admonishes his disciples to be “ fruit inspectors ” of those passing themselves off as prophets . False prophets will lead people away from God or speak prophecies that are not fulfilled . 7:21 – 23 False disciples claim prophetic status and point to charismatic activity as a sign of discipleship ( v . 22 ). False disciples gain power “ in Jesus ’ name ,” but their activities are meaningless for their own eternal destiny . The ultimate authenticity of one ’ s life will be proven in at the end of time . Here Jesus claims the divine right to know the inner recesses of a person ’ s heart . 7:24 – 27 The audience of the Sermon on the Mount would readily understand the surface meaning intended in the parable . But would they see Jesus ’ point ? Would they reject the shifting sands of the religious leadership and choose instead Jesus ’ words as the foundation for their lives ? The choice is no less stark in our own day . Wise men and women build their lives on Jesus , regardless of the current cultural or religious values or circumstances .