Judge Not (Matthew 7:1-6)
April 12, 2020
Today we will look at some of the most well known and poorly applied verses in the Bible. Everyone knows what these words mean, but most of us still struggle with applying these words. How many of us have experienced someone making a harsh or critical judgment against us? How many of us have been harsh or critical against others? Let's see what Jesus has to say about this.
Matthew 7:1--5 (ESV) --- 1 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Do Not Judge (7:1)
Jesus tells those who would be his disciples to stop judging others so harshly. He actually tells his disciples to stop judging to avoid being judged. This is a favorite text for our society. Many think that this means: As long as we don't judge anyone for anything they do, we won't be judged. Hopefully, we can all see the foolishness in that idea. Jesus has just spent two chapters telling his followers the difference between truly righteous living and unrighteous hearts. His whole purpose has been to establish the standard by which men will be judged. Jesus is not destroying all moral standards. He is establishing a moral standard about judging our brother or our neighbor.
Maybe we are tempted to throw verse one out of the Bible after we say that it doesn't mean what the world thinks it means. But why does Jesus say this? When Jesus says, "Judge not, that you be not judged," he is talking about people are harsh in their judgments. The scribes and Pharisees were some of the most judgmental people. They condemn people throughout the gospels for reasons that have nothing to do with God's law. They would condemn anyone who believed in Jesus so that they were kicked out of their synagogues. These were some of the harshest people in the Bible, and Jesus openly condemns them for their hypocrisy.
Do we ever resemble them in our judgments? Do we make judgments that are a heaven burden for other people to bear while we refuse to lift them? We may look at these men and be tempted to say, "We are nothing like them." But think about how easy this is to do. As we learn something true in the Bible and we go to apply it, we may think, "Everyone should be doing things the way I just learned to do it, or they are not faithful to the word." We all come up with a standard of judgment and want to use it against those around us. We often fail to see that everyone around us is growing at a different rate and learning different truths from the scripture. It is true that some may have become dull of hearing and refuse to change, but Jesus tells us to be careful
Using A Standard For Judging (7:2)
Jesus' purpose is not to condemn all judgment. He says later that his disciples must judge with righteous judgment. But he is trying to make an important point here about judgment that we need to take very seriously. The words that come out of the mouth of Jesus next should scare us all. We will be judged by the same judgment we pronounce toward others. We will be judged by the same measurement we use to measure others. Think about this for a minute. Jesus' standard is perfection in the Sermon on the Mount. How many of us are crying out for perfection while falling short of it? Preaching on the Sermon on the Mount and expressing these truths is a sobering thing to do as a teacher. I am often reminded of the words of James.
James 3:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Here James says the same thing that Jesus said. Those who teach have to be careful as they hold up the standard of perfection or as they teach against a particular sin. It is so easy for us to forget what we have said and contradict the truth that we have given to others. James will go on to say that our tongue is a destructive force like a fire. So what should we do? Should we stop teaching altogether? Our teachings must be stated with compassion and mercy. Even the most passionate plea for faithfulness to God must be filtered by the understanding that we are all failing to attain the perfect standard of Christ. We must also be careful not to speak out against others as though they are more evil for doing the same things we do all the time.
James 4:11--12 (ESV) --- 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
What we don't realize as we share the truth with others is that it is very easy to speak evil against them. It is very easy to apply that law to others and tell them what they are doing wrong while assuming evil motives. That makes us harsh and judgmental, but when we are harsh and judgmental, we are rebelling against the law that we are proclaiming. If I boastfully and hatefully command others to obey a commandment, I have failed to keep the law that says I must love my neighbor as myself.
Specks and Logs
In verses three through five, Jesus gives an illustration that is meant to help us understand the right perspective. This is a vivid picture for us to think about. One person has a splinter in their eye while the other has a log in their eye. The one with the log is trying to take the splinter out of his brother's eye. He relates having sin in our life to a speck and a log in our eye. It is ridiculous and comical to think about this illustration.
Notice that both people have something in their eye, but the one with the worst eye wants to help the other out. This always does more harm than good. Why would anyone do that? Do we see the pride and arrogance of this person? This is a picture of someone who is completely blind to their sin and completely focused on the sins of other people. We would never do that, would we? Have we ever spoken about the way someone is raising their kids while our kids are also a complete mess? Have we ever judged the spiritual failings of another without first considering our own spiritual failings?
What Do We Learn?
As a preacher, I try really hard to apply the text we are studying to myself first. I do not select what I'm going to preach on to preach at you. If I use the word "you," I feel like I have failed as a preacher. We have problems, and we are searching the Bible together to find solutions. First, I let God's word tear my own heart; then, I try to share it with others. I always try to use the word "we" because I have the same issues and problems as all of you. Preachers have not been hit with the righteous bus that makes them free from temptation and sin.
As I knew this lesson was coming, I felt a sudden dread because I knew that this one would hurt. As if Chapters 5 & 6 weren't bad enough, talking about self-glorification, putting trust in this life, and being anxious. I knew that speaking about judging a brother would really hit home for me, and I have been looking for help. I like to think that I have removed all of my pride and stopped being overly critical of people. Now I am just critical enough. I am the perfect amount of critical. But this is a constant battle. Don't we all tend to be a little too critical at times? Maybe we have grown to the point where we are very gracious and compassionate 90% of the time, but what about the 10%? How do we rid ourselves of a judgmental attitude entirely?
We Need To Ask "Why?" and "How?"
Jesus brings up this illustration while asking the question, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" Then he asks, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye?" These two questions are intended to help us stop being foolish and to see that we are being ridiculous when we do this. Notice the two things he is teaching us.
What Should We Do?
1. Constant Self Evaluation
Ask yourself the question, "Why am I judging someone else and ignoring my own sins?" Jesus encourages us to stop looking at the person next to us (Spouse, children, coworker, brother, etc.) and to start looking at ourselves. He wants us to stop dwelling on the mistakes of others and start considering our own weaknesses and flaws.
James 1:22--25 (ESV) --- 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
When we study our Bibles, we must study with a desire to see our own sin. The temptation, especially as teachers, is to study to figure out what I need to teach them. But if our Bible study doesn't affect our hearts, we may be hearers of the word without being doers of the word. To overcome this sin, we have to see what the law says we are doing wrong and persevere in changing our ways if we want to become like Jesus and receive a blessing. We have to ask ourselves, "Why am I so focused on other people's problems when I have all of these problems I can't figure out?" If we want to be blessed, we must stop focusing on what other people are doing. I guarantee that if we look, we will find something wrong with someone else. That is easy to do. But condemning other people will not make me more righteous or pleasing to God, and if I do not make changes to my own heart, what right do I have to judge others?
2. Helping Our Brethren
Then ask yourself the question, "How could I think I am good enough to condemn this person for their sin after all that I have done?" The next thing he talks about is trying to help our brother while we have a significant problem ourselves. Correcting someone else seems like a noble cause, but it's actually reckless if we have a plank in our eye. If we can't find God's solutions to our own problems, we will not be any good at helping anyone else. We aren't really helping anyone if we haven't taken the time to understand and apply the word of God in our own lives. We are pumping them with information without assisting them in overcoming the difficulty. Saying, "You should not be doing that," is not helping them stop. We are probably hurting them instead of helping them. So Jesus says, "First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." He does not say, "Stop trying to help your brother get specks out of his eye." He does not say, "Mind your own business and forget about him." He wants us to evaluate ourselves first, making the proper changes in our own hearts, and then share what has helped us overcome our sins to help our brother make a change.
I have said this before, and I will repeat it. When I first became a Christian, my goal was to tell everyone else the truth about their sin. My brother came up to me and asked me about a few things I was doing. He started to point out some sins that I was committing. He helped me adjust my attitude so that I spend more time on understanding my sin than on telling other people what they are doing wrong. We like to make other people's sin into a log, and we like to think that we are experts in removing logs. Jesus wants us to see our failures as logs and their failures as specks. He wants us to have humility instead of pride and arrogance as we approach others to try and help them. We should have the attitude that says, "Who am I to say this to them after all that I have done wrong?" But also notice that this attitude shouldn't prevent us from trying to help others. If I believed I should only work on myself, I wouldn't be preaching to other people right now. Teachers are needed, but there is a greater need for humility.
Dogs and Swine
The last part of this section speaks to the other extreme.
Matthew 7:6 (ESV) --- 6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Doesn't this seem like a contradiction from verses 1-5? He has just said not to make judgments against people, but then he calls some people dogs and swine. Jesus recognizes that judgment and discrimination are necessary when teaching. He is not oblivious to the fact that some people are like the Pharisees and Sadducees, while others are like the common people. He wants us to see that some are so judgmental and blind that they couldn't see the truth of Jesus when it was backed up with clear miraculous signs. He knows that this teaching of "Judge not" could be too open and accepting of everyone regardless of their attitude. To them, he says, "Be careful and use discernment with this principle of 'Judge not.'"
The dogs and pigs in this society represent the unclean animals who are filthy. They do not value what is holy. They place no significance on a pearl. If we were to give them something holy or precious to us, they would be angry with us because all they want to do is eat, get fat, and enjoy life. They have no higher love or sense of something greater. Why does Jesus use these animals? Jesus is using this to say that some will not value the truth of the gospel. We will try to help some people, and they will attack us for it. When we compare an animal like this to a human, we see a difference in perspectives that is very obvious. Give a pig a pearl, and he will spit it out.
We see this often as Paul is teaching in the book of Acts. In Antioch of Pisidia, the Jews rejected Paul's teaching.
Acts 13:45--46 (ESV) --- 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."
As we try to help people see what the Bible says, many will reject it. They will not accept the change that is being commanded and humble themselves to submit to the word of God. They are taking these beautiful pearls and throwing them away. Jesus had plenty more to tell all of the people who were following him, but he couldn't because they did not understand the value of it. They were struggling with the few principals he was giving them. That doesn't mean that they will never obey the truth. Paul himself was sought out by Jesus, although he was stubborn and rebellious. But we must be careful not to shove the truth down their throats because they may attack us for it.
Jesus is telling us to use discernment when we do decide to help people. We must approach them with humility and respect, recognizing that we have many failures of our own. But if their response to a little truth is stubborn and rebellious, we must consider whether hitting them with more truth is good for their heart. If they refuse to listen to the truth, we probably should not continue to force it down their throats.
But Jesus is also giving us some insight into our hearts. What if we are the dogs and pigs? Maybe the reason why we are so judgmental is that we refuse to listen to the teachings of Christ. We are using those teachings as weapons against others, but failing to learn ourselves. We might be trampling underfoot what is holy and what is precious that has been given to us. How many times do we trample over the person who criticizes us without considering that they may be right? Peter used these two animals in his second epistle to talk about false teachers and those who follow after false teachers.
2 Peter 2:21--22 (ESV) --- 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
Is this what we do after hearing the truth? Do we reject it and attack those who speak the truth to us, or do we believe what is false so that we can eat our own vomit and wallow in the mire? What a graphic image!
Conclusion
Why should we stop judging people? Because Jesus had the most humility and the purest heart as he revealed all of these things to us. He did not come to enjoy condemning the world. He came to save the world. Think about what he has done for us. We were completely filthy animals, and he made way for us to be made clean. He gave us something more precious than we could understand. We rebelled against him and may have even attacked him, but he still offers us the most precious pearl. Will we value it enough to become doers of the word? Let's be sure that we evaluate our hearts and develop humility as we consider how we might help our brethren to attain and find what God has given us.