Matthew 7

Matthew 7:1-6 opens with the terse prohibition mē krinete, commonly translated "do not judge." The following explanation shows that the issue is not the suspension of all moral discernment, since verse 6 itself requires discrimination and verses 15-20 demand evaluation of false prophets. Rather, Jesus warns against condemnatory or hypocritical judgment governed by a standard one is unwilling to apply to oneself. The passive expression "you will be judged" can function as a divine passive, implying God's judgment.

The image of a speck and a beam is deliberately comic hyperbole. The karphos is a small splinter or piece of chaff, while dokos denotes a substantial wooden beam. The sequence is important: Jesus does not say the brother's speck should never be removed, but that the would-be corrector must first remove the beam from his own eye so that he can "see clearly" to help another. Self-examination therefore precedes correction rather than abolishing it.

Verse 6 shifts abruptly to dogs, pigs, holy things, and pearls. Its relation to verses 1-5 is debated. Some read it as a counterbalance requiring discernment; others treat it as an independent proverb about protecting what is sacred from hostile rejection. "Dogs" and "pigs" were strongly negative images in Jewish discourse, but identifying specific groups behind the saying is speculative. The verse emphasizes prudent discrimination without defining a fixed class of people.

Matthew 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount by moving from instructions about judgment, prayer, and reciprocal conduct to a sequence of warnings about decisive response. The opening units address judging others, discernment, persistent petition, and the so-called Golden Rule. The second half becomes increasingly eschatological: two gates and roads lead to contrasting destinations, false prophets are identified by their fruit, verbal confession is distinguished from doing the Father's will, and the final parable contrasts hearing Jesus' words with actually doing them.

The chapter therefore gathers several themes developed throughout Matthew 5-6: righteousness, discernment, dependence on the Father, obedience, and the authority of Jesus' teaching. Matthew does not present nonjudgment as indiscriminate acceptance; correction and evaluation remain necessary, but self-examination precedes them. The closing verses give the entire discourse its narrative climax: Jesus' words become the criterion on which the two builders are distinguished, and the crowds respond with astonishment because he teaches with authority unlike their scribes.