Do Not JUDGE??

 

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Matthew 7:1-5

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

 

Here is something I have noticed, likely you have as well, All of humankind have two things in common. First, we don’t like to be told how to live.  Second, we like to tell others how to live. Jesus knew this when He spoke the words captured in Matthew 7:1-5. However, His words have been twisted by both Christians and non-Christians alike. Either we like to use these verses because we don’t want others telling us what to do, or because we can tell others what to do, you know to stop being so judgmental! The point is either way we apply this verse, we are adding our intentions into the Scripture. When we do this we can miss God’s truth.

If we could never judge others, our world would lack the Christian voice and leadership in some important areas: the judicial system, policing, management, and parenting, just to name a few.

So, what is Jesus saying?

As we have been doing all week, let’s get some context for Matthew 6. Take a look and you will find that Jesus spent the first half of the chapter teaching how to give, pray, and fast without hypocrisy. In other words, He wanted us to do these things for God’s eyes rather for our fellow human beings.

So, the question becomes is Matthew 7:1-2 a command never to judge, or never to judge hypocritically?

The next three verses of Matthew 7 describe the ridiculousness of pointing out sawdust in your brother’s eye through the clouded vision of a plank in your own. Sounds like Jesus is continuing the hypocrisy theme into chapter seven. Many believe the book of Matthew was first written to the Jews to show Jesus as their Messiah. One recurring themes is Jesus’ confrontation with Jewish leaders (Pharisees) who had become zealous enforcers of a set of 613 religious’ laws. Jesus’ words would have exposed their strictly legal brand of worship.

Matthew may have included chapter 7:1-2 with his Jewish friends in mind, but let’s not miss what Jesus is saying to us today.

The New Testament is full of lessons on judgment to varying audiences. In John 7:24, Jesus told us, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” The Apostle Paul copies Jesus in his reminder to Christians in Rome to avoid hypocrisy (Romans 2:1-4). In 1 Corinthians 5:12, Paul asked the Corinthian church to stop trying to judge people outside of the church because, as He explained in verse 13, that’s God’s job. So, can we just let judgments fly within the church? Galatians 6:1 suggests the opposite: gentle restoration through relationship.

What must we do with judgment?

I believe, we must first accept the judgment of Christ. Jesus pointed out to the so-called hypocritical Pharisees, and to us, our failure to live by the law. So maybe in this light, we should not get so “bent out of shape” when non-Christians don’t live according to Christian morals. I just feel that we Jesus followers can’t expect people who don’t know Jesus to live their lives trying to follow His ways. One final thought, Jesus teaches us, that we his followers need to restore those who share our faith, our sisters and brothers, with humility, gentleness, and relationship.

I hear you, “But wait, “I want to tell people how to live.” We’re humans. Of course, we do. What if instead of judgment, we let our lives display to people around us how to love, Jesus style? Might make a difference in us, and to them.