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Matthew 7 consists of
a number of apparently self-contained paragraphs. Their link with
each other is not obvious. Nor does the chapter as a whole follow
on from the previous chapter with any clear sequence of thought.
Many commentators conclude, therefore, that originally these blocks of
material belonged to different contexts, that Matthew himself assembled
them, and that he perhaps did his `scissors and paste' work a trifle
clumsily.
But it is not
necessary to reach this conclusion. The connecting thread which
runs through the chapter, however loosely, is that of relationships. It
would seem quite logical that, having described a Christian's character,
influence, righteousness, piety and ambition, Jesus should concentrate
finally on his relationships.
For the Christian
counter-culture is not an individualistic but a community affair, and
relations both within the community and between the community and others
are of paramount importance. So some account is given in Matthew 7
of the network of relationships into which, as the followers of Jesus,
we are drawn. These might be set out as follows:
| 1 |
to a brother
in whose eye we may discern a splinter, and whom we have a
responsibility to help, not judge (1-5). |
| 2 |
to a group
startlingly designated `dogs' and `pigs'. They are people all
right, but such is their animal nature that we are told not to
share God's gospel with them (6). |
| 3 |
to our
heavenly Father to whom we come in prayer, confident that he
will give us nothing but `good things' (7-11) |
| 4 |
to everybody
in general: the Golden Rule should guide our attitude and
behaviour towards them (12). |
| 5 |
to our fellow
pilgrims who walk with us along the narrow way (13-14). |
| 6 |
to false
prophets, whom we are to recognise and of whom we are to be
aware (15-20). |
| 7 |
to Jesus our
Lord whose teaching we are committed to heed and obey (21-27). |
1.
Our attitude to our brother (1-5)
Jesus does not anticipate that the Christian community will
be perfect. On the contrary, he assumes that there will be misdemeanours
and that these will give rise to tensions, to problems of relationships.
In particular, how should a Christian behave towards a fellow member who
has misbehaved? Has Jesus any instructions about discipline within
his community? Yes, in such a situation he forbids two
alternatives, and then commends a third, a better, a more `Christian'
way.
a) The
Christian is not to be a judge (1,2).
Jesus' words "Judge not, that you be not judged " are well
known but much misunderstood. To begin with we must reject Tolstoy's
belief, based on this verse, that `Christ totally forbids the human
institution of the law court', and that he `could mean nothing else by
those words'. But Jesus' prohibition cannot possibly mean the one thing
Tolstoy says it must mean, for the context does not refer to judges in
courts of law but rather to the responsibility of individuals to one
another. |
