Post by kencoolidge on Sept 28, 2009 8:03:25 GMT -5
Inspiration by E-Mail for the Week of September 27, 2009
GOLD FOR THE GOLDEN RULE
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to
them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
These words begin the conclusion of Jesus' great Sermon on the
Mount, His important description of what life in His kingdom is like.
As He began the conclusion to this sermon, Jesus said one of the
most memorable lines in the entire Bible, often known as "The
Golden Rule."
He said, "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to
them." The negative way of stating this command was known long
before the time of Jesus. It had long been said, "You should not do
to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you." But it
was a significant advance for Jesus to put it in the positive, to say
that we should do unto others what we want them to do unto us.
Ten or so years before the public ministry of Jesus began, a Gentile
seeker came to the famous Jewish Rabbi Hillel. The Gentile asked
the rabbi to summarize the entire law of God in a short time – short
enough so that the man could stand on one leg for the whole
description. It is said that Rabbi Hillel responded, "What is hateful to
you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is
commentary. Go and learn it."
So Jesus took this familiar understanding of the essence of God's
law and expressed in a different sense – a positive sense. In so
doing, Jesus made the command much broader. We might say that
it is the difference between not breaking traffic laws and in doing
something positive like helping the man whose car broke down.
Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus described the judgment of
the sheep and the goats and the end of the age. In that section
(Matthew 25:31-46), the guilt of the unfortunate "goats" was that
they did not do what they should have done. Under the negative
form of the rule, the goats spoken of would be found "not guilty."
Yet under the positive form of the Golden Rule – Jesus' form – they
would indeed be found guilty.
No wonder this rule is called "golden." How the world would be
different if people followed it! No one would steal, cheat, or lie.
Even the worst thief does not want to be stolen from. No murderer
wants to be killed. There would be much more kindness and
companionship in a world ruled by the Golden Rule. The person
who wants a friend would reach out in friendship to another; the
person who needs comfort would seek someone out who needs it.
Multiply this principle person by person through a community,
through a nation, through the world – and it would be almost
heaven on earth.
That is why Jesus could say, "For this is the Law and the
Prophets." Jesus showed that this simple principle summarized all
that the Law and the Prophets say about how we should treat
others. If we would simply treat others the way we would want to be
treated, we would naturally obey all the law says about our
relationships with others.
Simple? Of course it's simple to understand. This explanation of
Jesus makes the law much easier to understand, but it doesn't
make it any easier to obey. No one has ever consistently done unto
others as they would like others to do unto themselves. Where do
we begin with the Golden Rule? We should begin by asking God to
forgive us for not keeping it, and we should realize that this failure
to keep something so simple and easy to understand means we
need a savior – Jesus Himself.
This brief, powerful word from Jesus points us to the right direction;
but it also exposes our need for Him as savior and strength. It's a
Golden Rule; but I'm bankrupt. Let Him be your gold (Revelation
3:18), and He will help you to live His Golden Rule.
By David Guzik
For Bible Study resources by David Guzik, go to:
www.enduringword.com/library_commentaries.htm
For David Guzik podcast, find the link at www.enduringword.com.
A convenient link for mobile users – easily access David's online
commentary from your iPhone or web-enabled phone.
www.enduringword.com/mobile_commentary.htm
GOLD FOR THE GOLDEN RULE
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to
them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
These words begin the conclusion of Jesus' great Sermon on the
Mount, His important description of what life in His kingdom is like.
As He began the conclusion to this sermon, Jesus said one of the
most memorable lines in the entire Bible, often known as "The
Golden Rule."
He said, "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to
them." The negative way of stating this command was known long
before the time of Jesus. It had long been said, "You should not do
to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you." But it
was a significant advance for Jesus to put it in the positive, to say
that we should do unto others what we want them to do unto us.
Ten or so years before the public ministry of Jesus began, a Gentile
seeker came to the famous Jewish Rabbi Hillel. The Gentile asked
the rabbi to summarize the entire law of God in a short time – short
enough so that the man could stand on one leg for the whole
description. It is said that Rabbi Hillel responded, "What is hateful to
you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is
commentary. Go and learn it."
So Jesus took this familiar understanding of the essence of God's
law and expressed in a different sense – a positive sense. In so
doing, Jesus made the command much broader. We might say that
it is the difference between not breaking traffic laws and in doing
something positive like helping the man whose car broke down.
Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus described the judgment of
the sheep and the goats and the end of the age. In that section
(Matthew 25:31-46), the guilt of the unfortunate "goats" was that
they did not do what they should have done. Under the negative
form of the rule, the goats spoken of would be found "not guilty."
Yet under the positive form of the Golden Rule – Jesus' form – they
would indeed be found guilty.
No wonder this rule is called "golden." How the world would be
different if people followed it! No one would steal, cheat, or lie.
Even the worst thief does not want to be stolen from. No murderer
wants to be killed. There would be much more kindness and
companionship in a world ruled by the Golden Rule. The person
who wants a friend would reach out in friendship to another; the
person who needs comfort would seek someone out who needs it.
Multiply this principle person by person through a community,
through a nation, through the world – and it would be almost
heaven on earth.
That is why Jesus could say, "For this is the Law and the
Prophets." Jesus showed that this simple principle summarized all
that the Law and the Prophets say about how we should treat
others. If we would simply treat others the way we would want to be
treated, we would naturally obey all the law says about our
relationships with others.
Simple? Of course it's simple to understand. This explanation of
Jesus makes the law much easier to understand, but it doesn't
make it any easier to obey. No one has ever consistently done unto
others as they would like others to do unto themselves. Where do
we begin with the Golden Rule? We should begin by asking God to
forgive us for not keeping it, and we should realize that this failure
to keep something so simple and easy to understand means we
need a savior – Jesus Himself.
This brief, powerful word from Jesus points us to the right direction;
but it also exposes our need for Him as savior and strength. It's a
Golden Rule; but I'm bankrupt. Let Him be your gold (Revelation
3:18), and He will help you to live His Golden Rule.
By David Guzik
For Bible Study resources by David Guzik, go to:
www.enduringword.com/library_commentaries.htm
For David Guzik podcast, find the link at www.enduringword.com.
A convenient link for mobile users – easily access David's online
commentary from your iPhone or web-enabled phone.
www.enduringword.com/mobile_commentary.htm