Judging Hypocritically
- “Do not judge, so you might not be judged.
- “For you will be judged by whatever verdict you judge. And you will be measured by whatever standard you measure.
- “And why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t consider the log in your eye?
- “Or how will you tell your brother: “Let me remove the splinter from your eye.” and look: the log is in your eye.
- “You hypocrite! First, remove the log from your eye; and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.
Asking, gifts, and the narrow way
- “Don’t give what’s holy to dogs, nor throw your pearls in front of pigs, lest they will trample them with their feet and having turned, they might tear you to pieces.
- “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.
- “For every man asking, receives; and the man seeking, finds; and to the man knocking, it will be opened.
- “Or what man is among you who – when his son will ask for bread – he won’t give him a stone will he?
- “Or if he will ask for a fish, he won’t give him a snake will he?
- “Therefore, if you being evil *know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in the heavens give good things to the men asking Him?
- “In all things therefore – whatever you desire that men might do for you – you must also do thusly to them, for this is the law and the prophets.
- “Enter through the narrow gate, because wide is the gate, and broad is the way leading to ruin, and the men entering through it are many.
- “For narrow is the gate, and *constricting is the way leading to life, and the men finding it are few.
Know them by their fruit
- “Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothes, but inside they are marauding wolves.
- “You will know them from their fruit. They don’t gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles do they?
- “So every good tree produces noble fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit.
- “A good tree isn’t able to produce bad fruit, nor is a rotten tree able to produce noble fruit.
- “Every tree not producing noble fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire.
- “Therefore, you will know them from their fruit.
- “Not every man saying to Me: “Lord, Lord” will enter into the kingdom of the heavens; but only the man doing the will of My Father in the heavens.
- “Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord; didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name didn’t we cast out demons, and in your name didn’t we perform many miracles?”
- “And then I will agree with them but say: “I never knew you. Depart from Me; you men working without regard for God’s commands.
Foundations compared
- “Therefore, every man who hears these words of Mine and does them will be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
- “And the rain fell down, and the floods came, and the winds blew; and they battered that house. And it didn’t fall, for its foundation had been built on the rock.
- “And every man hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, he will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
- “And the rain fell down, and the floods came, and the winds blew; and they battered that house. And it fell, and its fall was great.
- And it happened, when Jesus finished these words, that the crowds were stunned in amazement at His teaching.
- For He was teaching them like one having authority, and not like their scribes.