Aesop as Context for Matthew 7:15-23

My favorite class in graduate school was hermeneutics, which concerns itself with the proper interpretation of Scripture. One of the foundational principles for hermeneutics is that a passage must be interpreted in light of its context. First, the passage as a whole must be explored. The passage is its own context, in many ways. We start with wholes, not with parts. It is so important to get the flow of the passage in its entirety, and understand the relation of each part to the whole. Next, consider its direct context {what comes immediately before and after}, and then the context of the whole book of the Bible in which it appears, and finally the context of all of Scripture.

We used to laughingly say that a text without a context is merely a pretext.

Historical or cultural contexts {among other contexts} may also be enlisted, but they are not the primary means of interpreting Scripture, though in some circumstances {I think specifically here of some nebulous passages in Revelation}, a knowledge of geography and history and culture is almost the only way to make sense of what is said.

These were the rules back when I was in school. I hear things are a little different now, and I highly doubt that is a good thing.

But I digress.

Isolating Verses from the Passage

Matthew 7:21-23 is one of those passages often preached out of context:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

There is a larger context than these three verses. In fact, I wouldn’t call it context because these three verses are not the entire passage.

There is some debate concerning of what the entire passage does consist. Some believe it begins at verse 13, where Jesus is discussing the narrow and wide gates. Others believe that it begins at verse 15, where Jesus is warning against false prophets. Most of the Bibles I own break each passage into its own section, and there seems to be a consensus among them that verse 15 is the beginning {and 23 the end, by the way}. so that is how I’ll treat it today.

The reason it is dangerous to isolate verses 21-23 is that this usually causes Christians to doubt their salvation, and with it the efficacy of Christ’s work upon the Cross. Now, granted, I do agree that if one does not wish to follow Christ, he does not follow Christ. We all know the lukewarm are spit out of the mouth. So, there is a place to look inward a bit and judge our own fruit.

But that is not the lesson of this passage, and if we interpret the passage that way, we miss the lesson.

If we want to navel-gaze, we need to go elsewhere.

What Does the Entire Passage Tell Us?

The passage begins with “beware of false prophets.” We must consider the entire passage in light of this introductory phrase. We are given a metaphor, in order to better understand false prophet: they are wolves which get in amongst the sheep by dressing up in sheep skin. {This is a direct reference to Aesop’s The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, but we will come back to that.}

Obviously, if the wolf looks identical to the sheep, we need some guidance on how to discern what is wolf and what is sheep. We are given another metaphor for this purpose: examine the fruit. Bad fruit comes from bad trees, and good fruit comes from good trees. We will know them {not ourselves, but the false prophets} by their fruit.

Please note that I’m not saying you can’t know yourself by your own fruit. That is one possible application of the principles found in the passage. But there is a difference between an application and an interpretation. We must interpret first, and apply second. The interpretation is that we can beware of false prophets by looking at their fruit, we can protect ourselves {or the flock} by being wary of self-proclaimed prophets who bear bad fruit.

The next section, then, is the famous passage from above, the “Lord, Lord,” verses. This is where the false prophets receive the just compensation for their actions. They say, “Didn’t we prophesy in Your name? Didn’t we perform miracles in your name? Doesn’t this mean we belong to your kingdom?” And the Lord answers in the negative.

Not all prophets are true prophets. False prophets do not belong to the kingdom, regardless of whose name they claim to come in.

So suddenly, the usual application is turned upon its head. Instead of being written to shake up the herd and cause them doubt over whether they are a sheep or not, or whether they will get into the kingdom, they are assured of final justice. These false prophets who, like wolves, have stolen and destroyed sheep and disrupted the flock? God will take care of them in the end. They will reap what they have sown.

Parallels with Aesop

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Milo Winter

What makes me so sure that this is an entire passage is its perfect parallelism with Aesop. It is said that Aesop lived around 500 years before Christ. His fables were so powerful, they were the first principle of the progymnasmata writing and rhetoric curriculum, which we know was formalized as early as 100 BC. Because Aesop was utilized not only to instruct in wisdom, but to teach writing and storytelling, and because almost every student would have had to retell Aesop’s fables, we can safely assume that this idea of a wolf in sheep’s clothing had slipped into the culture and provided a frame for discourse for at least 150 years, if not half a millenia, before Christ said these words.

Please realize that He was taking a universally known cultural story, and applying it those who would hurt His sheep.

Aesop’s tale of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing has two parts. In the first part, the wolf has trouble getting any sheep to eat because the shepherds are so good at protecting them. The wolf’s problems are solved when he discovers a discarded sheepskin and puts it on. Almost immediately, he manages to snag a sheep for lunch. This is the fist half.

The second half takes an interesting turn. In this half, one of the shepherds decides that he’s in the mood for mutton broth for dinner, and heads out to the flock. He grabs the first sheep he finds…which just happens to be the wolf. The wolf becomes soup, not unlike the fool of Proverbs, who falls into his own pit.

Depending on your version of Aesop, you will have different morals attached {the morals were added much later}. One is: Appearances are deceptive. The other is: The evildoer often comes to harm through his own deceit. {There may be others, of which I am unaware.}


Jesus recasts the wolves as false prophets, and instructs His followers in how to pull the sheepskin off {look at the fruit}.

In the first half, Jesus covers deceptive appearances, and in the second half he covers the harm that comes to the evildoer in the end, as a result of his own choices and actions.

Just like Aesop.

Remember, this was a popular and known story, and Jesus was making clever use of it.

In Light of the Direct Context

I have neither the time nor the desire to think about this passage in light of the greater contexts of the whole book and the whole Bible {at least not today}. But I do find the direct context interesting.

Before this passage, Jesus explains the concepts of the narrow and wide gates. Only few find the narrow gate, and it opens into the way of life. The broad gate and the broad road lead to destruction. It is right after this that He launches into the “beware of false prophets” monologue, which begs the question {in my mind, at least} or whether or not false prophets are those who are trying to lead the sheep out of the narrow way and onto the broad path.

We see this sort of thing all along Christian’s journey in The Pilgrim’s Progress. Flatterer specifically comes to mind, for he appears in a deceptive form and actually manages to lead Christian and Hopeful out of the Way for a time.

After this passage, Jesus discusses where to build a house–on sand or rock. The rock is the firm foundation, while the sand shifts in the slightest storm. Hearing and doing Christ’s words is akin to building one’s house upon the rock. Hearing His words and not doing them is akin to building upon the sand.

Previously, I took this in a general sense {i.e., hearing and doing all of Christ’s words}. But, given the context of the warning against false prophets, I do wonder if it isn’t more that one who judges rightly between true and false prophets is the one who builds upon the rock, while the one who listens to falsehood is the one who builds upon the sand.

Reading in context is always more interesting than reading in isolation, that is for sure!

My point, though, is that in instances like this, responsible hermeneutics are imperative. We miss the entire lesson about false prophets when we isolate a few verses from the whole, and unnecessarily cast doubt among God’s people as a result. The point is not that one should look within and hope and pray that on that Final Day when we cry, “Lord! Lord” we will hear the great “well done” rather than “depart from Me.” The point is, rather, that we must be careful who we listen to, that we must not only test their words with the Scriptures as the faithful Bereans did, but that we must also look at the fruit of their lives.

Beware the wolves, my friends. That is the focus of the passage.

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Interested in Basic Hermeneutics?
-my hermeneutics professor published a basic book called Playing with Fire
-another option is How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth
{my children will have to read both of these before I grant them a diploma}