Golden Rule

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Holman Bible Handbook The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

Matthew 7:1–12 rounds out the body of the sermon by discussing how to treat others. First, Jesus called His followers not to be judgmental in their relationships with others (vv. 1–5). But His illustrations also underline that once we have properly dealt with our own sins, we have the right and responsibility to evaluate others’ behavior and to help them deal with their shortcomings (vv. 5–6). Second, He reminds us of God’s generosity and desire to give us good gifts (7:7–11), though, after the Beatitudes we dare not define “good” in worldly terms like health and wealth. The well-known Golden Rule (7:12) brings the body of Jesus’ message to a climax and epitomizes the ethic underlying it all—treat others as you would want to be treated.

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