Mat 7:12 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.
Mat 7:13 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:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, L-rd, L-rd, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, L-rd, L-rd, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 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:
Mat 7:25 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.
Mat 7:26 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:
Mat 7:27 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.
Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Yahshua had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Let us examine these passages verse by verse.
Mat 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law (Torah) and the prophets.
First, I would admonish those that take part of the Torah, that they agree with, such as the golden rule, but deny the validity of other parts of G-d’s Torah. This is moral relativism at best and lawlessness at worse, as we shall see this chapter addresses.
Those that pick and choose the commandments they will follow show their spirit by their fruits. They have set themselves in opposition to G-d by determining which commandments of YHVH that they deem worthy to follow. In essence they are saying I know better than G-d, and if they teach others to do this they are even worse, and the blood of many shall be on their heads.
The Golden Rule stated above can be found in Jewish writings as early as the Apocryphal book of Tobit (third century b.c.e.), “What you hate, do to no one” (Tobit 4:15); similar sayings are attributed to Isocrates, Aristotle and Confucius. Rabbi Hillel expressed it in the generation before Yahshua; a famous passage in the Talmud comparing Hillel with his contemporary, Shammai, tells the story:
“A pagan came before Shammai and said to him, ‘Make me a proselyte, but on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot!’ Shammai drove him off with the builder’s measuring rod, which he had in his hand. When he appeared before Hillel, the latter told him, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn it!’ ” (Shabbat 31a)
The Golden Rule paraphrases Leviticus 19:18, “You are to love your neighbor as yourself,” which Yahshua called the second-greatest commandment (Mk 12:28–31).
The first is: “…, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR G-D IS ONE LORD;
AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR G-D WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL OUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ (NASB)
Some apologists for Judaism see superiority in Hillel’s “negative form” of the Golden Rule (“do not do to others …”) as over against Yashua’s “positive form” (“do unto others … ”). One was the well-known Jewish writer, Achad Ha‘Am. His point seems to be that others may not react as you do, so that it is unkind and possibly unjust to treat them as you would yourself. But one could take the opposite view: the goal is to treat people, as they want to be treated, and this is better stated as a positive command. Logically, there is no substantive difference between the forms, and the spirit of the Golden Rule can emerge from either; likewise, its spirit can be quenched by tedious and tendentious arguments such as these.
Mat 7:13 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:
Many have taken pains to dilute this verse’s meaning, having interpreted it to mean that only profession of Yahshua is required to inherit the Kingdom of G-d. These apologists have in all ages disparaged the real Talmidim of Yahshua who uphold Torah and are Torah Observant. They have branded as legalists all those who hold to being obedient to G-d’s commandments. Some have even counted as works repentance. Unfortunately, they do not know what a biblical legalists is by definition. It is regrettable but they are the greater number, and have gone on in the broad road to destruction. If we Messianic Jews would serve G-d, we must be firm in our religious convictions and guard the Commandments of HaShem as Yahshua Himself has taught and defined in the Book of Revelations. We are the ones who carry the testimony of Yahshua and guard and do the Commands (Torah) of G-d. He said it, not I. When I offer these scriptures to those that believe the Law (Torah) is dead I am constantly amazed at how few bother to look at these scriptures. They can quote to me endless scriptures that they have mostly misinterpreted, but will not give five minutes to consider the most important scriptures Yahshua has given us: The formula for salvation.
How often can we hear of the strait gate and the narrow way, and how few there are that find it, without being in pain for ourselves and loved ones. How often can we not but consider whether we are entered on the narrow way, and what progress we are making in it? Obviously, those aforementioned are comfortable with false teachings and houses of religious entertainment instead of the Word of G-d, and care little about the status of their soul. They are complacent in their comfort zones. Relying on the assurance of their leaders that they are “saved.” We will see how Yahshua addresses these people further on in this chapter.
Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Yahshua is telling us that we who are called and chosen should not marvel that so many do not recognize the truth. This is like the question the Talmidim asked Yahshua in Matthew 13: 10-15. Let me read:
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Mat 13:11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
Mat 13:12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
Mat 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Mat 13:14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
Mat 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I SHOULD HEAL THEM.’
Isn’t this an amazing array of statements! Yahshua is saying that not all should be healed or saved. Precisely spoken, it is not given that some should hear and understand. How can this be! Aren’t we taught that G-d wants all humanity to be saved? How do we understand these statements? We have to realize there is a difference between our desires and the stark reality of a situation. You might want to be rich, but will never be, and you know it, so why worry about it or pursue fruitless expectations. Get on with building the life you can. This is similar in concept to Yahshua’s statements. There are those whose hearts are so dull that though they might respond for a time, they will eventually turn away because they lack substance. Heartless as it may seem to our tender ears Yahshua is saying don’t waste your time on them. Don’t throw pearls to the swine.
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Today, we see a movement among the churches and its people to gather unto themselves the title of Prophet. They claim special revelation from G-d. They delight in prognosticating before their flocks making Torah, but Torah that in most cases is contrary to G-d’s Torah. I could go into the biblical proof in the NT that prophets are no longer given, but that is another subject and can be viewed on the web site. Be it sufficient for now that G-d’s revelation has been delivered and is now found in His Living and Written Torah including the B’rit Chadasha as Hebrews 8:6 confirms. We have to be careful of deceitful spirits, spirits that come from HaSatan and not G-d. We are warned that even the very elect would be fooled by these spirits if not for Yahshua’s return. It is something in the nature of a human being to want to be set apart above his fellow humans claiming powers and connections that he cannot realize. Let me give you an example. The Rebettzin and I teach Messianic Judaism at CCFC each semester and at one of those times a lady from a charismatic church asked the Rebettzin why she wore a covering. The Rebettzin replied she was following the commandment of G-d found in the Torah. Very seriously and with conviction this lady told the Rebettzin that she had received a special revelation from G-d that a woman did not have to wear a covering and furthermore, we could eat anything we wanted. She was a prophetess, and her husband was the minister of the church they represented. I drive by this church frequently on Sundays, and it is filled if I can judge by the number of cars in the large parking lot. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I was advised of this conversation later for my response to her would have been, hey, I too received a revelation from G-d and it is confirmed by His Torah as well, and He told me it is proper to wear a covering, and to practice kashrut, so who should we believe, both receiving a revelation? Should we believe G-d’s Word or the irresponsible remarks of deluded individuals who believe G-d spoke directly to them? I believe it would be safe and advisable to rely on what G-d has written in His Torah. However, I leave the conclusion to you. But the danger of this practice is that she could just as easily have said kill all the Jews because G-d told her all Christians should, and those that accept her as a prophetess would believe and act on her unsupported word. Hitler became Germany’s messiah and they concurred to kill 6,000,000 Jews along with countless numbers of the disabled, mentally challenged, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Homosexuals, and Gypsies. This is the danger of people relying on leaders who claim self-revelation from G-d. G-d forbid!
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Most congregants in today’s society do not know their pastors, rabbis or leaders well enough to know their fruits, and most leaders will not reveal their private personalities to their congregation. Community is not what it used to be. Even in seminary, pastoral candidates are warned not to reveal too much of themselves to their congregants. The church is too unstable and its people to self-serving, and there are always “clicks” that are vying for power and influence. Many churches have employed a safe avenue by providing entertainment instead of teaching the Word of G-d, since that word is a two-edge sword that separates the righteous from the unrighteous. Church government is so set up that a righteous preacher who wants to teach the unvarnished word is at the mercy of the congregation, and if they speak or teach one word that might sear the conscious of their congregants they are fired. This was not the way it was meant to be. Instead of only looking at individuals in this verse, I take it to mean we are to look at a group collectively. We may discern more by looking at a group than at the leaders because those that have an unholy spirit will gather about them congregants of like demeanor. Groups are less skilled in hiding their agenda than individuals. Those who want a feel good, easy, non-accountability religion will associate themselves with those like themselves. You want find the righteous word of G-d taught because it would serve as a sword that challenges them to make decisions of righteousness that they’d rather avoid. Those of this ilk will wear blinders right up until the judgment, and think they have been doing the work of G-d. Yahshua addresses those here as well.
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
This is a great opportunity to define the term “evil fruit.” All evil derives from lawlessness. Lawlessness is defined in the bible as those who practice antinomianism. They are those that refuse to recognize as valid or obey G-d’s Torah. Lawlessness then is defined as evil fruit. A good tree births those that observe Torah and evil fruit is the equivalent of antinomianism.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Simply said, if we are Torah observant we will not bring forth evil fruit. Neither can an antinomian bring forth good fruit. That is not to say that we cannot do evil things or an antinomian can do good things, but the harvest will be predominantly one or the other.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Yahshua is looking ahead to the judgment when all who practice lawlessness (antinomianism-without Torah) will be delivered into hell.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
We have to spiritually aware because we cannot judge by their words or demeanor, even their knowledge of scripture. I used to warn people when I was a policeman that a con artist can only scam those that put their total trust in him. Scam artists come as likable and wonderful fellows that you immediately took too, but underneath, their intent all along was to separate you from some valuable you owned.
The next verses should be warning beacon to all those that think profession is enough. Let’s read:
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, L-rd, L-rd, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
As I promised earlier, Yahshua is now addressing false believers, but Let me first teach on the word L-rd as used here. In Greek it is kurios, which can have four possible meanings. In the present verse, Yahshua seems to say that a day will come when people will address him as the divine L-rd—more than human, but not necessarily YHVH; as rendered in the Greek, however, in the Septuagint “kurios” is the most common rendering of “YHVH.” In Sha’ul’s (Paul’s) writings and in the General Letters “kurios” sometimes refers to Yahshua. I personally believe that this is the meaning here, He is YHVH.
Now, back to the verse. We read that only those who do what my Father in heaven wants (do His will) will inherit the kingdom of G-d, in other words only those who obey the Torah as I have expounded it in this sermon, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember, that the first priority of Torah is to trust G-d, and we demonstrate this trust by believing in the faithfulness of Yahshua, then obedience to the rest of Torah seals the covenant. If we trust in the faithfulness of Yahshua, trust G-d, but fail to obey His Torah we have not sealed the covenant and will not enter into the Kingdom of G-d as scriptures teaches.
The next two verses are two of the most startling in Scripture. Read with me.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, L-rd, L-rd, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work mufkarut iniquity. [lawlessness]
Tehillim 6:9 (8) Psa 6:8 it reads: Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
Lawlessness, Greek anomia, means “absence of law, absence of Torah.” Hence you workers of lawlessness means “you who act as if there were no Torah”; it confirms Yashua’s teaching on the permanence of the Torah at Matthew 5:17–19).
Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Mat 5:18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.
Mat 5:19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If we translate verse 15 properly it reads “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete, to make their meaning full. The Hebrew word “Torah,” literally “teaching, doctrine, instructions” is rendered in both the Septuagint and the New Testament by the Greek word “nomos,” which means “law.” Greek has had a more direct and pervasive influence on English and other modern languages than Hebrew has, and this is why in most languages one speaks of the “Law” of Moses rather than the “Teaching” of Moses. It is also part of the reason why the Torah has mistakenly come to be thought of by Christians as legalistic in character.
By mentioning both the Torah and the Prophets Yahshua is saying that he has not come to modify or replace G-d’s Word, the Tanakh, but To complete. The Greek word for “to complete” is “pleÆroÆsai,” literally, “to fill”; the usual rendering here, however, is “to fulfill.” Church Replacement theology, which wrongly teaches that the Church has replaced the Jews as G-d’s people, understands this verse wrongly in two ways.
First, Yashua’s “fulfilling” the Torah is thought to mean that it is unnecessary for people to fulfill it now. But there is no logic to the proposition that Yashua’s obeying the Torah does away with our need to obey it. In fact, Sha’ul (Paul), whose object in his letter to the Romans is to foster “the obedience that comes from trusting” in Yahshua, teaches that such trusting does not abolish Torah but confirms it (Ro 1:5, 3:31).
Second, with identical lack of logic, Yashua’s “fulfilling” the Prophets is thought to imply that no prophecies from the Tanakh remain for the Jews. But the Hebrew Bible’s promises to the Jews are not abolished in the name of being “fulfilled in Yahshua.” Rather, fulfillment in Yahshua is an added assurance that everything G-d has promised to the Jews and Israel will yet come to pass.
It is true that Yahshua kept the Torah perfectly and fulfilled predictions of the Prophets, but that is not the point here. Yahshua did not come to abolish but “to make full” (pleÆroÆsai) the meaning of what the Torah and the ethical demands of the Prophets require. Thus he came to complete our understanding of the Torah and the Prophets, so that we can try more effectively to be and do what they say to be and do. Verses 18–20 enunciate three ways in which the Torah and the Prophets remain necessary, applicable and in force. The remainder of chapter 5 gives six specific cases in which Yahshua explains the fuller spiritual meaning of points in the Torah. In fact, this verse states the theme and agenda of the entire Sermon on the Mount, in which Yahshua completes, makes fuller, the understanding of his talmidim concerning the Torah and the Prophets, so that they can more fully express what being G-d’s people is all about.
Brigid Younghughes a noted Christian writer supports this understanding of this passage in these words:
“ ‘ … I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.’ And surely ‘to fulfil’ means to complete, in the sense of bringing to perfection, not, as Christians have all too often interpreted it, to render obsolete; to fulfil in such a way as to perfect a foundation on which to build further.” (Christianity’s Jewish Heritage, West Sussex: Angel Press, 1988, p. 8)
Now for the closing, let me read the last few verses:
Mat 7:24 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:
Mat 7:25 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.
Mat 7:26 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:
Mat 7:27 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.
Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Yahshua had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Are you astonished? You should be for it is opposite to what most people receive as teaching. May the Ruach HaKodesh stir up your soul to G-d’s truth!