Matthew 7:1-6 How And How Not To Judge

It has been well said that the words of the Bible, when pressed too far, taken out of context, and mishandled, yield not medicine, but poison.

Examples abound of misused passages that people fling around without knowledge of or care for their true meaning. Some might say, for example, that the Bible condones vigilante revenge, quoting: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Another might claim the Bible approves of slavery by citing: "Slaves, obey your masters." Others argue that the Bible is misogynistic, pointing to the passage: "Wives, submit to your husbands." Some say that having money is evil because the Bible says: "The love of money is the root of all evil." And perhaps topping the list of such passages that are twisted and turned into poison rather than medicine is our passage this morning: "Do not judge, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, as we now enter the last chapter, Jesus considers what the ethics of the kingdom of heaven look like concerning disciples' relationships to one another; this is the big theme that he now develops.

He addresses this weighty matter that strikes at the very heart of our interactions with others: passing or making judgments. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a weighty matter, particularly in light of our societal norms today. From a cultural perspective, many of us live in fear of being known as, or of being seen to be, judgmental. It is also true that many people justify their antisocial behaviour or a debauched lifestyle by saying, "You can't judge me," or, "Who are you to judge me?" I remember a popular song from years ago with the line, "Only God can judge me," used in a way to claim moral untouchability. This is very common in our times.

I recall a story from a gathering of seminary professors. One professor noted how extremely difficult it was to have meaningful debate in the classroom. When a student took a particular stand on a controversial subject, he was likely to be shot down with the accusation of being judgmental. This is a prevalent issue in our times; many today are so afraid of expressing their viewpoint for fear of being seen as judgmental.

So how might we receive the medicine and not the poison from this passage? Did our Lord Jesus mean that we are not permitted to make any judgments at all? What exactly does he mean?

What Jesus Does Not Mean

Let us begin by asking what Jesus does not mean. Jesus is teaching us about the right and wrong ways to judge. It does not mean that God's people are forbidden from making judgments at all; that is an impossible interpretation. The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was horribly mistaken when he interpreted this passage to mean that Christ totally forbids the human institution of any law court. We must be careful about reading Scripture straight off the page. Why?

Because elsewhere Scripture routinely calls believers to make judgments. For instance, Jesus says in John 7:24: "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." Without careful reading, we might think the Bible is contradictory.

I will give you another example. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5: "For what have I to do with judging outsiders, that is, non-Christians? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside." He says, "Purge the evil person from among you." Regarding church discipline, Paul teaches that professing Christians living in unrepentant sin must be put out of the church gathering. But how can this be done if Jesus says, "Do not judge"?

Would not this unrepentant person simply turn around and say: "Jesus said, do not judge, lest you be judged; who are you to judge me or put me out of the congregation?"

It is clear that God requires elders, in this case, to make certain judgments about others' lives and actions. To reinforce this general point, consider Jesus himself in Matthew 7:6, at the end of our section: "Do not give what is holy to dogs; do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces." Here, Christ calls us to make a judgment about to whom we should present corrective judgments. Jesus uses strong imagery, likening those who will not appreciate or who reject truthful confrontation to dogs, which in that time would not discern whether meat had been offered on an altar or not; to a dog, meat is meat. Or like swine—pigs do not care for pearls or valuable things; they will simply trample them underfoot. So Jesus is calling for a judgment about to whom we present corrective truth.

Later, in Matthew 7:16, Jesus warns against false teachers, calling such people ravenous wolves; but to make such a distinction a judgment must be made. He says, "You will know them by their fruits." We see, then, that the kind of judgment Jesus forbids is a certain kind of judging. It is not all judging in general.

The whole Sermon on the Mount, after all, presupposes that believers would discern between true and false religion and judge between them. So it is clear: Matthew 7:1 does not mean, "Don't think, don't expose, don't warn, or don't ever judge." This would be to misuse the passage.

What Does Jesus Mean

The next question we must ask is, "What does Jesus mean positively?" Having ruled out the impossible interpretation, having seen that God does at times require us to make judgments, we must now ask, "What does Christ mean?" The answer is, he is forbidding certain kinds of judgments.

The teaching is that our Lord condemns a fault-finding spirit in the believer. God will not have it that believers devour one another by holding a magnifying glass over each other, looking for any cause to condemn. The Lord will not have this, nor would he have us make hasty or unfactual judgments of one another.

We might only have a fraction of the story and think it incriminates the person; we are quick to judge and spread gossip, not knowing the truth. Jesus is addressing the prevalent, sinful, critical spirit we so often have towards others when we make unreasonable and unrighteous judgments of them. In context, Jesus is also referring to the self-righteous religious leaders, the Pharisees of Israel at that time. They made false judgments and self-righteous judgments, motivated only to increase their own moral superiority over others.

The Pharisees wanted to enthrone and promote themselves with a "holier-than-thou" attitude; Jesus is saying in reference to them: "Do not judge, lest ye be judged." Understand that when we have a haughty, critical spirit towards others, we put ourselves in the place of God. James points this out in James 4:11: "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you to judge your neighbour?" In other words, we do not want to play God by having a critical spirit and judging the lives of others.

To help us identify a critical spirit, here are a few telltale signs; we should search our hearts and see if any are present in our own lives.

First, you are probably guilty of the kind of judgment the Lord Jesus forbids if you live with a sense of superiority over others. It is easy for a person who becomes proficient in any area, shows exemplary spiritual discipline, has a certain skill set, or becomes highly esteemed in the workplace—to begin looking down their nose and needlessly critiquing the views and opinions of those they consider lesser than themselves. This is a common, prevalent fleshly spirit; we need to be warned against it. "Do not judge, lest you be judged." This attitude begins in the mind as an over-assessment of oneself—a sense of superiority; it is pride, it is arrogance. It is like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable in Luke, standing in the temple praying to himself. The Pharisee thought so highly of himself that when he looked down from his 'golden chair', he condemned the tax collector, who was beating his chest saying, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner." How wrong this attitude is for the believer. Paul writes in Philippians 2, "But with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves;" this is the antidote.

A second sign is living with naivety or ignorance about a situation and judging unrighteously. Most of the time, we live in ignorance about other people's true selves, their battles, their context, and their motivations. John Wesley told a story about himself: Wesley once openly confronted a believer, thinking him self-seeking and covetous because he only gave minuscule funds towards charity. The man had money but gave almost nothing; Wesley confronted him. Later, the man told Wesley privately that he had been living on parsnips and water for weeks. As an unbeliever, he had run up debts, and he said: "Christ has made me an honest man. So with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbours and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest." Wesley had not known the facts and judged wrongly, as we so often do. Wesley learned the lesson on judging, which we all must if we are to obey Christ.

Our goal, especially with believers, must be to presume the best and seek true facts, if needed, before making any judgment and not to have a critical spirit.

A third way we might be guilty is by allowing ourselves to believe false perceptions when we unrighteously judge others. This mistake occurs when we overestimate our ability to understand a person. For instance, when Jesus made judgments of the Pharisees, when he pronounced woes upon them in Matthew 23, he did so as one who knows the hearts of all men. But we are not like that; we do not know people's hearts and ought to be cautious lest we jump to conclusions without all the facts. Proverbs 18:13 says: "He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him." It is shameful to make judgments without adequate data.

To illustrate, there is a story of Bishop Potter, who once sailed for Europe on an ocean liner. He was put in a room with another man. Upon meeting his roommate, Potter made a judgment: this man did not look trustworthy. Potter went to the man responsible for the ship's valuables and requested that his gold watch and other valuables be stored in the ship's vault as he did not trust his roommate. The officer replied, "Your roommate has already been up to deposit his valuables for the same reason." The point is not whether it was right or wrong to secure valuables, but that when assessing people, we are so fallible and often get it wrong. We must be very careful; this is what our Lord Jesus is teaching us here.

A Command To Self-Examine

Consider now, there is a command to self-examine. Jesus teaches that the way to make proper and righteous judgments is first by heeding the principle of self-examination. Look at Matthew 7:1-2: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."

At this point, Jesus wants us to reflect on the reality that even believers will be judged on the last day. Each person must give an account before God. Scripture says, "For we must all appear"—this is believers specifically—"before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Jesus' logic follows: since we must all appear before Christ and give an account of ourselves, be wary of taking it upon yourself to critically judge other believers; for God, too, is a judge, he is the perfect judge, and you must stand before him. If God were to apply the same measure of a critical spirit to you as you apply to others, how would you measure up? Surely, we would all find ourselves as hypocrites. So we must be careful.

The Spirit of God searches each one and knows our innermost thoughts, desires, motives, and histories; we are often guilty of the very faults we so quickly find in others. Paul challenges us along these lines in Romans 2:21: "You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" How tragic is our predicament, when, though we know we are sinners and in critical need of God's grace and forgiveness, we still have room to critically judge others.

Apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we are nothing in ourselves. The apostle writes: "For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Galatians 6:3).

Perhaps you have heard of the astronomer-mathematician Percival Lowell. In his later years, he spent his time peering through a telescope studying Mars. He believed he had discovered canals on Mars, which he argued were proof of intelligent life. The theory was accepted initially, but later proved false. It is now believed that, suffering from a rare eye disease, the "canals" he saw were actually blood vessels in his own eyes, a condition now called Lowell's syndrome. Just as the astronomer's vision prevented him from seeing the truth, so the one who condemns another without mercy or humility does not recognise his own fallen condition. We see things wrongly because of our own fallen state. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

As you may see, Jesus is building in this section towards the golden rule found in verse 12: "In everything, therefore, treat people the way you want them to treat you, for this is the law and the prophets." Self-examination is key.

The Parable Of the Eye Doctor

Let us move to our final heading: the parable of the eye doctor. Strangely, this is one of the most recognisable parables, but do we truly understand it? How often do we quickly observe, think about, or point out the sins in our brothers' or sisters' lives while remaining utterly ignorant of the very same faults in our own lives? That is the point here.

We do not want to become 'fruit inspectors,' thinking we are doing God's work as we criticise the fruit, or lack thereof, in other believers. Jesus warns us that while we can easily point out faults in others, but we must first look to ourselves and see the log in our own eye. We need tremendous humility. Friends, each one of us stands condemned without the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins upon the cross; that is the sobering truth.

Maybe your judgement is correct, but is there any humility present regardless? Jesus' point is not that we should never point out sin in other believers' lives and turn them from it; we do have a duty to one another in Christ. Rather, his call is to ensure we do not ignore the log in our own eye and that we are not hypocrites.

We must not judge with a critical spirit as the Pharisees did. We are to lead one another to Christ and, at times, this may require speaking hard truths, but always with awareness of our own guilt before God and the mercy shown us. The goal of our ministry to one another is not one of overly critical judgement, but of encouragement and stimulation in the faith. We ought to try to restore anyone who falls, not see ourselves as morally superior to them. Paul writes in Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself so that you will not be tempted."

Jesus' parable of the eye doctor exposes our human tendency to deceive ourselves into thinking that it is our duty to execute judgement, which is actually reserved for God. It is an awful state for the Christian to arrive at; the Lord forbids it.

Now Scripture illustrates this best. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 12, or I can read it for you. In 2 Samuel 12, following King David's sin with Bathsheba, where not only did he take another man's wife, mimicking behaviour more expected from a pagan king than Israel's king, David also sought to cover his sin by having Uriah, her husband, killed by placing him at the front lines of battle. This is a dark moment in David's life, and in summary, we read in 2 Samuel 11:27: "But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord."

God sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke David, to call out his sin and bring him to repentance. In 2 Samuel 12:1-7, we read: "Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. “He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!"

David was at first ignorant that Nathan's story was actually about what David himself had done. David was ready to pass judgement, but ignored the fact that the very sin he condemned in the story was actually exposing the log in his own eye. His sin blinded him to the truth, and it will be the same for the Christian who does not heed Scripture's warning to look to himself and consider what distorts his own vision before considering that of others.

Conclusion

Let me close with a reflection on how the gospel informs this present passage. Remember, before you are ready to pass judgement, that the Lord Jesus Christ did not judge you in accordance with your sins. In fact, he went to the cross to die for them, to make you new and clean, that he might give you the gift of eternal life. If that is what the Lord Jesus did when you deserved judgement, then how will you now respond and live out that reality to others?

Are we going to have a haughty, critical spirit towards them? Or are we perhaps going to see them as Christ does—as flawed human beings who need mercy, grace, not our critical judgement, but our support; our helping hand to fight sin; our willingness to lead, to shepherd, and to help them? May we not become blind to our own fallenness and become critical judges of other believers. We need something of this grace that has been shown to us in our relationships with others.

May God give us strength to do so.