Matthew 7-8

Easy-to-Read Version

Be Careful About Criticizing Others^(A)

7 “Don’t judge others, and God will not judge you. ² If you judge others, you will be judged the same way you judge them. God will treat you the same way you treat others.

³ “Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood that is in your own? ⁴ Why do you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. ⁵ You are a hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to get the dust out of your friend’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t give something that is holy to dogs. They will only turn and hurt you. And don’t throw your pearls to pigs. They will only step on them.

Ask God for What You Need^(B)

⁷ “Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. ⁸ Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them.

⁹ “Do any of you have a son? If he asked for bread, would you give him a rock? ¹⁰ Or if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not! ¹¹ You people are so bad, but you still know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.

A Very Important Rule

¹² “Do for others what you would want them to do for you. This is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.

The Way to Heaven and the Way to Hell^(C)

¹³ “You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. ¹⁴ But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road that leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it.

What People Do Shows What They Are^(D)

¹⁵ “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves. ¹⁶ You will know these people because of what they do. Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds. ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ You will know these false people by what they do.^[a]

²¹ “Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter God’s kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. ²² On that last Day many will call me Lord. They will say, ‘Lord, Lord, by the power of your name we spoke for God. And by your name we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ ²³ Then I will tell those people clearly, ‘Get away from me, you people who do wrong. I never knew you.’

Two Kinds of People^(E)

²⁴ “Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall because it was built on rock.

²⁶ “Whoever hears these teachings of mine and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell with a loud crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished speaking, the people were amazed at his teaching. ²⁹ He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like someone who has authority.

Jesus Heals a Sick Man^(F)

8 Jesus came down from the hill, and a large crowd followed him. ² Then a man sick with leprosy came to him. The man bowed down before Jesus and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.”

³ Jesus touched the man. He said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” Immediately the man was healed from his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go and let the priest look at you.^[b] And offer the gift that Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show everyone that you are healed.”

Jesus Heals an Officer’s Servant^(G)

⁵ Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When he entered the city, an army officer came to him and begged for help. ⁶ The officer said, “Lord, my servant is very sick at home in bed. He can’t move his body and has much pain.”

⁷ Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

⁸ The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ I know this, because I understand authority. There are people who have authority over me, and I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “The truth is, this man has more faith than anyone I have found, even in Israel. ¹¹ Many people will come from the east and from the west. These people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in God’s kingdom. ¹² And those who should have the kingdom will be thrown out. They will be thrown outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed the way you believed he would.” Right then his servant was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People^(H)

¹⁴ Jesus went to Peter’s house. He saw that Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began to serve him.

¹⁶ That evening people brought to Jesus many people who had demons inside them. He spoke and the demons left the people. He healed all those who were sick. ¹⁷ So Jesus made clear the full meaning of what Isaiah the prophet said:

Following Jesus^(J)

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he told his followers to go to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you any place you go.”

²⁰ Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to rest.”

²¹ Another of Jesus’ followers said to him, “Lord, I will follow you too, but let me go and bury my father first.”

²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let those who are dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus’ Followers See His Power^(K)

²³ Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him. ²⁴ After the boat left the shore, a very bad storm began on the lake. The waves covered the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The followers went to him and woke him. They said, “Lord, save us! We will drown!”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then he stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. The wind stopped, and the lake became very calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed. They said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him!”

Jesus Sends Demons Out of Two Men^(L)

²⁸ Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarene^[c] people. There, two men who had demons inside them came to him. They lived in the burial caves and were so dangerous that no one could use the road by those caves. ²⁹ They came to Jesus and shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to punish us before the right time?”

³⁰ Near that place there was a large herd of pigs feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you make us leave these men, please send us into that herd of pigs.”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. Then the whole herd of pigs ran down the hill into the lake, and all were drowned. ³³ The men who had the work of caring for the pigs ran away. They went into town and told the people everything that happened, especially about the men who had the demons. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to see Jesus. When the people saw him, they begged him to leave their area.