Day 5: The Golden Rule
Reading: Matthew 7:12
12“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12 (ESV)
What They Had Heard
TODO — what a first-century hearer already had in their head when Jesus said this: the commandment itself, and the tradition of the elders built on top of it. What ruling was this teaching aimed at?
The Other Witness
31And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
Luke 6:31 (ESV)
TODO — where Luke has this saying, and what is different in his wording, his placement, or his audience. Quote both and let the difference stand.
The Older Word
TODO — the Old Testament text underneath the teaching. Not a proof text: the passage Jesus is reaching back to, and what the Law actually said before the case law grew over it.
He Did It
TODO — where Jesus personally demonstrated this, usually later in the Gospels. If there is no scene — only a claim — say that instead of forcing one.
They Did It
TODO — the apostles, both halves. Where they taught this in the letters, and where they lived it in Acts.
Now Us
TODO — the payoff. Not “try harder”: what this looks like on an ordinary Tuesday, for a reader who has just watched three generations do it.
Reflection Questions
- TODO
Prayer
TODO