Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 7

St. Augustine of Hippo: Since it is uncertain with what purpose these temporal things are provided for the future, as it may be with a sincere or a duplicitous mind, He appropriately adds, Judge not.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, He has, up to this point, drawn out the consequences of His commands about almsgiving; He now takes up those concerning prayer. This teaching is a kind of continuation of the one on prayer, as if it were to say, Forgive us our debts, and then follow it with, Judge not, that you be not judged.

St. Jerome: But if He forbids us to judge, how then does Paul judge the Corinthian who had committed uncleanness? Or Peter convict Ananias and Sapphira of falsehood?

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But some explain this passage to mean that the Lord did not forbid Christians from rebuking others out of goodwill, but only intended that Christians should not despise other Christians by showing off their own righteousness, often hating others based on suspicion alone, condemning them, and pursuing private grudges under the guise of piety.

St. John Chrysostom: Therefore, He does not say, “Do not stop a sinner,” but “do not judge”; that is, do not be a bitter judge. Correct him, certainly, but not as an enemy seeking revenge; rather, correct him as a physician applying a remedy.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But that expression, Judge not, shows that Christians should not even correct other Christians in this way.

But if they do not correct in this way, will they therefore obtain forgiveness for their sins, just because it is said, and you shall not be judged? For who obtains forgiveness for a past sin simply by not adding another one to it?

We have said this to show that this passage is not about refraining from judging a neighbor who sins against God, but one who sins against us. For whoever does not judge his neighbor who has sinned against him, God will not judge him for his own sin, but will forgive his debt just as he forgave.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, He does not forbid us from judging all sin absolutely, but places this prohibition on those who are themselves full of great evils yet judge others for very small ones. Similarly, Paul does not absolutely forbid judging those who sin, but he finds fault with disciples who judged their teacher and instructs us not to judge those who are above us.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Alternatively, He forbids us to judge God concerning His promises. For just as judgments among people are founded on uncertain things, so this judgment against God is drawn from something that is doubtful. Therefore, He would have us put away this habit altogether. For this is not like other cases where it is a sin to have made a false judgment; here, we have begun to sin if we have pronounced any judgment at all.

St. Augustine of Hippo: I suppose the command here is simply that we should always put the best interpretation on actions when the motive behind them seems doubtful. But concerning actions that cannot be done with a good purpose—such as adultery, blasphemy, and the like—He permits us to judge. For morally neutral actions, however, which could be done with either a good or a bad purpose, it is rash to judge, and especially to condemn. ¹

There are two cases in which we should be particularly on guard against hasty judgments: first, when the motive for an action is unclear; and second, when it is not yet apparent what kind of person someone may become, who now seems either good or bad. Therefore, we should not blame actions when we do not know the motive behind them, nor should we condemn even manifest sins in such a way that we despair of the person's recovery.

One might find a difficulty in what follows: With what judgment you judge, you will be judged. If we make a hasty judgment, will God also judge us with a hasty one? Or if we have measured with a false measure, does God have a false measure from which to measure back to us? For by “measure,” I suppose judgment is meant here. Surely, this only means that the haste with which you punish another will, in itself, be your punishment, for injustice often does no harm to the one who suffers the wrong, but it must always hurt the one who does the wrong.

Some ask how it can be true what Christ says, And with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you again, if a temporal sin is to be punished with eternal suffering? They do not observe that it is not said “the same measure” in the sense of an equal length of time, but in the sense of an equal retribution: that he who has done evil should suffer evil.

This principle applies even to what the Lord spoke of here, namely, judgments and condemnations. Accordingly, he who judges and condemns unjustly, if he is then judged and condemned justly, receives in the same measure—though not the same thing that he gave. Through judgment he did what was unjust; through judgment he suffers what is just. ²

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Lord, having admonished us about hasty and unjust judgment, then addresses those most prone to it. These are people who judge uncertain matters and who prefer to speak evil and condemn rather than to heal and correct—a fault that springs from either pride or jealousy. He therefore adds, Why do you see the mote in your brother’s eye, and not see the beam in your own eye?¹

St. Jerome: He is speaking of those who, though guilty of mortal sin themselves, do not forgive a trivial fault in their brother.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For example, perhaps someone has sinned in anger, and you correct him with settled hatred. The difference between anger and hatred is as great as the difference between a beam and a mote, for hatred is anger that has become ingrained. If you are angry with a man, you may want him to amend; this is not so if you hate him.

St. John Chrysostom: Many people do this. If they see a monk with an extra garment or a plentiful meal, they break out into bitter accusation, even though they themselves daily seize, devour, and suffer from excessive drinking.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, this is spoken to the teachers of the Church. For every sin is either great or small according to the character of the sinner. If the sinner is a layperson, the sin is small—a mote—in comparison to the sin of a priest, which is the beam.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Alternatively, the beam represents the sin against the Holy Spirit. This sin is to deny God His effective power and to deny Christ His eternal substance—for it is through Christ that God came to man, and so also through Him that man shall come to God. Therefore, just as the beam is much greater than the mote, so the sin against the Holy Spirit is much greater than all other sins. This is like when unbelievers criticize others for carnal sins while hiding within themselves the burden of this ultimate sin: namely, that they do not trust the promises of God, their minds being blinded as if by a beam in their eye.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: In other words, how can you have the audacity to charge your brother with sin when you yourself are living in the same or an even greater sin?

St. Augustine of Hippo: When we find it necessary to find fault with anyone, we should first consider several things. First, is it a sin we have never committed? Second, we must remember that we are still human and could fall into it. Third, if it is a sin we once had but are now free from, let our common frailty come to mind, so that pity, not hatred, precedes our correction.²

If we find ourselves guilty of the same fault, we should not reprove the offender, but groan with him and invite him to struggle alongside us. Reproof should be used seldom and only in cases of great necessity, and even then, only so that the Lord may be served, not ourselves.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, consider the words, How can you say to your brother... That is, for what purpose do you say it? Is it from charity, so that you might save your neighbor? Surely not, for you would save yourself first. Therefore, you do not desire to heal others, but to cover up a wicked life with good doctrine and to gain the praise of men for your learning, not the reward from God for building others up. And so you are a hypocrite, as it follows, You hypocrite, first cast the beam out of your own eye.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For to reprove sin is the duty of the good, which when the bad do, they are playing a part, dissembling their own character and assuming one that does not belong to them.³

St. John Chrysostom: It should be noted that whenever He intends to denounce a great sin, He begins with a term of reproach, as in the passage, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt (Matthew 18:32), and so here, You hypocrite, first cast out... He does this because each person knows his own affairs better than the affairs of others, sees great things more clearly than lesser things, and loves himself more than his neighbor.

Therefore, He commands the one who is guilty of many sins not to be a harsh judge of another's faults, especially if they are small. In this, He is not forbidding us to challenge and correct others, but forbidding us to make light of our own sins while magnifying those of others. For you must first diligently examine how great your own sins are, and only then address those of your neighbor. This is why it follows, and then you will see clearly to cast the mote out of your brother’s eye.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For once we have removed the beam of envy, malice, or hypocrisy from our own eye, we will see clearly to cast the mote out of our brother’s eye.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Because the simplicity He was directing in the preceding precepts might lead some to wrongly conclude that it is as wrong to hide the truth as it is to speak what is false, He appropriately adds, Give not that which is holy to the dogs, and cast not your pearls before swine.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, the Lord had commanded us to love our enemies and to do good to those who sin against us. So that priests might not think themselves obligated by this to also share the things of God with such people, He corrected any such thought, saying, Give not that which is holy to the dogs. This is as if to say, "I have commanded you to love your enemies and do them good from your temporal goods, but not from My spiritual goods, without distinction." For they are your brothers by nature but not by faith, and God gives the good things of this life equally to the worthy and the unworthy, but not so with spiritual graces.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Let us now examine what is the holy thing, what are the dogs, what are the pearls, and what are the swine. The holy thing is anything that it would be impious to corrupt—a sin that can be committed by the will, even if the thing itself remains uncorrupted. The pearls are all spiritual things that are to be highly esteemed. Thus, although one and the same thing may be called both the holy thing and a pearl, it is called holy because it is not to be corrupted, and a pearl because it is not to be despised.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, "that which is holy" denotes baptism, the grace of Christ's body, and similar things; but the pearls signify the mysteries of the truth. For as pearls are enclosed in shells in the depths of the sea, so the divine mysteries, enclosed in words, are found in the deep meaning of Holy Scripture.

St. John Chrysostom: And to those who are right-minded and have understanding, these mysteries appear good when revealed; but to those without understanding, they seem more deserving of reverence precisely because they are not understood.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The dogs are those who assault the truth; the swine we may suitably interpret as those who despise the truth. Therefore, because dogs leap forth to tear things to pieces and do not allow what they tear to remain whole, He said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs, because they strive with all their power to destroy the truth. The swine, though they do not assault by biting as dogs do, nevertheless defile by trampling, and therefore He said, Cast not your pearls before swine.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, the dogs are those who have returned to their vomit; the swine are those who have not yet returned, but are wallowing in the mire of their vices.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, the dog and the swine are unclean animals. The dog is unclean in every respect, as it neither chews the cud nor divides the hoof. The swine, however, is unclean in only one respect, since it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud. Therefore, I think we are to understand the dog to mean the Gentiles, who are altogether unclean in both their life and their faith. By the swine, we are to understand heretics, because they appear to call upon the name of the Lord.

Therefore, Give not that which is holy to the dogs, for baptism and the other sacraments are not to be given to anyone except those who have the faith. In the same way, the mysteries of the truth—that is, the pearls—are not to be given except to those who desire the truth and live with human reason. If, then, you cast them to the swine—that is, to those who are groveling in the impurity of their lives—they do not understand their preciousness. Instead, they value them like other worldly fables and trample them underfoot with their carnal lives.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That which is despised is said to be trampled underfoot; hence it is said, Lest they trample them underfoot.

Glossa Ordinaria: He says, Lest perhaps, because it may be that they will wisely turn from their uncleanness.ⁱ²

St. Augustine of Hippo: Regarding what follows, Turn again and tear you to pieces, He is not referring to the pearls themselves, for they trample these underfoot. When they turn back to hear something more, they then tear to pieces the one by whom the pearls they had trampled on were cast. For you will not easily find what will please someone who has despised good things obtained through great effort. Therefore, whoever undertakes to teach such people, I do not see how they will avoid being trampled on and torn to pieces by those they teach.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, the swine not only trample upon the pearls with their carnal lives, but after a little while they turn and, through disobedience, tear to pieces those who offend them. Indeed, when offended, they often bring false accusations against them as sowers of new doctrines. The dogs also, having trampled upon holy things through their impure actions, tear the preacher of truth to pieces with their arguments.

St. John Chrysostom: It is well said, Lest they turn, for they feign meekness so that they may learn; and when they have learned, they attack.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: With good reason, He forbade pearls to be given to swine. For if pearls are not to be set before swine, which are the less unclean, how much more should they be withheld from dogs, which are so much more unclean? But regarding the giving of that which is holy, we cannot hold the same view, since we often give the benediction to Christians who live like beasts. We do this not because they deserve to receive it, but lest perhaps, being more grievously offended, they should perish completely.

St. Augustine of Hippo: We must be careful, therefore, not to explain anything to one who does not receive it, for people are more likely to seek what is hidden than what is openly revealed. Such a person either attacks with the ferocity of a dog or ignores with the stupidity of a swine.

However, it does not follow that if the truth is kept hidden, a falsehood is spoken. The Lord Himself, who never spoke falsely, sometimes concealed the truth, as in the passage, I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12). But if anyone is unable to receive these things because of his impurity, we must first cleanse him as far as lies in our power, either by word or by deed.

Regarding the fact that the Lord said some things which many who heard Him did not receive, but either rejected or despised, we should not think that in doing so He gave the holy thing to the dogs or cast His pearls before swine. He gave it to those who were able to receive it and who were in the company; it was not right that they should be neglected because of the impurity of the others. And although those who tested Him might perish by the answers He gave them, yet those who were able to receive them heard many useful things on the occasion of these inquiries.

Therefore, he who knows what should be answered ought to give an answer, at least for the sake of those who might fall into despair if they were to think the question posed cannot be answered. This applies only to matters that pertain to the teaching of salvation. Nothing should be said about things that are superfluous or harmful; instead, it should be explained why we ought not to answer the inquirer on such points.

St. Jerome: Having previously forbidden us to pray for things of the flesh, He now shows what we ought to ask, saying, Ask, and it shall be given you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, when He commanded not to give what is holy to dogs, and not to cast pearls before swine, the hearer, conscious of his own ignorance, might say, “Why do you command me not to give what is holy to dogs, when I do not yet see that I have anything holy?”

He therefore appropriately adds, Ask, and you shall receive.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Alternatively, having given them some commands for the sanctification of prayer, saying, Judge not, He adds accordingly, Ask, and it shall be given to you, as if to say, “If you observe this mercy toward your enemies, whatever seems shut to you, knock, and it shall be opened to you.”

Therefore, ask in prayer, praying day and night; seek with care and effort. For we do not gain knowledge by toiling in the Scriptures alone without God's grace, nor do we attain grace without study, so that the gift of God is not bestowed on the careless. But knock with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For just as one who knocks at a door not only cries out with his voice but also strikes with his hand, so the one who does good works knocks with his works.

But you will say, “This is what I pray to know and to do; how then can I do it before I receive it?” Do what you can so that you may become able to do more, and hold on to what you know so that you may come to know more.

Alternatively, having previously commanded all people to love their enemies, and afterward commanded that we should not, under the pretext of love, give holy things to dogs, He here gives good counsel: that they should pray to God for them, and it will be granted to them. Let them seek out those who are lost in sin, and they will find them. Let them knock at the door of those who are shut up in error, and God will open it to them so that their word may have access to their souls.

Alternatively, since the commands given above were beyond the reach of human strength, He sends them to God, by whose grace nothing is impossible, saying, Ask, and it shall be given you, so that what cannot be performed by human beings may be fulfilled through the grace of God. For when God equipped the other animals with swift feet or swift wings, with claws, teeth, or horns, He made humanity in such a way that He Himself would be their only strength,ⁱ so that, compelled by their own weakness, they might always have need of their Lord.

Glossa Ordinaria: We ask with faith, we seek with hope, and we knock with love. You must first ask so that you may have; after that, seek so that you may find; and lastly, observe what you have found so that you may enter in.¹

St. Augustine of Hippo: Asking is so that we may obtain health of soul to be able to fulfill the things commanded of us; seeking pertains to the discovery of the truth. But when anyone has found the true way, he will then come into actual possession, which, however, is only opened to him who knocks.²

I have thought it good to explain with some effort how these three differ from one another, but it would be better to relate them all to persistent prayer. For this reason, He afterward concludes, saying, He will give good things to them that ask him.³

St. John Chrysostom: And in adding seek and knock, He bids us ask with great persistence and strength. For one who seeks casts all other things from his mind and is focused solely on that one thing which he seeks; and he who knocks comes with intensity and a fervent soul.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He had said, Ask, and you shall receive. Upon hearing this, sinners might perhaps say, “The Lord here exhorts those who are worthy, but we are unworthy.” Therefore, He repeats it so that He may commend the mercy of God to the righteous as well as to sinners, and so He declares that every one that asks receives. That is, whether a person is righteous or a sinner, let him not hesitate to ask, so that it may be clearly seen that no one is neglected except the one who hesitates to ask of God. For it is not believable that God would command people to perform the work of piety displayed in doing good to our enemies, and not Himself (being good) act in the same way.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Therefore, God hears sinners; for if He does not hear sinners, the Publican would have said in vain, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13), and by that confession, he merited justification.⁴

He who in faith offers supplication to God for the necessities of this life is heard mercifully and, at the same time, not heard mercifully. For the physician knows better than the sick man what is good for his illness. But if he asks for that which God both promises and commands, his prayer will be granted, for love will receive what truth provides.⁵

But the Lord is good, who often does not give us what we want, so that He may give us what we would rather prefer.⁶

Moreover, perseverance is needed so that we may receive what we ask for.⁷

When God sometimes delays His gifts, He is commending them, not denying them. For that which is long awaited is sweeter when obtained, but that which comes at once is held cheaply. Ask then and seek righteous things. For by asking and seeking, the appetite for receiving grows. God reserves for you those things which He is not willing to give you at once, so that you may learn to greatly desire great things. Therefore, we ought always to pray and not to give up.⁸

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as He had previously cited the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, so that our hopes might rise from the lesser to the greater, so He does in this place as well, when He says, Or what man is there among you...? ¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Lest anyone, considering the great difference between God and man and weighing his own sins, should despair of receiving and so never undertake to ask, He, therefore, proposes a comparison of the relationship between a father and son. In this way, should we despair because of our sins, we may still hope because of God's fatherly goodness.

St. John Chrysostom: Two things are necessary for one who prays: to ask earnestly, and to ask for such things as he ought. These are spiritual things; for Solomon, because he asked for what was right, received it speedily.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He shows what things we ought to ask for under the likeness of a loaf and a fish. The loaf is the word concerning the knowledge of God the Father. The stone is all falsehood that presents a stumbling block of offense to the soul.

Remigius of Auxerre: By the fish, we may understand the word concerning Christ; by the serpent, the Devil himself.

Or, by the loaf may be understood spiritual doctrine; by the stone, ignorance; by the fish, the water of Holy Baptism; and by the serpent, the wiles of the Devil or unbelief.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, bread, which is the common food, signifies charity, without which the other virtues are of no avail. The fish signifies faith, which is born of the water of baptism, is tossed in the midst of the waves of this life, and yet lives. Luke adds a third thing, an egg (Luke 11:12), which signifies hope, for an egg is the hope of an animal. To charity, He opposes a stone, that is, the hardness of hatred; to faith, a serpent, that is, the venom of treachery; and to hope, a scorpion, that is, despair, which stings backward like a scorpion.

Remigius of Auxerre: The sense, therefore, is this: we need not fear that if we ask God our Father for bread (that is, doctrine or love), He will give us a stone. This means we should not fear that He will allow our hearts to be constricted by the frost of hatred or by hardness of soul, or that when we ask for faith, He will allow us to die from the poison of unbelief.

From this it follows, If you then, being evil...

St. John Chrysostom: He said this not to detract from human nature, nor to declare the whole human race evil; rather, He calls paternal love "evil" only when compared with His own goodness. Such is the superabundance of His love toward men.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For in comparison to God, who is preeminently good, all people seem to be evil, just as all light appears dark when compared with the sun.

St. Jerome: Or perhaps He called the Apostles evil, condemning in their person the whole human race, whose heart is set on evil from its infancy, as we read in Genesis. Nor is it any wonder that He should call this generation "evil," as the Apostle also says, Seeing the days are evil.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, He calls "evil" those who are lovers of this age,ⁱ from which it follows that the good things they give are to be called good according to the perception of those who esteem them as such. Indeed, in the nature of things, they are also goods—that is, temporal goods that pertain to this fragile life.

For the good thing that makes people good is God. Gold and silver are good things, not because they make you good, but because with them you can do good. If then we are evil, yet since we have a Father who is good, let us not remain evil forever. ²

If we then, being evil, know how to give what is asked of us, how much more should we expect that God will give us good things when we ask Him? ³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He says "good things" because God does not give all things to those who ask Him, but only good things.

Glossa Ordinaria: For from God we receive only those things that are good, whatever they may seem to us when we receive them, for all things work together for good to His beloved. ⁴

Remigius of Auxerre: And it should be known that where Matthew says, "He shall give good things," Luke says, "shall give the Holy Spirit" (Luke 11:13). But this should not seem contradictory, because all the good things a person receives from God are given by the grace of the Holy Spirit.