Judge Not

Matthew 7:1-6 “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1, KJV). “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” Matt. 7:1, NASB). The phrase “judge not” is heard frequently in today’s culture. It seems that it is commonly used when there is a controversial issue being analyzed and discussed. This phrase is used when someone does not want to be told that they are wrong. Based on the use of this phrase by some, “judge not” means that I cannot speak the truth that I believe. For example, if Mary sees John buying illegal narcotics Mary is not permitted to say that John is doing an illegal act because Mary will be accused of judging John. John will say, “Judge not.” What does Jesus mean when He says judge not? Does this mean that I have no right to speak up when I see someone doing something wrong? If I praise a person when I see them do something that I consider being right am I not judging? Why it that the phrase is used almost exclusively when one is criticized for what they say or do? What does Jesus have in mind when He says “judge not?” In order to understand Jesus’ statement, it is imperative that we examine the phrase in the context that Jesus states it. Matthew 5-7 is commonly called “The Sermon on the Mountain.” The writer records these teachings of Jesus to show that the religious leaders misinterpret and misuse the Law given by Moses. They have added their own additional addendums to the Law. They have reworded the Law to meet their own purposes. Jesus corrects their errors. In addition the Jews are under Roman rule. Rome has its own gods and religious beliefs. Before Roman rule the Jews are influenced by the Greeks. The Greek king Alexander the Great had taken Greek culture, language, and religion throughout his empire. As discussed earlier, today people use the phrase to defend themselves when they are challenged. You see me stealing. You call me a thief, and I say to you “judge not.” Have you judged me, or is the word thief appropriate in this case? Jesus is correcting the errors of the religious leaders; particularly the Pharisees. Jesus is teaching the people morals and ethics that God intends for people to live by. Thus, the NASB is preferred over the KJV, and one must read the whole sentence to understand what Jesus is saying. Jesus does say “don’t judge others.” Indeed we all make judgments every day. Do we not judge others when we choose our friends? The Human Resource officer judges the job candidate based on what is written on the resume and the job interview. There are minimum requirements to qualify for the job. Beyond that the Human Resource Officer must judge between the potential candidates. We all judge frequently. Again, what is Jesus saying to us? First, Jesus is saying that if I judge according to a standard I can expect to be judged by the same standard. So, if I judge my brothers and sisters based on how they dress when they come to church, I open the door for others to judge me by how I dress. If I make outward appearances the standard then I must include not only the clothes one wears, I must also include one’s hairstyle. Jesus says that before I judge another person I must judge myself. If I ignore my own ways I become like a man that has a log in my eye trying to judge another with blurred vision. Jesus states this in verses three and four saying that the one judging is not able to see clearly to judge another person. So, how do I keep myself from judging another person? Let me tell you about an experience that I recently had. I am sitting in the GU (Genitourinary) clinic at the VA Hospital. My PSA levels in my blood indicate that I need to be monitored to watch out for prostate cancer. I am an African American male over fifty years old. The incident of prostate cancer is higher in African American males than in white males. Death from prostate cancer is higher in African American men than in white men. As I am waiting an older white man sits beside me. I live in Nashville, Tennessee and Tennessee is politically a solid red state. So I can decide that this country looking and country dressed white man is a red necked, conservative, white supremacist. I can decide that we have nothing to talk about, but this is not what happens. The man speaks to me. He simply says, “How are you doing?” I reply that I am fine and ask him how he is doing. The man asks me if I am from Nashville. I reply “yes, I live in Nashville, but I was born and raised in Columbia.” I ask him, “Where are you from?” He tells me that he is from Marshall County. This interests me because I am from Maury County and the two counties shares a border. I ask the man what you do. He replies that he lives on a farm, and he raises horses and trains them for riding. I tell him that I too was raised on a farm, and I have trained a few horses myself. This leads me to ask about Tennessee Walking Horses. Why the headquarters are in Lewisburg and the festival is in Shelbyville? We briefly talk about our medical conditions. The nurse comes out, and he is told that he can go home. We bid each other good-bye. Oops! We did not get each other’s name, but I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Why do I tell this story? What does it have to do with judging? At the beginning of this story I briefly stated the appearance of the man. I see the man, but I choose not to judge him based on his race, age, skin color, how he is dressed, and other outward indicators. There are some things that I know about the man before we say a word to one another. We are both veterans. We both have a medical problem that has to do with our genitourinary system of the body. We speak to one another and we engage in a conversation about our lives that are similar in many ways. We can say that there are some things that we can do that help us to not judge one another. The first is this: We can look for some qualities that are common to both parties. In this case we share the fact that we are veterans. We both have a GU problem. So, instead of critiquing each other based on possible differences we can share with each other the things that we hold in common. Secondly, when we discover that we share some things in common, the door is open for conversation. Once we began to talk to each other, we began to bond with each other. As Christians we are able to follow the two great commandments to love God and to love one another. Regardless to who we are we all were sinners under the penalty of death. Jesus dies on the cross and by grace through faith we are forgiven our sins, and we are welcomed into the kingdom of God. We have a lot to talk about, and it is all good. Thirdly, we can share in each other’s burdens and each other’s joy. All of us can praise God from whom all blessings flow. Now, you may not praise God the same way that I do, but I have discovered that when the people of God praise God we can enjoy each other’s praise. Our shared love for God, our shared praise and worship of God negates those things that we do not share in common (1 Cor. 13). Paul tells us that “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10, NASB). The love that is in us prevents us from judging one another.