A Study of Matthew: It's Like Newton's Law, But With People

Matthew 7 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? 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? 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. “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. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 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! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. “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. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “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. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. 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.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

In the last few weeks, we have been looking at the sermon on the mount. It is one of five major sermons that Matthew records in his gospel, and it is the first sermon we hear from Jesus.

The interesting thing about this sermon is that, while there is a great crowd gathered to listen, the intended audience is actually Jesus’ disciples—the people who have already signed on as followers of Jesus.

Jesus starts his sermon off with an explanation of what God values, the values that make up the kingdom of God; values that kingdom citizens are supposed to hold. They are values completely at odds with what the world values.

Jesus also lets them know, “Hey, if you choose to follow me, the world WILL hate you. You WILL be persecuted.”

He then goes into how what you allow to dwell in your heart and mind is just as important to God as what you act out—maybe even more so, because you can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons and still miss out on the kingdom of God.

Today we look at the next part of Jesus’ sermon. He says things like judge not, that you be not judged ask, and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.

It’s like Newton’s third law of motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s that law of motion that allows rockets to fly through outer space. And people have been working with this idea forever. We hear people talk about karma, the idea that there is balance to the universe, and that whatever actions you take in life will come back to you later on. If you do good, you get good.

Is that what Jesus is talking about here—some sort of cosmic boomerang? Is Jesus saying you get what you deserve? I don’t think that is Jesus’ message. After all, he’s been talking about the values that God and his kingdom hold as important. He’s talking about what it really means to be in God’s kingdom. These people Jesus is talking to are Jews, the children of Abraham. They are God’s chosen people. As far as they are concerned, being part of God’s kingdom is based on genealogy and following laws and tradition. Being part of the kingdom meant depending on the religious leaders to tell you what to do.

The religious leaders had made it all so complicated. They had a bunch of laws, most of which were added by people that went far beyond what God had given them. Jesus brought it back to the basics.

Jesus is introducing them to a whole new perspective on God’s kingdom. It’s a kingdom that is not based on external actions but on internal attitudes. He compares us to fruit trees. a healthy tree produces good fruit; an unhealthy tree produces diseased fruit. Someone can know all the right things to say, but the truth of the condition of their heart comes out in the way they relate to others.

That’s why Jesus says

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

“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. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

God is not looking for religious people. He is looking for people who will do his will. And what is his will? That we imitate Christ. And what did Christ do? He told people about his kingdom and he served the people with humility.

Jesus goes on to give the parable of the wise man and foolish man. The wise man builds his house on the rock, while the foolish man builds his house on sand. When the flood came, the house on the rock stands while the house on the sand gets washed away. Usually we hear that this refers to reading the Bible and “having Jesus in your heart”; but if we look at the entire message Jesus was teaching, we see that it goes further. Jesus is teaching about really living out your faith—living your life in a way that is consistent with the relationship you claim to have with Christ.

There are way too many Christians who go around condemning anyone who doesn’t line up with their idea of what a Christian should look like. I mean, I have heard people argue about what type of bread should be used in communion! When others see you, do they see a person filled with the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, or do they just see some religious person who is quick to judge and be angry?

The people who were listening to Jesus saw something different from the religious leaders and teachers of the law.

Matthew 7:28–29 ESV

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

The scribes were good at spouting rules, but Jesus was giving these people real world application of the values of heaven. The scribes were quick to say, “Here’s what you’re doing wrong.” Jesus was sharing useful teaching on how to get it right.

The scribes always spoke in a way that said, “This being-holy-stuff is beyond you. You need me to tell you what to do.” Basically, the religious leaders were trying to impose worldly systems on the kingdom of God. They made people jump through hoops that they couldn’t even do. They were just good at hiding their flaws.

Jesus was showing them a view of God’s kingdom they had never seen before. But in doing so, he let them know that he wasn’t creating a new religion. Remember what he said in Matthew 5:17?

Matthew 5:17 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

What Jesus is showing them is what God always intended. God never wanted to be distant from us. He never intended for us to have a religion. He always intended for us to have a close relationship, where we experience his love and mercy and reflect that love and mercy in our relationships with each other.

The question that comes to mind is, what is Christianity to you? Is it a part of your life, or is it EVERYTHING? Is it a religion, or is it a lifestyle of becoming more and more like Jesus every day? Is Christianity about know what to do and not do, or is it about having heart full of kingdom values that influence everything you say and do?

If you have spent any amount of time in church, you know how to talk a good talk and do certain things to look good. But Jesus isn’t looking at how we act in church, or even how we act in public. He’s looking at our hearts. He is looking for hearts that WANT to do the right thing and treat people the right way. He’s looking for hearts that LOVE people, even the lost ones and the awful, disrespectful, sacrilegious ones.

Next week, we are going to look at what Jesus does at the close of this sermon. Jesus is the perfect example for us to follow, because he does more than talking a good talk. He lives it out.

Let’s make that our prayer today. Lord, I don’t just want to profess my faith in you. I want to live it out boldly for the world to see. Forgive me of the times I have been a poor testimony, when my actions and attitudes did not line up with character of Christ, whom I claim to follow and belong to. Please help me change. Help me be different. Help me be like you. In Jesus’ name.

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