In this short verse of Matthew 7:12, Jesus gave us the essence of His Father’s ethical commandments concerning our treatment of others. These words are customarily referred to as “The Golden Rule.” This rule is golden because of at least two reasons. First, a “rule” is an authoritative standard or principle given to regulate conduct. It is called “golden” because it is understood to be above all others in greatness and purity. It is certainly a “rule” because it is meant to guide our conduct toward what is best and most holy. Second, a “rule” is also a standard of measurement. It measures and establishes absolute truth to be authentic and accurate. We can measure ourselves and see how far we have fallen and how we need to realign with what is right and good.
The Context of the Rule
The word “therefore” draws us back to the words that precede this verse. As we look back, we see that Jesus taught through prayer about His Father’s care for us (7:7-11). Our Father is very good to us, not giving us what is bad. That’s how we want Him to treat us. Jesus, therefore, called us to imitate the goodness that God shows to us. We see this same goodness commanded in other verses (Matthew 7:1-5; 5:17-20, 27-37). Everything in Jesus’ sermon basically constitutes a call to heed and obey what He said in 7:12; it is a summary statement of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Measure of the Rule
It’s given in the phrase, “whatever you want men to do to you…” The word “men” (anthropos) doesn’t mean strictly “males only,” rather, it is “people.” Therefore, we are to consider what we would want “people” in general to do to us. A literal way to translate this would be, “all things therefore, as much as it ever occurs, that you may wish that people may do to you…” Jesus called us to stop and ask this simple question of ourselves when in a situation with others: “What would I want people to do to me in a similar situation?” We must simply measure the situation with Jesus’ standard and act appropriately.
The Practice of the Rule
Jesus said, “do also to them.” The Golden Rule has a long history in a wide range of world cultures, prominent religious figures and philosophers. Simon Blackburn stated that the Golden Rule can be “found in some form in almost every ethical tradition.” For example, others said, “What you avoid suffering yourself, seek not to inflict upon others” (Epictetus). “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself” (Confucius). “That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another” (Ancient Egypt). However, these ancient sayings are put in negative form (i.e., “What you DON’T want done to you, DON’T do to others”). However, Jesus stated His rule in a positive form that focuses on positive action. Think about it! If all I wanted to do was passively not do to someone else what I don’t want done to me, then all I would have to do is nothing at all! I could keep this commandment just by staying home and sitting on my hands. Yet, if I seek to actively do to others want I want done to me, I must think, evaluate, measure, love and take life seriously (Philippians 2:3)!
The Scope of the Rule
Jesus said, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, this rule—in positive form—is the essence of what was commanded in the Old Testament regarding human relations (Leviticus 19:18). The key to all of it is love! It is sacrificially putting the needs of the person loved on an equal level with your own. That’s the kind of love that fulfills the requirement of the law of God with respect to our treatment of others (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; Matthew 22:37-40). The Golden Rule is the summation and essence of the Law of God.
