What Does our Eye See and What Does It Mean?

What Does our Eye See and What Does It Mean?

Authority (Matt. 7:1–14). “Do not judge” are the warning words which mark off the third section of Jesus’ guidelines for kingdom seekers. It is directed at those who see in the kingdom the right to exalt themselves above their fellow citizens, who are named “brothers” here.

1. The first warning dealt with seeking approval of men rather than God. 
2. The second warning dealt with having concern for the goods in this world, rather than abandoning such concerns to seek the kingdom and righteousness. 

The third warning deals with relationships within the kingdom.

This warning is a vital one; in human society we always go about setting up a “pecking order.” We try to settle the question of who has control or influence over another. The whole “chain of command” approach of the military and the business world reflects the concern human beings feel for authority. The right to judge another is a right which the human heart naturally yearns for.

This is true in the church as in any group. Church history is in a real sense a report of the struggle for control over others in the name of religion. This is not true only in the papal distortions of the Middle Ages. It is true in the local Protestant church of today, where a pastor or a board member may struggle to impose his will on his brothers and sisters. Or where a gossip may claim the right to exalt himself or herself over the person whose reputation is smeared. Pushing others down seems such an easy way to raise ourselves up.

But if we are to find the kingdom, we have to abandon all claims to a right to judge. “Do not judge,” Jesus said, "and for all time He destroyed the pretentions of anyone who would seek to exalt himself over others in the kingdom" (vv. 1–6).

Instead Jesus taught another attitude: that of humility and servanthood. “Ask,” Jesus said, commanding us to take the position not of a judge but of a supplicant. We are to approach life in the kingdom with a deep sense of our need for God’s good gifts—and with full confidence that our loving Father will supply us with all we need (vv. 7–11). What is more, in bowing down to God we also bow down to our brothers. We commit ourselves not to judge them but to serve them: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (v. 12)..

This truly is a narrow gate. But it leads us to life—the life of the kingdom, now (vv. 13–14).


Richards, Larry, and Lawrence O. Richards. The Teacher’s Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987. Print.