Matthew 7:12

All things therefore whatever you would that men should do to you,

Even so do you also to them,

For this is the law and the prophets.

‘Therefore.' This connecting word makes clear the connection of this verse, both with the previous verses, and with the whole of the central part of the Sermon commencing at Matthew 5:17. For by fulfilling this verse they will be fulfilling all God's manward commandments, and it is made possible for them because they have received the drenching of His Spirit and have entered into the Messianic age. (Compare how Matthew 7:6 also applied to the local context and to the wider context, as did Matthew 5:48).

Note that the ‘therefore' indicates that it is precisely because they can expect to receive God's good things that they can consider living such a life, and by doing so fulfil all that Jesus has been commanding them, just as it is because we have received the crucified and risen Christ that we also can do so (Romans 6:4; Galatians 2:20).

Here Jesus is claiming that He is summing up the demands of the Law and the Prophets in respect of behaviour towards others in terms of ‘doing to men what we would wish them to do to us' (compare Matthew 22:40 where they are to love their neighbours as themselves, in accordance with Leviticus 19:18). He is saying that this is what the Law really intended. But even these words can be interpreted in different ways. We can action them either actively or passively (positively or negatively). It is the whole context of the Sermon that indicates that we have to interpret them actively, and it is that that is the main difference between the disciple of Jesus and the moral person who, while agreeing with the principle, puts a limit on how far he or she is willing to go.

Consideration of these words almost always solve any moral dilemma that we may have when facing difficult decisions. For while we certainly have to remember the differences between ourselves and others, if our aim is to behave towards them in the same spirit as we would wish them to behave towards us we will not go far wrong. But Jesus does not intend us just to stop there. He is declaring that we must positively look around for the good that we can do (while not on the other hand simply making ourselves a nuisance. We must not unnecessarily impose on people with our good works).

It is true that the basic idea behind these words is found in many cultures, but never as spoken quite so positively, without refinement, as here, and especially as here they must be interpreted in the light of the Sermon. They are to be seen as promulgating the total self-giving revealed in it. Thus the oft-cited and thoughtful words of Rabbi Hillel, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole Law, all the rest is commentary', which Jesus may well have meditated on and expanded on here, would not if followed in the way that most people would see it, go as far as Jesus wants us to do here. It is one thing not to behave badly towards others, it is quite another to behave positively towards them in every way. Many in Matthew 25:35 had done no positive harm to Christ's ‘brothers', but they still came under His condemnation, because they had done nothing. He makes clear that it was positive action alone that revealed the true disciples. And what stands out in Jesus' statement here is that same demand for positive action.

However, in the end the words can only take us so far. It is how we apply them that makes all the difference. And here Jesus is requiring us to apply them to the uttermost as He did Himself. He is expecting His followers to make huge positive contributions towards the needs of the world. For the words are not there to be admired, or philosophised over, but to be obeyed.