Matthew 7.7-12 | Living by the Golden Rule

When people quote the Golden Rule they tend only quote the part that says: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” However, this leaves out an important bit at the end. According to Jesus, the full text of the Golden Rule is, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” To omit that last bit is to miss Jesus’ brilliant use of inclusio. We’ve heard Jesus talk about the Law and Prophets earlier in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5.17 Jesus said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Scholars point out that the bulk of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount takes place between Matthew 5.18 and Matthew 7.11. Scholars also point out that Matthew 5.17 and Matthew 7.12 form an inclusio established by the phrase the Law and the Prophets.