Matteo 7: Le opere di amore, la vera giustizia

The present study of Matt 7:1-29 should be considered not only as a substantial part of the discourse on the mountain but also as its conclusion. This is an important section of the first discourse of Jesus in Matthew which summarizes the essential message of the Gospel and outlines its main ethical-theological characteristics. Attention is drawn firstly to the initial part of Matt 7, which culminates with the golden rule (Matt 7:12), that constitutes the end of the inclusion introduced by the antitheses and connoted by the key words "the law and the prophets". Then comes the analysis of the following four brief pericopes (or logia), in which there is a constant reference to the works of believers and to the responsibility of doing justice of the Kingdom. The inlay of the elaborate imagery and the structural weaving of the text make this Matthean page unique in its composition, illuminating the profound sense of God's will and the dynamism of his justice for believers which manifests itself in the works.