Matthew 07
Sermon on the Mount – Judging, the Narrow Gate, False Prophets, and Building on the Rock
Full Text (NKJV)
Matthew 7:1-29
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Bull’s Eye: How Matthew 07 Points to Yeshua
Matthew 7 brings the Sermon on the Mount to a powerful conclusion. Yeshua calls His followers to enter by the narrow gate, to beware of false prophets, and to build their lives on the solid rock of His words.
The most sobering warning comes in verses 21–23, where many who call Jesus “Lord” and even do works in His name are rejected with the words: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
Yeshua is not only the Teacher — He is the Rock upon which we must build, the Gate we must enter, and the final Judge who knows those who truly belong to Him.
Pilgrim’s Progress Reflection
This chapter strongly echoes themes in Pilgrim’s Progress. The narrow gate reflects the Wicket Gate that Christian must enter. The warning about false prophets and those who say “Lord, Lord” but are turned away mirrors characters like Talkative and Ignorance — people who appear religious but never truly enter by the narrow way or build on the right foundation.
Yeshua’s call to build on the rock is a direct challenge to every pilgrim: Will you build your life on His words, or on the shifting sand of this world?
Deep-Study
- The Narrow Gate and the Broad Way
- False Prophets and Knowing Them by Their Fruit
- “I Never Knew You” – The Danger of False Profession
- Building on the Rock vs. Building on the Sand
Cross-References
- index (Master Hub)
- bulls-eye–yeshua-alone
- Matthew 05 • Matthew 06