Bible Commentaries

Judge not (μη κρινετε). The habit of censoriousness, sharp, unjust criticism. Our word critic is from this very word. It means to separate, distinguish, discriminate. That is necessary, but pre-judice (prejudgment) is unfair, captious criticism.

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The mote (το καρφος). Not dust, but a piece of dried wood or chaff, splinter (Weymouth, Moffatt), speck (Goodspeed), a very small particle that may irritate. The beam (την δοκον). A log on which planks in the house rest (so papyri), joist, rafter, plank (Moffatt), pole sticking out grotesquely. Probably a current proverb quoted by Jesus like our people in glass houses throwing stones. Tholuck quotes an Arabic proverb: "How seest thou the splinter in thy brother's eye, and seest not the cross-beam in thine eye?"

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Shalt thou see clearly (διαβλεψεις). Only here and Luke 6:42 and Mark 8:25 in the New Testament. Look through, penetrate in contrast to βλεπεις, to gaze at, in verse Matthew 7:3. Get the log out of your eye and you will see clearly how to help the brother get the splinter out (εκβαλειν) of his eye.

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That which is holy unto the dogs (το αγιον τοις κυσιν). It is not clear to what "the holy" refers, to ear-rings or to amulets, but that would not appeal to dogs. Trench (Sermon on the Mount, p. 136) says that the reference is to meat offered in sacrifice that must not be flung to dogs: "It is not that the dogs would not eat it, for it would be welcome to them; but that it would be a profanation to give it to them, thus to make it a skubalon, Exodus 22:31." The yelping dogs would jump at it. Dogs are kin to wolves and infest the streets of oriental cities. Your pearls before the swine (τους μαργαριτας υμων εμπροσθεν των χοιρων). The word pearl we have in the name Margarita (Margaret). Pearls look a bit like peas or acorns and would deceive the hogs until they discovered the deception. The wild boars haunt the Jordan Valley still and are not far removed from bears as they trample with their feet and rend with their tusks those who have angered them.

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Loaf--stone (αρτον--λιθον). Some stones look like loaves of bread. So the devil suggested that Jesus make loaves out of stones (Matthew 4:3).

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Fish--serpent (ιχθυν--οφιν). Fish, common article of food, and water-snakes could easily be substituted. Anacoluthon in this sentence in the Greek.

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How much more (ποσω μαλλον). Jesus is fond of the a fortiori argument.

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That men should do unto you (ινα ποιωσιν υμιν ο ανθρωπο). Luke (Luke 6:31) puts the Golden Rule parallel with Matthew 5:42. The negative form is in Tobit 4:15. It was used by Hillel, Philo, Isocrates, Confucius. "The Golden Rule is the distilled essence of that 'fulfilment' (Matthew 5:17) which is taught in the sermon" (McNeile). Jesus puts it in positive form.

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