- “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
- “A stitch in time saves nine.”
- “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
- “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
- “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”
How many more sayings do you think we know between us? Maybe they were ones handed down from your parents. The English language is full of little sayings like that, isn’t it? Brief statements, that make general observations about life, giving us wisdom for living. This morning, how many well known statements did you pick up form the Bible reading that get said by lots of people even when people don’t know their Bible at all. Anyone spot them?
- “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (v.1)
- “Do not throw your pearls to swine” (v.6)
- “Ask and you will receive” (v.7)
- “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (v.12).
A pretty wide collection of sayings wouldn’t you say, often times many people take these sayings as just a recipe for living a good life. So people tell us that’s what Christianity’s all about: just have a fair measure of prayerful positive thinking; be generous to all, show good-will, live right, and you’ll have the perfect life; you’ll be the perfect person –that’s all God expects of you right? The heartbeat of the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus tells it is to hunger after God; it’s to treasure the gift he offers us of forgiveness and eternal life with him. Jesus forces us to face up to the hard questions of whether we play the judge on others while forgetting to look more closely at ourselves. Jesus warns us there is a danger lurking behind everyone of us in being judgmental without having a regard for the sort of people we are like. So how many of heard that old saying “judge not lest you be judged”? That is the problem isn’t it! Have you ever noticed just how judgmental we really are of others, clearly seeing the mistake someone else makes, all the while failing to recognise the insensitivity that’s grown up in us. Jesus tells his disciples to take holiness seriously, which means we’ll look out for one another’s holiness and well being. As we read in verse 1-2
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.
in cutting to the chase Jesus identifies pride as the major problem at hand as we perfectly understand the faults of others. We are poor when it comes to ourselves, so people say to us “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” "You live your lifestyle and I’ll live mine. But don’t you tell me how to live, and certainly don’t you try to impose your standards of morality on me." Is that what Jesus meant? In just a few verses Jesus makes a judgment himself. Some people he says are just like pigs or dogs that shouldn’t be tossed pearls.
Watch out for the false prophets. They came to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (Matthew 7:15)
The warning is simple, to be discerning, to be watchful, to be discriminating in the right sort of way we are told to make judgments based on godliness of life and character and to not be hasty. Jesus makes the point in the same judgmental way we speak or assess others, God’s making the same sort of assessment on us. As Jesus had already made himself clear in Matthew 5: 7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
and 6:14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
The question is who are the ones you’re likely to pass judgment on Jesus wasn’t telling us to solve all the problems of our society or our community, he was pointing the finger at us, right here in our church family; at you and me
speaking about how we care for one another how we show we’re serious about Jesus in our lives. So perhaps then of all of the sayings of Scripture the most well known is verse 12
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
You might know it as the ‘Golden Rule’ “do to others as you would have them do unto you”. It’s a rule that’s found, in one form or another, in most of the religions of the world. Most Christian commentators point out that Jesus is the only one to phrase it positively. Other religions tend to cast it in the negative: “Don’t do unto others what you wouldn’t want them to do unto you.” Jesus says don’t just simply avoid doing evil to others; actively seek to do them good. That’s the way these words of Jesus are typically understood, by Christians and non-Christians alike, as far as it goes, it actually comes pretty close to doing this passage justice. One way we often misunderstand the golden rule Is to think that by doing nice things to others so that others should be obligated to do nice things back. This is the reciprocity of obligation. Do unto others. So if you enjoy being loved then love others. If you like to receive things then give to others. If you like being appreciated then appreciate others. And do it not expecting a return because your heavenly father knows what you need and he is the one who pursues after us with his love and mercy. As Jesus finishes up his sermon on the hillside he reminds us prayer is key in knowing God as we read in verse 7
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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Three words simple words: ask, seek, knock.
Ask: If we’re talking to God and asking him to supply what we need and ask humbly – not demanding like a spoilt child
Seek: acting on what we ask for, we’re not only expressing our need to God, we are also getting up and looking around for help
Knock: while asking, seeking, just like someone who keeps on pounding on the door until someone comes to open it up.
Jesus brings these things together as the most forceful words we’re commanded to follow. We’re told to keep on asking, & it shall be given to you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking and it shall be opened unto you”. Paul must have had this in mind when he wrote about being tenacious in our prayer. In Ephesians 6:18 he says “be alert and always keep on praying…” Do unto others may be the golden rule our world has taken to itself. I guess for us the question is what desire burns brightest in our hearts is persisting in God’s generous love to us, being discerning about our affections for God? Jesus tells us what he hates the most here is evasion. If God is the kind of God who is inclined to hear our prayers, then we are free to sacrificially treat others the way we have been treated[1] That is being doers and not just hearers
- “Judge not lest you be judged” (v.1)
- “Don’t cast your pearls before swine” (v.6)
- “Ask and you shall receive” (v.7)
- “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (v.12).
All rests on us looking to Jesus as Jesus keeps on pounding on our lives to be the most central in everything.
Let’s pray…
David Hassan @ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 31/12/17
[1] John Piper quote Oxygen 11Talk #3 30/8/11