Commentary - Matthew 7:12

Bird's-eye view

Here, at the pivot point of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus gives us what has come to be known as the Golden Rule. This is not some piece of sentimental advice for being generally nice. Rather, it is the glorious summation of all that has gone before in this sermon and, as Christ Himself says, the very distillation of all biblical ethics. It is the hinge upon which the entire law hangs. Having just encouraged us to ask, seek, and knock, promising that our good Father will give good things to us, Jesus now turns that principle of reception into a principle of action. The word "Therefore" ties it all together. Because God is good to you, you are now equipped and commanded to be good to others. This verse is the mountain peak from which we can see the whole landscape of our duty to God and man. It is both profoundly simple and endlessly applicable, a rule for all human interaction, from the marketplace to the magistrate's bench to the marriage bed.

But we must be careful. Our fallen nature is such that we are experts at twisting even the plainest words of God. We want others to live by this rule toward us, but we are masters of non-compliance when it comes to our own obligations. The problem is not intellectual; we see the justice of it. The problem is moral. We want to be the exception. This rule, therefore, is not just a guide for behavior but a diagnostic tool for the heart, revealing our deep-seated selfishness and our desperate need for the grace of God that makes such a life possible.

Outline

The Royal Law in Practice

The Golden Rule is a principle, which means it has profound applications to all of life. It is not a flat, mechanical rule. George Bernard Shaw quipped, "Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." This is not a refutation of the rule, but rather a deeper application of it. The rule operates, as the old logicians would say, mutatis mutandis, with the necessary adjustments having been made. You don't buy your wife a shotgun for her birthday simply because that's what you would want. No, the rule requires you to put yourself in her place, with her needs, her desires, and her nature. It requires understanding. A husband must dwell with his wife with understanding (1 Pet. 3:7), and this rule is how he does it. You must do for her as you would want to be done by if you were her. This requires sympathy, not just projection. It requires you to love your neighbor as yourself, which means you must first understand both yourself and your neighbor.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 12a “Therefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you...”

The verse begins with "Therefore," tying it directly to what Jesus has just said about our heavenly Father's goodness. Because God the Father is so willing to give good gifts to His children who ask, therefore you should act this way. God's grace to us is the foundation and fuel for our grace to others. This is not a bootstrap operation. The indicative of God's goodness precedes the imperative of our duty. This is gospel logic. God has loved you; therefore, love others. He has forgiven you; therefore, forgive others. He has been generous to you; therefore, you be generous to others. The phrase "in all things" makes the scope of this command universal. There are no areas of life exempt from this rule. It applies to business dealings, family relationships, church life, and how you behave in traffic. The standard is simple and internal: "whatever you want people to do for you." You are the expert on how you like to be treated. You want respect, honesty, kindness, patience, and the benefit of the doubt. You know what it is to be treated fairly. Jesus takes this innate knowledge and makes it the very measure of your conduct toward everyone else.

v. 12b “...so do for them...”

Here is the active command. Christianity is not a passive religion. Notice that Jesus states the rule in the positive. Many ethical systems, from Confucius to various rabbis, had stated it negatively: "Do not do to others what you do not want done to you." That is good advice as far as it goes, but it only requires abstention from harm. You can fulfill the negative version by sitting on a rock and doing nothing to anybody. But Christ's command is positive and active. It requires initiative. It requires you to do. You are to seek out opportunities to bless, to help, to encourage, and to serve. It is not enough to refrain from stealing your neighbor's car; you are to help him when his car breaks down. It is not enough to refrain from gossip; you are to speak words that build up. This is a radical, world-altering ethic. It means we are to be initiators of love, just as our Father in Heaven initiated His love toward us while we were yet sinners.

v. 12c “...for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

With this final clause, Jesus elevates the Golden Rule from a helpful piece of ethical advice to the very summation of the entire Old Testament revelation. When He says "the Law and the Prophets," He is using a standard Jewish expression for the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures. All the commandments, all the case laws, all the prophetic exhortations concerning justice and mercy are distilled down to this one glorious principle. This does not abolish the Old Testament, but rather fulfills it and provides the key to understanding it. If you want to know how to apply the book of Leviticus, start here. If you are wrestling with the imprecatory psalms, start here. If you want to understand the heart of what God has always required of His people, it is this: love God with all you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. And how do you love your neighbor as yourself? Do for him what you would want him to do for you. This is the heart of the matter. This is the target that all the particular commandments are aiming at. To obey this one command, in the power of the Spirit, is to be in harmony with the very character of God as revealed in all of Scripture.