Jesus Makes the Stakes of Following Him Abundantly Clear -- a study of Matthew 7 13:27
- mww
- 21 hours ago
- 18 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
Are you expecting the Chistian life to be sunshine and daffodils?
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Matthew 7:13-27
In this final lesson on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents everything He has said to His potential followers as a choice: choose to follow Me or not. If you do, you will face hardship and persecution -- and don't listen to the false teachers who claim otherwise. But if you do, you will ever enjoy the true blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, (7:28)
When We Studied This Passage in 2016
I forgot to check this post before I started writing, so I'll just hope there's not a lot of overlap. And [after skimming] this could be worse. I draw many of the same conclusions, but my illustrations are different. Nice!
Choosing the Hard or Easy Path - a challenge from Matthew 7:13-27
"What could possibly go wrong?"
"Small choices, big consequences"
How to recognize a false prophet
What is "spiritual fruit"?
Trees in Israel
Ancient foundations
What is a parable?
Some helpful additional material. I'm always fascinated by how much my own writing tendencies change over the years -- read the same material, have very different ideas about how to communicate it.
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Your Go-to News and Information Sources
If it's going to come up, we may as well bring it up with a bang. Assuming your group can have an intelligent, adult conversation about this, ask your group what's their go-to source for news and information.
Believe it or not, the purpose of this topic isn't to dwell on that but to move quickly onto the next question: how hard do you work to vet the information you learn from them?
Here's the point of this topic: we are responsible for what we believe. Our source could be hard-left or hard-right -- but is the information they are sharing accurate?
In this week's passage, Jesus tells us that we have a choice to make: who will we listen to? Who will we follow? He expects us to be very careful about the information we accept as true.
AI Slop
This seems like a good week to use this as a topic. I hope you've paid attention to the news "warnings" about AI content generation -- text, image, and video (I used the new Sora video app, and we're all doomed). Unscrupulous characters and get-rich-quick schemers are using the newest technologies to flood feeds everywhere with quickly-generated and almost-certainly-not-true stories. The guy who shared that image above started his article with, "Have you ever scrolled Facebook or other social media platform and see the same weird posts everywhere?"
This topic would be two-part: have your group members share things they've seen recently that turned out to be "AI Slop", and do a PSA for group members who might not realize how easily people can create "real-looking" content.
What is AI Slop? Here's a short article from The Guardian:
The article calls AL Slop "low-quality AI-generated content designed to farm views" -- in other words, worded or pictured specifically to get your attention (clickbait). They call AI Slop a subcategory of "brainrot" -- which includes "AI slop and other low-quality content made to monetise attention".
There's a lot of Jesus-related slop out there precisely because a lot of people are interested in Him. So, just like with the previous topic idea, how careful are you about what you believe? I've been through a couple of interesting articles and videos that, after having engaged for a while, I began to suspect weren't true. Doing a little digging, I discovered that they weren't true. But they had me for a while. Jesus expects us to be very careful about what we put into our heads.
[Obligatory editorial comment: I do not use AI in any way in my posts, except for the occasional "AI image" which I only use -- and clearly identify -- for a specific purpose.]
Scams on the Rise
If you're willing to do a PSA about AI Slop, then you should probably do one about the latest scams. If AI Slop can fool people, it should surprise no one that bad actors use it to scam people out of money and whatnot.
We've talked about this before, so I won't go into detail (although I just saw this one! -- AI Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations | WIRED)
[Thursday morning addition: someone tried this on a church in Louisiana on Tuesday! Scammers impersonate pastors to target Southwest Louisiana churches]
What scams have people tried on you? What are the things that make you want to fall for them? This would be a chance for your group to educate and help one another be protected from scams.
The connection with the lesson is this: if we are training ourselves to be careful about what we believe in society, are we being so careful with what we believe about God?
Traitors in Our Midst
And then here's one last idea. I just got this news update:
That, of course, made me think about traitors. I found out that, for totally unrelated reasons, a pop culture website is doing an "ultimate traitor bracket". Their "top seeds" include Brutus, Scar (from The Lion King), Benedict Arnold, Saruman (from The Lord of the Rings), Judas, Cypher (from The Matrix), Macbeth, and Cain. Huh.
So, here's your topic: what historical traitor has stuck the most in your mind (maybe keep it non-Bible, otherwise we'll all say "Judas"), and most importantly -- why? What specifically makes you dislike one traitor more than another?
In this week's passage, Jesus warns us about "wolves in sheep's clothing". This can apply to scammers, to traitors, and to false teachers, and we are responsible to be on the lookout for all of them. But even beyond that, we are to worry about false prophets. A scammer can take your money; a traitor can get you killed; a false prophet can result in your eternal damnation.
Where We Are in Matthew
This is our last lesson in the Sermon on the Mount. I hope you've done your own reading -- we've skipped significant sections!
Here's the Bible Project video on the "do not judge" instruction:
And next is the "ask and seek" section -- if what Jesus is saying seems too difficult to understand or live by, ask God directly for help, and He will give it to you. You don't just have to "take Jesus' word for it" -- God the Father is in lockstep with everything Jesus has said.
And here's their video on this week's passage:
Here's the outline I've shared:
The Setting (5:1-2)
The Kingdom of Heaven (5:3-16)
The blessings of the kingdom (Beatitudes) (5:3-12)
Expanding the kingdom (Salt and Light) (5:13-16)
The Kingdom and the Old Testament (5:17-48)
Jesus fulfills the Law (5:17-20) [1]
Anger and reconciliation (5:21-26)
Adultery and purity (5:27-30)
Divorce and remarriage (5:31-32)
Oaths and truthfulness (5:33-37)
Injury and self-sacrifice (Eye for Eye) (5:38-42)
Hate and love (Love Your Enemies) (5:43-47)
Summary: be perfect (5:48)
Overcoming Religious Hypocrisy (6:1-18)
The principle (6:1)
Example: alms (6:2-4)
Example: prayer (6:5-15)
Inappropriate prayers (6:5-8)
The Model Prayer (6:9-13)
Forgiveness and prayer (6:14-15)
Example: fasting (6:16-18)
The Kingdom's Perspective (6:19-34)
Unswerving loyalty (Treasures in Heaven) (6:19-24)
Uncompromised trust (Do Not Worry) (6:25-34)
The Kingdom's Perfection (7:1-12)
Don't be judgmental (7:1-5)
Don't be undiscerning (7:6)
Go to the Source (7:7-11)
Summary: The Golden Rule (7:12)
Conclusion: call to commitment (7:13-27)
Here's your biggest point: Jesus didn't teach these things to His followers because they are interesting and memorable. Jesus expects His followers to live by them. And He gives His followers the choice -- it is up to them whom they choose to believe and follow.
Lifeway's passage starts in verse 15, but we're going back to verse 13. Jesus presents us with 4 choices:
which path will we choose? (two ways)
which prophet will we listen to? (two trees)
which disciple will we be? (two claims)
which foundation will we build on? (two builders)
Jesus asks those same questions of us today.
Bonus Section: Transitions
I want to point out something we tend to miss when we study the Bible in small chunks. Matthew uses some editorial clues to help us know what's going on in his Gospel. Let's see if you've noticed these before:
7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
11:1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.
13:53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there.
19:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.
26:1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples . . .
Matthew uses these phrases to help the reader see that we are moving into the next major section of his Gospel. And further, Matthew uses these transitional statements to help us see what is about to come.
In this case (and I won't repeat this at the end of this post), Matthew's emphasis of Jesus' authority lets us know that we are about to learn more ways Jesus has authority -- over diseases (of all kinds), over physical disabilities (of all kinds), over demons, over nature itself, and more -- see below.
This Week's Big Idea: Authority
While the people were certainly astonished by the content of Jesus’ teaching, they were more amazed by the authority with which He taught.
The word Matthew uses, exousia, means "power" and "authority", and it's a big theme for Matthew, bookending Jesus' ministry:
7:29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.
28:18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
The section that follows the Sermon on the Mount has two of my very favorite encounters with Jesus -- with the centurion, and with the paralyzed man and his friends.
8:5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony.” 7 He said to him, “Am I to come and heal him?” 8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith.
9:2 Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!” 4 Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 7 So he got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men.
Matthew is helping us see the extent of Jesus' authority, and he is using the people around Jesus to help us see the implications of that authority. (Jesus does have authority to forgive sin!!!!)
We're going to study those passages in the future, so I'll leave it at that for now.
The difference between Jesus and every other rabbi was the source of His authority. What other rabbis did in Jesus' day (and what scholars still do today!) was cite other "authorities". "This is what so-and-so says about this text." In fact, most of their training revolved around memorizing the most important "commentaries" of their day. Here's how D. A. Carson explains it: "They spoke by the authority of others; Jesus spoke with his own authority."
Carson goes on to explain the big deal about the authority Jesus claims in this sermon:
Jesus is not an ordinary prophet who says, 'Thus says the Lord!' Rather, he speaks in the first person and claims that his teaching fulfills the OT; that he determines who enters the messianic kingdom; that as the Divine Judge he pronounces banishment; that the true heirs of the kingdom would be persecuted for their allegiance to him; and that he alone fully knows the will of his Father.
In other words, there is no "messianic secret" here. From the very beginning, Jesus makes it clear to those who would follow Him what is at stake. His teachings alone hold the key to salvation. (And they would soon learn that His sacrifice would make that salvation available.)
This would have made a lot of people very nervous.
Part 0: The Two Roads (Matthew 7:13-14)
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
Don't skip these verses.
There are multiple ways to translate what Jesus says, but the crux of Jesus' words is straightforward: there is an easy way to live and a hard way. There is a popular path and an unpopular path. There is a road that has plenty of "elbow space" for you, your friends, and all of your stuff, and there is a narrow, possibly lonely road.
Enter what?
This is where Jesus' genius for the human language leaves us all in awe -- it can't be narrowly defined. Jesus is talking to people who are interested in following Him, so this "gate" is their starting decision: am I going to follow Jesus or not?
But it's more than that -- it's the lifestyle they are about to take on. It's also the destination (salvation and heaven, of which there is only one way to enter). It's all of this.
"Narrow" vs. "broad" can apply to the number of people on the road, but it can also refer to the "governance" of that road. Give people the choice, and they will gravitate toward a lifestyle of ease and comfort. Get enough people together, and they will develop a society which celebrates the easy life and demonizes the difficult life.
But truth is not determined by the majority. Truth is determined by Jesus alone.
How do you know you're on the "hard" road? Persecution. Jesus' uses words related to persecution -- in other words, facing opposition because of one's association with Jesus. This ties back to the Beatitudes.
There will be sacrifice for following Jesus. If there is not, you have to wonder if you are truly following Jesus -- or following one of the false teachers Jesus is about to mention.
There are a lot of art pieces about "the two roads". Some of them seem to suggest that "broad" just means "more people". But most of them focus on the "type of lifestyle" that follows the choice of gates. One lifestyle looks fun, exciting, popular, and self-indulgent. The other looks . . . not fun (in the worldly sense). (And yes, a lot of these pieces are used as propaganda for that community's definition of the virtuous life.)
But the "not fun" way, according to Jesus, is the "right way" -- it's the way filled with true blessing (cf. Beatitudes) and leads to eternal salvation.
Part 1: The Two Trees (Matthew 7:15-20)
15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
Today, people seem to be fixated on identifying "heretics" -- identifying the false things people teach in the name of Jesus. And yes, we must be careful of that. But here, Jesus is emphasizing the "why" of what they teach.
We all know Christians who have said things we disagree with -- maybe a preacher or a Sunday School teacher. But in many of those situations, it's primarily a disagreement about conclusions. We don't think they're trying to "lead us astray"; we just disagree with a conclusion they've drawn.
Jesus is talking about the teacher who does this with malicious intent.
People, as we should know, can look like "true believers". If you're around Christians long enough, you can pick up on the lingo, the behavior, and even the basic teachings. Anyone, even a non-Christian, with enough charisma and speaking ability can attract a crowd.
But what is it about what they teach that should set off the alarms?
Jesus will have Old Testament examples in mind, like Ezekiel 13:
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They saw false visions and their divinations were a lie. . . .
17 “Now you, son of man, face the women among your people who prophesy out of their own imagination, and prophesy against them. 18 Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the women who sew magic bands on the wrist of every hand and who make veils for the heads of people of every size in order to ensnare lives. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? 19 You profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread; you put those to death who should not die and spare those who should not live, when you lie to my people, who listen to lies.
These false teachers are saying things that ignore the dangers to the people around them and result in building up their own comfort. Specifically:
16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw a vision of peace for her when there was no peace.
By preaching "peace", the false prophets were justifying their own lavish lifestyles, avoiding the conflicts facing the city, and setting up a path for the people to waste money on their worthless trinkets and platitudes.
In other words, like every part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus keeps bringing everything back to persecution.
False teachers will ignore the concept of persecution. It's not popular. No one wants to go through it. So, if you want to build a following, say to the people what they want to hear. The "fruit" of their ministry is that they get rich.
(And yes, I can think of no clearer demolition of the "Prosperity Gospel" than Jesus' own words in His most famous sermon.)
But Jesus has already established that "majority" does not create truth. But neither does "minority" -- Jesus alone establishes truth. And His truth is at odds with the world's "truth". A follower of Jesus who says to the people around him that the path they are on will lead them to eternal damnation will suffer opposition and persecution.
Note that thornbushes do produce kinds of berries. And from a distance, they might look like a grape. But if you are at all perceptive, it won't fool you for long.
Jesus does not say exactly how His followers will identify and protect themselves from these false prophets. Once the Holy Spirit comes, and the first churches receive the gift of discernment, Jesus' mechanism for protection will make sense.
The Lifeway material recommends bringing a potted plant as an illustration. I guess. But Jesus' point isn't the health of the plant -- it's about what you expect the plant to produce. Or, how quickly an invasive plant can take over a healthy field.
If you leave the kudzu in your yard, don't be surprised when it spreads.
Part 2: The Two Claims (Matthew 7:21-23)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
If the previous section focuses on false teachers, now Jesus acknowledges the possibility of false followers.
Just as false teachers can say things that sound "right", false followers can do things that look "right". This is not a "stopped clock is right twice a day" thing; this is about how a person can deceptively present themselves as a member of a group. If you didn't use the "traitors" idea above, you might throw it in here. Now, a true traitor knows he is a traitor. The person Jesus is talking about might not fully know it, but that does not change his traitorous nature in the slightest. And in either case, that person knows in his heart whether or not he is fully committed to Jesus.
Baldfaced lies. If you didn't use the "scammers" idea above, you might use it here. What's the most offensive lie you have heard recently? I mentioned that my son watches police dashcam/bodycam videos, and I've been sucked in. It's shocking how much people lie to the police -- we've just seen video footage, and they say that such-and-such didn't happen. At the church, the most common kind of lie we hear is from someone who wants to manipulate us into giving him money. Often, they lie about being a "good Christian", I guess for the purpose of building our sympathy.
Well, those lies -- even if they work on humans -- don't work on Jesus.
[Note: there's plenty of lying that goes on "in the pews", and we are all guilty of that. It happens when we agree with something that has been said but have no intention of doing it ourselves. That's not necessarily what Jesus is talking about here. Jesus is talking about people who are not Christians.]
Remember that we've said that the "kingdom of heaven" doesn't just mean "heaven", i.e., after death. The kingdom of heaven is something Jesus' followers participate in now. Doesn't it seem strange that a non-Christian would want to fake his way into Christianity and receive all of that persecution Jesus has been talking about? Yes, but it does happen -- think "Simon the Sorcerer" in Acts 8. It also happens from people who want to go to heaven when they die but don't want to do anything about that in this life. You don't get a second chance to follow Jesus after death.
"On that day" refers to the Day of Judgment after that person's death (or Christ's return; whichever comes first). Everyone will be sorted with the sheep or the goats. (If you need to look up that reference, please do.)
So guess what? Jesus determines who is saved.
This is your biggest question for the day: what does and does not determine a person's salvation?
Part 3: Two Builders (Matthew 7:24-27)
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.
One distinguishing mark separating a true follower from a false follower is putting Jesus' words into practice. All of them. All the time. Without divided loyalty.
It's time for my soapbox against the children's song. (I know you were singing it in your head.)
The first verse is fine. The original song is just these verses put to song. But somewhere along the way, someone added a second verse: "the blessings come down as the prayers go up". Now, I'm not going to fuss with children's leaders. Kids need to know that God hears and responds to their prayers. And if they meant "blessing" in the sense of the Beatitudes, then that's different. But they didn't. They mean "blessing" in the sense of "good things will happen to you when you pray". And that completely loses the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount!
(Of course, I don't think too many of us are getting our theology of the Sermon on the Mount from a children's song, but you might.)
Let's fix that.
What is Jesus saying here? The storm will come and rage against you. This parable is about a storm, not a friendly blessing.
Make sure your group understands the parable:
what does the house represent?
what does the rock represent?
what do the wind and rain represent?
[Note: in my 2015 post, I explain how Jesus used parables.]
In life, there will be storms. For followers of Jesus, those storms include persecution. But Jesus' teachings prepare His followers to withstand every kind of storm.
If you have a builder in your group, have them talk about the importance of the right foundation. (There are lots of illustrations you can use for this.)
Here's Carson's summary:
A wise person represents those who put Jesus' words into practice; they too are building to withstand anything. Those who pretend to have faith, who have a merely intellectual commitment, or who enjoy Jesus in small doses are foolish builders. When the storms of life come, their structures fool no one, above all not God.
And I would add that their structures do not fool themselves.
So there you go. If you're going to follow Jesus, Jesus demands absolute submission -- total obedience. He does not accept anything else. Jesus made this clear from the outset, and so does Matthew in his Gospel.
Our responsibility as readers is to evaluate ourselves. In what part of our life are we not fully submissive to Jesus? If you're not sure how to answer that question, as yourself where you see sin in your life. (Sin is rebellion against God.) And if you're not sure how to answer that question, talk to your group leader.
I hope your response to the Sermon on the Mount is just as shocked as the people who heard it for the first time.