Now we’re ready for the last section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 7:13 to 29.
“Take the difficult path on your way to life in God. Most look for the easy way, but they end up being led away to destruction.” (Verse 13) The path to destruction and the path to life both have a gate and a way. The gate represents the entrance onto the path; which, in reality, is the decision each one of us makes about what direction our life will take. The way is our course of conduct. Once we decide which direction we’re going, we continue making decisions that will keep us on that course.
On the path to destruction Jesus describes the gate as wide and the way as broad. This is the way well traveled; most people go this way (“many there be that go in thereat”). This way is the way of popular opinion (Proverbs 14:12). The very reason we have so many Christian groups and denominations today is because people have always crafted their religion to fit their own needs and desires. They want serving God to be easy, enjoyable and, for some, even profitable. But, when we examine the lives of Christ and others in the early church, we see that serving God was difficult, full of adversity and far from profitable in a material sense. In this verse Jesus is describing a gate that is wide enough to accommodate the majority of people who choose to go their own direction; and a way that was spacious or unrestricted, allowing them to travel in relative comfort. Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day rejected him and stayed on the course they had chosen with their own religious system (Hebrews 3:10). In Christianity much the same is true today.
“The truth is, the path to life in God is full of obstacles and adversity. Most people don't want to believe that, so they allow themselves to be deceived and go the wrong way. Only a few are willing to persevere and take the difficult path.” (Verse 14) On the path to life the gate is strait and the way is narrow. These terms suggest that the path to life is strenuous; both terms are
specific. The word “strait” (stenos) means “difficult due to obstacles in the way” and is a picture of opposition; “narrow” (thlibo) means “narrowed due to pressure” and used here as a picture of adversity. In other words, the gate to life is full of opposition and the way to life is full of adversity.
Therefore, entering the gate to life requires the courage necessary to break away from the masses, who have chosen the way of least resistance; and traveling the way to life demands the sacrifice and self-denial necessary to enter a life of adversity, opposition and possible persecution (Romans 8:16,17; II Timothy 3:12; I Peter 2:21-23; 4:1,2).
In these next verses Jesus warns against the false motives of religious leaders. You only have to turn to religious TV channels to see these guys at work. “And be careful. There are those who pretend to hear from God, but are, in reality, deceived themselves (false prophets). They’ll tell you what you want to hear. It’ll sound really good. They’ll be sincere. But if you listen to them, you’ll be sorry. And unfortunately, for many of them, religion is just another way to take advantage of people for their own selfish motives.” (Verse 15)
The term “false prophet” (pseudoprophetes) is literally “one who pretends to hear from God, but deceives with lies”. Jesus identifies these false prophets as those who come in sheep’s clothing, meaning they are a part of the community of believers or members of the flock. However, “sheep’s clothing” is only a description of their outward appearance. They look like Christians. But their sincerity is certainly in question; because, he says, “inwardly they are ravening wolves”. It is this inward description that reveals the true nature of the false prophet. The word “ravening” (harpax) is translated “extortioner” in I Corinthians 5:10,11; where there are strict instructions by Paul for those in the church to avoid all contact with such. An extortioner is someone who gets something from someone else through the use of force, deception or manipulation. Here Jesus is describing the false prophet as a fierce predator, who comes into the flock looking like one of the sheep; but their intention is to take advantage of their appearance to deceive the sheep and ultimately satisfy their own selfish instincts.
Their goal is not to be a part of the community, working in mutual cooperation with others to benefit that community. Their purpose is not to minister to the needs of others. Their motives are purely personal. What they say and what they do is all calculated to gain something for themselves, whether it is material profit, influence or control (usually all three). These are people who pretend to hear from God, but their message is self-serving and their predictions never fulfilled and quickly forgotten.
And let’s be clear, a true prophet (prophetes) is not someone who predicts (foretells) future events, an all too common misuse of the term. In the New Testament a prophet was someone who spoke openly and accurately the divine message of salvation and the future fulfillment of the promises associated with it. Today, those who claim to be a prophet actually fit the description above of the false prophet.
“And sometimes these guys are hard to spot. But this is the key, look for Godly character. Don’t be fooled by their apparent success, their good looks or their talent. Just remember good people do good things. If they’re principled people with good values, it will not be in their nature to want to manipulate you and take advantage of you. They’ll only want you to know the truth. So get to know them. Don’t just listen to what they have to say. Look closely at their lives.” (Verses 16-18)
In these verses Jesus treats the whole question of false prophets as a character issue. Good fruit only comes from good trees; likewise, evil fruit only comes from corrupt trees. The word “good” (kalos) means “constitutionally good”. In other words, it is the constitution or make-up of the tree that determines what kind of fruit it will produce. In this context, it is the character of the person that determines what kind of message he or she is going to give. If the person is good on the inside, what they say and the result of what they say will be good. Kalos is also used to describe something that is in harmony, a picture of someone who is in partnership with God and His Holy Spirit and submitted to their authority and guidance.
The word “evil” (poneros) illustrates two aspects of a person’s character and both are pertinent to this discussion: first, it is evil in a moral sense (malicious, condemning and selfish); and second, it is evil in a spiritual sense (reprobate, espousing error; and iniquitous, promoting sin). Here is a comprehensive, destructive force: those in the church who look and act like true believers; but in reality are destroying the sheep with both deception and error.
“If it turns out they’re not what they claim, get away from them. The Father will deal with them when the proper time comes.” (Verse 19) Paul gives a warning against false prophets in Ephesians 5:6, where he says that those who deceive with “vain” words (kenos, meaning, empty) will experience the wrath of God reserved for those who practice such disobedience. In this verse the word “vain” means “empty or absent the Holy Spirit” and is sometimes simply translated “evil”.
“And if they’re genuine, you’ll know it because they’ll continually encourage and bless you.” (Verse 20) This is the test of “good fruit”.
In the following verses Jesus contrasts the difference between what people say and what they do. There are those who say Jesus is their master, but it is evident by their actions that He isn’t. The distinction is that some sound religious and look religious; but they have no real relationship with God, because they are not doing the will of the Father “Simply looking and acting like Jesus is the Lord of your life will not guarantee you entrance into heaven. There’s a world of difference between doing your own thing and being obedient to the will of the Father.” (Verse 21)
In Luke 18:9-14 the writer says that when Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the publican he was talking “unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, but despised others.” In other words, they were trusting in the things that they did to make them righteous. But the condemning thing was that they despised those who were the recipients of their good works. They gave to the poor, but not because they had compassion on them. They didn’t care about the poor. They only cared about how their actions made them appear righteous to others. Jesus makes it clear in the parable that the Pharisee received no credit for the good things he may have done, because his reasons for doing them were wrong. In fact, if we look honestly at this question, we can build a case for the fact that none of us should think that God owes us for anything we might do, because He doesn’t (Luke 17:7-10, neither good deeds or obedience makes God indebted to us).
“On that day, there will be many that will want to talk about all the religious things they did in My name that impressed so many people.” (Verse 22) The inference here is that on the day of judgment (“in that day”) many will come before the Lord expecting to gain entrance into His kingdom because of the things they have done. But at that time Jesus is going to look past the things they did and look at the reasons why they did them. It is at this point that the “many” Jesus is talking about in this verse are going to be condemned. Even though they said that their works were done in Jesus name, it is evident that there is a serious problem here. The phrase “in Your name” is significant. It implies that all these things were conformable to His character and nature (the meaning of onoma). Jesus is perfectly selfless in character and nature — everything He was in character was for our benefit, and everything He did was directed at our need.
“Then I’ll tell them, and this will be the first time they have ever really heard My voice, you have to leave now, I don’t know you. We were never intimate. All those things you did that you’re so eager to talk about had nothing to do with Me. You were just using Me to make yourselves look good.” (Verse 23) It is obvious, then, that Jesus recognizes the fact that these things were not done in order to satisfy the will of the Father, but for some kind of personal gain. And so the works and the ones who did them are both rejected. The verb “will profess” is interesting here. It’s from homologeo, to profess, sometimes translated, to promise. It is in the future tense, which in Greek grammar implies not just a future time but a specific action in the future. This indicates that when Jesus speaks to them that day it will be the first time that they have ever heard him. This is consistent with his statement to them “I never knew you” (where “knew” is ginosko, indicating relationship, literally, “we were never intimate”).
But it is the last phrase in this paragraph that ties it all together. “Ye that work iniquity” is how Jesus describes those who don’t know him and don’t do the will of the Father. This phrase illustrates wrong motivation. The word “work” is ergazomai, which means to work, labor or perform with the intention of gaining something for what you have done. “Iniquity” is anomia, a word used to describe a rejection or transgression of the law. This probably refers back to 5:17-20, where Jesus talked about the principles of the Law being more important than the religious rules that had replaced or distorted them. Therefore, those who “work iniquity” are those who do what they do expecting to gain something for themselves, and the things that they do continually violate the spirit or intent of the law. Their goal is not to please the Father or meet the needs of others. Those who work iniquity do the right things, but for the wrong reason (Matthew 23:23-28).
“Now, everything I’ve told you today is very important. And if you’re wise, you’ll build your lives on it. The wisdom of God is the firm foundation everyone needs.” (Verse 24) In concluding his message on the Kingdom, Jesus uses one last comparison — the wise man and the foolish man. The wise man “hears” (akouo) the sayings of Jesus in a specific way: that is, he understands the value of them and purposes to follow them for that reason. He hears with the intention of putting what he hears to practical use, because he recognizes the wisdom of it. The word “wise” (phronimos) illustrates the same basic idea, because it implies practical wisdom. In this verse the wise man uses the instructions of Jesus to build his “house” (oikia); used here to illustrate a life built on a solid foundation (a rock).
“There are all sorts of unexpected situations and difficult circumstances in this life that can cause you trouble. But, if you’ve built your life on the things I’ve told you, you’ll be able to stand against anything.” (Verse 25) To complete his illustration, Jesus continues to use figurative language to describe what happens to a wise man’s life when it must endure testing. The rain, floods and winds all represent a variety of things that can occur to produce pressure in a persons life. The rain that descends represents the sudden, unexpected occurrences; such as, a harsh word, a misunderstanding, or an unintentional or even intentional offense that can strain a relationship. The floods that come are the more serious and more difficult circumstances: an extended illness, the loss of a loved one or the betrayal of a friend, all of which may interrupt or end a relationship. The winds that blow represent a multitude of things that may influence relationships in a negative way; such as, wrong advice from well-intentioned people, unsound doctrinal teaching, and worldly philosophy. All of these things test the strength of relationships. The point here is that when a wise man builds his life on the solid foundation of Jesus’ words, he has the ability to cope with all the things that happen to every one of us and still keep his relationships (his life) spiritually healthy.
“Just be sure you don’t make this mistake. Many will listen to what I’ve said, but they won’t take it seriously. They’ll follow the world’s so-called experts, instead. These guys are always changing their minds about something, because almost everything they do turns out wrong. They’re always coming up with something new to cover their mistakes.” (Verse 26) The foolish man hears the words of Jesus, but doesn’t build his life on them. The word “foolish” (aphron) means reckless in mind or irresponsible. He builds his life on sand (ammos), used here to illustrate an insecure foundation. The foolish man rejects God and builds his life on the shifting, ever-changing ideas that come from every Godless source imaginable. He is irresponsible because he relies on his own fleshly wisdom, the philosophy of the world and the inspiration of devilish schemes to guide his life and literally puts himself and others in the path of destruction, because none of those things prepare him to deal with the pressures that always come.
“When you follow the wisdom of the world, your life will be full of insecurity and confusion. And when problems come, your life will crumble, and you won’t be able to fix it.” (Verse 27)
Now, when the same pressures are brought to bear on this life, it unravels. The foolish man doesn’t know how to deal with his problems. He can’t resolve conflicts, because none of the things he is trusting in tell him how. He can’t deal with pressure, because he has no faith. His life is a series of setbacks, disappointments and frustrations. In addition to this, Jesus describes the “fall” (ptosis, destruction) of this “house” (oikia, life, usually extended to relationships, influences, etc.) as “great” (megas, here describing the extent of the fall), meaning that the destruction did not affect just the foolish man, but many others who were connected to his life.
“Now, when Jesus was finished, the people were confused, not only because of what He said, but how He said it. They were familiar with what the religious teachers had always taught. They liked to quote the scholars and recite their old, traditional doctrines. But this was different, Jesus spoke of Himself and of God as His Father. And He had an unfamiliar boldness and confidence when He spoke.” (Verse 28 and 29) This could be true of many today who are familiar with the teachings of their particular denomination based on tradition and ritual, yet deny or distort the teaching of Jesus and the New Covenant.