Treat Others

Setting and Overview
Matthew 7:12, often referred to as the Golden Rule, forms an inclusion that goes back to Matthew 5:17-20, and serves as the conclusion to the ethical teachings that make up the body and most of the Sermon on the Mount. We can see a connection back to the first five verses of Matthew 7, and certainly heeding those verses is a necessary part of living out the exhortation of verse 12, but we can also see how it connects to the Sermon on the Mount as a whole. If we understand it properly, then committing fully to this will guide us into obedience of the other instructions Jesus gives us here of how we are supposed to relate to others.

Exposition
While the Golden Rule, “do to others what you would want them to do to you,” only appears here and in Luke 6, it does ties in closely with many other statements both inside and outside of the Bible. There were a number of statements that predated Jesus which expressed something similar in the negative form, “don’t to others what you wouldn’t want done to you,” but Jesus is the first recorded as expressing it in a positive form, which is far more reaching. Of course there are other references to loving our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Romans 13:10, Mark 12:39) and many of those are tied to first loving God with all of our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37), and we further see that references are also made to those commandments being at the core of the Law (Matthew 22:34-40.) So, we can understand the Golden Rule as being the action that lives out the command to love our neighbors. Jesus’ audience that was familiar with the Old Testament would have likely thought about OT passages that give broad statements of how God’s people should relate to others (Micah 6:8, Jeremiah 7:7-10, Amos 5:14-15, Isaiah 1:16-17) and would have recognized that a theme in many of those passages is using our power to serve others, rather than take advantage of them. Matthew 5:38-47 takes this even farther, and we see those commands expressed with the Golden Rule in Luke 6:27-36. So, living out the Golden Rule means serving others sacrificially, even those who cannot benefit us back, and even our enemies.
Jesus says that this command “is” the law and the prophets, which aligns with other passages that refer to the two greatest commands fulfilling (or something similar) the law or the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40, Romans 13:10, Galatians 5:14, Mark 12:33.) This would seem to ignore love for God, but in the context of the full teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (which was being given to followers), we can recognize that it is understood that love for God is at the center of this command. We will not treat others this way if we don’t love God. Furthermore, if our greatest personal desire as Christians is to grow in obedience and maturity in Christ (Philippians 3:8-14), then loving others will be committed to evangelizing and discipling to present them mature in Christ as well (Colossians 1:28.) While mercy ministries are an essential part of expressing love for others, the ultimate way to express love is to evangelize and disciple.

Examination and Application
Paul gave us an example of how far he was willing to go to see others come to Christ and be built up in Christ (I Corinthians 9:19-23, 10:23-33.) Are we willing to go that far? Are we willing to be inconvenienced, disrespected, annoyed, or inconvenienced to see others become mature Christians? Paul elsewhere calls us to seek the good of others first according to the perfect example of Christ (Romans 15:1-3.) While that may look different in the details depending on the other’s needs (I Thessalonians 5:14), love for God and others should always be at the center.