HolyStudy
Bible IndexRead BibleNotesChurchesMissionPrivacyTermsContact
© 2026 HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurchesSign in
HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurches
Sign in

Matthew 7

1

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

1
3

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

6

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

1
19

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

1
25

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 a rock.

26

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27

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.

28

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29

For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

← Previous ChapterNext Chapter →

Matthew 7

The Sermon's final section addresses discernment, persistence in prayer, relationships, and the two-ways conclusion. The do not judge section is not a prohibition on all evaluation but on hypocritical judgment that ignores the log in one's own eye while targeting the speck in another's. Ask, seek, knock — the threefold invitation to persistent prayer is grounded in the Father's generous character: if human fathers give good gifts to their children, how much more will your Father give good things to those who ask. The narrow gate and the wide gate, the good tree and the bad tree, the true and false prophets, and the two builders on rock versus sand all develop the same theme: the kingdom's entry requires active response, not passive association. The Sermon ends with the crowd amazed at Jesus' authority — he taught as one having authority, unlike their teachers of the law. The authority claim is not just rhetorical; it is the foundation of everything that follows.

Matthew 7:29

For he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. The scribes taught by citation of tradition: Rabbi X said this, Rabbi Y disagreed, the tradition holds that. Jesus taught as one who had authority in himself — not because he was given authority by a teacher or a tradition but because the authority was inherent in who he was. The crowds recognized the difference even if they could not name what it meant. John 7:46 records temple guards who were sent to arrest Jesus but came back empty-handed, saying no one ever spoke like this man. The authority in Jesus' teaching is not volume or rhetorical skill but the unmediated self-presence of the one who is both the subject and the substance of what he teaches.

Matthew 7:2

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. The principle of reciprocal judgment: the standard you apply to others will be applied to you. This is not a threat but a description of how judgment works in the kingdom's moral economy. Luke 6:38 expands this to the positive direction: give, and it will be given to you — the reciprocal principle operates in mercy as well as judgment. The implication is that the harsh judge who applies rigorous standards to others will face rigorous standards themselves, while the merciful judge who applies generous standards will receive generous judgment. The measure you use determines what you can expect.

Matthew 7:3

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? The absurdity of the image makes the point: the person who can detect a speck in someone else's eye while failing to notice a log in their own is engaging in an impossibility. The hyperbolic disproportion — speck versus log — communicates the equally absurd disproportion between the critical attention given to others' faults and the inattention given to one's own. Romans 2:1 makes the same point: you who judge others do the same things yourself. The critical faculty that is directed outward with such precision could be redirected inward with far more productive results.

Matthew 7:4

Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? The dialogue is the comic fulfillment of the absurdity: offering to help remove the speck in another's eye while carrying a log in one's own. The log impairs vision — the person who cannot see clearly because of their own moral failure cannot accurately perceive another's moral failure, let alone help to address it. The correction of others' faults is not prohibited (verse 5 implies it) but requires the prior work of self-examination and self-correction. Galatians 6:1 says those who are spiritual should restore the one caught in transgression gently, considering themselves, lest they too be tempted — the same self-awareness Jesus requires.

Matthew 7:5

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. The sequence is explicit: first your own log, then your brother's speck. The prohibition on judgment is not a prohibition on all correction but a demand for the order of correction — self before other. The person who has done the work of self-examination and self-correction is then qualified to help another: you will see clearly. The clarity of vision that makes helpful correction possible is the gift of the prior self-examination. The hypocrite who skips step one cannot perform step two effectively regardless of their diagnostic skill.

Matthew 7:6

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. The apparent contradiction with the non-judgment instruction: the community must exercise discernment about where to offer what is sacred. Dogs and pigs were unclean animals in the Jewish context, and using them as metaphors communicates the absence of the capacity to value what is offered. The pearls-before-pigs image is not contempt for particular people but a recognition that sacred teaching offered to those who are actively hostile will be wasted and will put the teacher at risk. Matthew 10:14 gives the practical application: if a town does not welcome the disciples, shake the dust off your feet and leave. Discernment about where to invest the message is not judgment of persons but wisdom about receptivity.

Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. The ask-seek-knock triad is the positive teaching on prayer that interrupts between the non-judgment instruction and the golden rule. The three verbs communicate three levels of intensity: asking is basic petition, seeking involves active effort, knocking implies persistence at a closed door. Luke 11:5–13 surrounds this teaching with the parable of the persistent friend, reinforcing the persistence dimension. The promise — given, find, opened — is not a formula for receiving whatever one wants but the assurance that the Father is actively responsive to the prayers of the kingdom community. James 4:2–3 notes that you do not have because you do not ask, or because you ask wrongly.

Matthew 7:8

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. The universal scope — everyone who asks, the one who seeks, to the one who knocks — communicates that the responsive Father is not selective in his responsiveness. The pattern of petition, seeking, and knocking is the pattern of persistent, genuine, kingdom-oriented prayer, and this pattern reliably produces the outcomes the Father has promised. The certainty of the outcome is grounded in the character of the Father (verses 9–11), not in the persistence of the petitioner alone. 1 John 5:14 says we have confidence before God that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Matthew 7:9

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? The parental analogy that grounds the ask-seek-knock promise: no good father gives his hungry child a stone when bread is requested. The analogy moves from human parenting to divine parenting in two steps: even human fathers give good gifts; how much more does the heavenly Father? The reductio ad absurdum of the stone-for-bread image communicates the absurdity of doubting the Father's responsive care. The father who gives a stone to a hungry child is a monstrous parody of fatherhood; the Father who does not respond to his children's petitions is equally unthinkable given his character.

Matthew 7:10

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? The second paired image — fish/serpent — reinforces the first: no good father gives a dangerous substitute for what is asked. The fish-and-serpent pair also connects to the baptism scene (the dove and the threat from below) and to the disciples who are fishers of men. The point is the same: the Father's responsiveness is not indifferent or malicious; he does not give harmful substitutes for genuine needs. The quality of the gift is guaranteed by the quality of the giver.

Matthew 7:11

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! The a fortiori conclusion: if even evil human parents give good gifts to their children, the heavenly Father who is not evil gives how much more abundantly. Luke 11:13 has the Spirit rather than good things — the ultimate good gift that the Father gives is the Spirit himself. The if you then, who are evil acknowledges the fallen condition of human parents without denying their genuine love for their children. The gap between human love-despite-fallenness and the Father's love-from-perfection is the measure of the confidence with which the disciples can pray.

Matthew 7:12

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. The golden rule is the summary of the Sermon's ethical teaching: the standard of treatment I desire for myself is the standard I apply to others. The proactive formulation — do to others what you wish — is stronger than the negative formulations found in other traditions (do not do to others what you do not wish). The for this is the Law and the Prophets connects the golden rule to the Sermon's earlier claim (5:17) that Jesus has come to fulfill the law and the prophets: the fulfillment of the law is the active love for others that the golden rule describes. Romans 13:10 says love is the fulfillment of the law.

Matthew 7:13

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. The two-ways teaching that closes the Sermon: the broad way is easy and widely traveled; the narrow way requires more effort and has fewer travelers. Deuteronomy 30:19 offers the two ways of life and death; Jeremiah 21:8 presents the way of life and the way of death to Jerusalem. Jesus does not locate the narrow gate in a particular religious institution or tradition but in himself (John 14:6 — I am the way). The many who travel the broad way are not all self-consciously evil; they are simply not paying attention to the direction they are traveling. The easy path is easy precisely because it requires no transformation.

Matthew 7:14

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. The narrow gate that leads to life is found, not stumbled upon — the language of finding implies the seek of verse 7. The hard way is hard because it runs counter to the natural inclinations and social pressures that make the broad way easy. Luke 13:23–24 records someone asking whether only a few will be saved, and Jesus' response is to strive to enter through the narrow door. The few who find it are not an elite selected by God for salvation and the many excluded against their will; they are those who paid attention, sought, and found the way that is genuinely there to be found.

Matthew 7:1

Judge not, that you be not judged. The opening command of the Sermon's final chapter is its most frequently quoted and most frequently misunderstood verse. Judge not is not a prohibition on all discernment or evaluation — the chapter itself commands evaluation (verses 6, 15–20) and assumes the capacity to distinguish false prophets from true ones. The prohibition is on the judgmental posture that renders verdicts on others from a position of moral superiority while ignoring one's own failures. Luke 6:37 adds to this: do not condemn, do not judge, and you will not be condemned. The judgment that is prohibited is the harsh, condemning judgment that claims the right to determine another person's moral worth.

Matthew 7:16

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? The diagnostic test for false prophets is not their claims, their doctrine, or their impressive presentations but their fruits — the outcomes of their influence, the character of their lives, the communities they produce. The botanical impossibility of grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles is the basis for the diagnostic principle: the fruit is reliable evidence of the tree's nature. James 3:12 makes the same point: neither can a salt pond produce fresh water. The fruit is not the occasional exceptional moment but the consistent pattern of what the tree produces.

Matthew 7:17

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. The positive statement of the diagnostic principle: the tree's internal health determines its external fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit; a diseased tree cannot bear good fruit (verse 18). The consistency of the relationship between internal health and external fruit is the basis for the diagnostic confidence: if you examine the fruit carefully and consistently, you will know the tree. 2 Corinthians 11:14–15 warns that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and his servants as servants of righteousness — the disguise does not hold up under the fruit examination.

Matthew 7:18

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. The impossibility is stated in both directions: good tree cannot produce bad fruit, diseased tree cannot produce good fruit. The consistency of the principle makes the diagnostic reliable over time: temporary performance cannot maintain itself against the tree's actual nature. Galatians 5:22–23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, and Galatians 5:19–21 lists the works of the flesh — the two fruit-lists are diagnostic of two types of internal reality. The diagnostic takes time and attention: the fruit must be examined consistently, not in isolated moments.

Matthew 7:19

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The consequence for the diseased tree that bears bad fruit is not merely identification but removal: cut down and thrown into the fire. The image returns to John the Baptist's warning in Matthew 3:10 — the same cutting down and fire language. The prophet and the Messiah share the same eschatological seriousness about what the fruit examination reveals. The fire is not purgatorial but destructive; the tree that cannot be reformed is removed. John 15:2 says the Father prunes every branch that does not bear fruit and removes it.

Matthew 7:20

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. The repetition of the fruit-recognition principle from verse 16 frames the diseased-tree teaching as a unit. The thus-you-will-recognize-them is the confident assertion that the diagnostic works: false prophets will be identifiable to those who pay attention over time. The Sermon's ethic of fruit-examination applies first to the disciple's own life (log-and-speck) and then to the evaluation of teachers and leaders (sheep's clothing and ravenous wolves). Both applications require sustained attention and the courage to act on what the examination reveals.

Matthew 7:21

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. The most disturbing passage in the Sermon: religious language directed at Jesus — Lord, Lord — is not equivalent to kingdom entry. The one who does the will of the Father enters; the one who only says Lord does not. Luke 6:46 asks the same question: why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? The doing of the Father's will is the fruit that the two-trees teaching has been describing: the verbal profession is the sheep's clothing; the life of obedience is the fruit that reveals what is actually happening beneath the surface.

Matthew 7:22

On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? The dramatic power of the passage: the many who are excluded cite extraordinary religious achievements — prophecy, exorcism, miracles — all done in Jesus' name. The name of Jesus was invoked; the works were impressive; the religious résumé was substantial. And yet: Jesus does not recognize them. The works were not evidently fraudulent — prophecy, exorcism, and miracles are not easily faked. The issue is not the works themselves but the relationship (or lack thereof) that underlies them. 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 says that without love, even prophecy and faith that moves mountains is nothing.

Matthew 7:23

And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you — the relationship was never actually there. The workers of lawlessness did impressive works but without the relational reality of knowing and being known by the Son. The knowing that is missing is not intellectual knowledge about Jesus but the relational intimacy that the Sermon has been building toward: the purity of heart that sees God (5:8), the prayer life that addresses the Father as Father (6:9), the seeking that finds (7:7). Depart from me is the reversal of the kingdom's invitation to come; the one addressed is excluded from the presence that the Beatitudes promised those who mourn and hunger and are pure in heart.

Matthew 7:24

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The Sermon's closing parable: two builders, two foundations, one storm. The wise builder hears and does — the same pairing as verse 21's hearing and doing the Father's will. The rock foundation is the word of Jesus, the Sermon itself, the teaching of the one who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. James 1:22–25 makes the same point: be doers of the word, not merely hearers who deceive themselves. The storm is not the test of the foundation's quality but the revelation of what was always there — the storm does not create weakness in the house; it reveals what the builder's choice of foundation either sustained or failed to provide.

Matthew 7:25

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. The storm's triple threat — rain, floods, winds — communicates the comprehensive nature of the testing. The Psalm 46:2–3 imagery of mountains falling into the sea and floods roaring connects to this: when the storms that threaten stability arrive, the house founded on the rock does not fall. The foundation determines the outcome regardless of the storm's intensity. Psalm 18:2 calls God the rock in whom one takes refuge — Jesus is identifying his word with the function of God himself as the secure foundation of human existence.

Matthew 7:26

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The foolish builder also hears — the Sermon's audience has been hearing for three chapters. The foolish builder is not ignorant of Jesus' words but unresponsive to them: hearing without doing. The sand is the foundation of good intentions, religious feelings, impressive religious performances, and everything except the actual doing of what the Sermon requires. The Proverbs contrast between the wise and the fool runs throughout; the foolish builder is not someone who never heard but someone who heard and didn't act.

Matthew 7:27

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. The same storm, the same triple threat — and the house fell. The great was the fall communicates the totality of the collapse: not a partial failure or a recoverable setback but a complete destruction. The greater the investment in an insufficient foundation, the greater the fall when the foundation fails. The religious investment the many have made in works without relationship (verse 22) produces the most devastating collapse — great was the fall — because the investment was so large and the foundation so inadequate.

Matthew 7:28

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. The crowd's response to the Sermon: astonishment. Not agreement or conversion, but astonishment — the recognition that they have heard something categorically different from what they were accustomed to. Mark 1:22 records the same response in a different context. The astonishment does not indicate that the crowds became disciples; the Sermon's challenge requires more than astonishment. But the astonishment is the first response to genuine authority: the categories have been disrupted, the expectations exceeded, the horizon expanded.

Matthew 7:15

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. The warning about false prophets follows naturally from the two-ways teaching: the narrow way has those who claim to be guides but are actually leading toward destruction. The sheep's clothing is the external presentation of harmlessness and belonging; the ravenous wolf is the internal reality of predatory self-interest. Ezekiel 34 describes false shepherds who exploit the flock; Acts 20:29–30 warns that after Paul's departure, savage wolves will enter among the Ephesians. The danger is not the obviously predatory leader but the plausible one — the one whose appearance is indistinguishable from genuine sheep.