Matthew 7:1-6 – Don’t Judge
“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
When I came to this part of Jesus’ sermon, I knew I was dealing with a potentially volatile issue. To judge or not to judge, that is the question. On the surface it seems very plain and simple: Don’t judge. But, I’m not so sure it’s really is that simple. I say this because I’ve heard this scripture used to justify all sorts of things like lack of accountability. It’s been construed to mean we have to accept everything right or wrong because we’re not suppose to judge. It’s actually made us afraid to speak truth into the world because it’s seen as being judgmental. So, when I came to this part of Jesus’ sermon I looked at them within the context of that sermon. I also looked up the meaning of the word used here for judgment. Both gave me a better understanding of what Jesus is communicating.
First, the context. To understand this passage you have to look at the sermon in it’s entirety. What has Jesus been talking about all along? The heart and our motivation. Then I looked up the actual Greek word used here for judge and judgment. The word is krino and it means to separate, to put asunder, to discriminate or distinguish. Jesus isn’t talking about right from wrong. He isn’t talking about accountability. He’s talking about motivation. He is specifically talking about a judgment that means to separate, to put asunder, to distinguish or discriminate. With this in mind, let’s look at the passage.
Do not judge so that you won’t be judged, for with the judgment you use, you will be judged. Sounds familiar? As soon as I read it, I recognized the same thought in the Lord’s Prayer. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. In the prayer, we are asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. Now Jesus is reminding us that our judgment (krino) of others is how we will be judged. It’s all about the heart. The motivation of it all. A great example of this kind of judgment is found in John 8. Here we find Jesus teaching again when some scribes and Pharisees bring a woman who they caught in the act of adultery to him. Ok, I have to stop right here. So, how did they catch her in the act? Where was the guy? It does take two to tango! These questions aren’t answered, but it’s something I thought about. Anyway… So they say to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” From the outside it looks like a straightforward case. The woman was caught doing something wrong and the punishment was stoning. But Jesus doesn’t look at the outside. He looks at the inside, their hearts. What he finds is this: “They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.” Not the purist of motivations. They used their “righteous” act to try and deceive Jesus. And what does Jesus do? He stoops down and starts writing on the ground with His finger. We’re not told what he wrote, but perhaps we get a hint when he finally speaks, ”The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her… When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only Jesus was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, He said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, Lord, she answered. Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
I want to state first that Jesus is not condoning adultery. In this very sermon he redefines adultery as someone who even looks at a woman with lust in their hearts. Second, although he tells her she’s not condemned, he addresses her sin by telling her not to do it anymore. It’s one thing to not be condemned, it’s another thing altogether to continue sinning. Third, Jesus addresses the actual issue – the hearts of the ones who are accusing the woman. Their hearts were krino judging. They judged to separate, to discriminate, to put asunder. In the end, they were judged with the same judgment. Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone. This is an indictment on them. For all have sinned and come short of God’s glory – and they knew it. I find the next portion of scripture rather interesting. Most preachers end the reading here, but I wanted to see what came after. Jesus speaks again and says, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” Wow. He is the light of the world. The light will always penetrate the darkness – even those dark thoughts and dark places in our heart. The light of Christ will show our true motivation. We are not to judge (krino).
The next part of the scripture is a wonderful, and I think quite humorous, example. Several years ago, a friend of mine wrote a great sketch highlighting these verses. There were two actors that start with their backs turned to the audience. One actor turns around holding his eye because he has a small speck in his eye. The other actor turns to “help” him but protruding from his eye is this huge log. As he goes over to help, the log smacks the one with the speck in the head. He tries to get close but can’t and ends up inflicting more harm on the person due to the log. The point came through brilliantly. Not only is it impossible for us to help someone get the speck out of their eye if we have some huge board sticking out of ours, we often inflict pain on people when we do. Here, Jesus is not saying we shouldn’t hold each other accountable. He isn’t saying we shouldn’t say something when we see our brother or sister sinning. He wants us to get those specks out of our brother’s and sister’s eye, BUT – notice this: BEFORE you take the speck out of your brother’s eye, make sure you don’t have a log in yours. The word before says to us stop right there. Take a look at your heart – your motivation. Why do you want to help this guy get the speck out? Is it so you can look righteous? Are you pointing out the sin so you can make yourself look better than them? Or, are you doing it out of mercy and compassion for that person? Because you love your brother or sister in Christ? I Corinthians 13, better known as the love chapter, says this, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” This is a righteous motivation.
The next thing he says is this: Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces. At first these verses don’t seem to go with the proceeding verses. But, with a little bit of investigation, I understand why it’s here. While we are to look at our motivation when it comes to judgment, Jesus is clearly stating we need to make sure and be discerning. Proverbs 26:11 says, As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Proverbs is replete with verses warning us about being foolish and staying away from fools. 2 Peter 2 in talking about discerning false prophets and teachers ends the chapter with this: “It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, a sow, after washing itself, wallows in the mud.” As believers, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in all things. It is God’s gift to us. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 says, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” The word for judge here is anakrinei which means to investigate or examine and discern. Notice the difference. While we are not to krino – we are to anakrinei. We must judge (anakrinei) what is right from wrong. We must be able to discern false teachings. That comes when we investigate and examine the evidence. We are not to give what is holy to the dogs (or fools) – they will just return to their vomit (their foolishness). We are not to give pearls to pigs – they will trample them and then turn and trample us. We are to be wise and discerning, allowing the Spirit to lead in all things.
To recap – Jesus has once again addressed our heart. He has asked us to examine our motivation. He says, do not krino – judge with the purpose of putting someone else asunder, or discriminating against them. When you do that, watch out, you will be judged in the same way by God. He says, before you take that speck out of your brother’s or sister’s eye, stop and check your heart. Make sure you don’t have logs sticking out of your own eye. Make sure you have a righteous motivation. Make sure you are doing it out of mercy and compassion and not out of a bitter or evil heart. We are to hold each other accountable, but, we must always keep in mind that love is not self seeking and it doesn’t seek to hurt others along the way. We ARE to anakrinei – judge between right and wrong. Investigate, examine and discern false teachers and false prophets. We are not to give what is holy to the dogs (fools) who will just return to their foolish ways. And don’t throw your riches to the pigs who will trample them and then turn and trample you. Instead, let the Holy Spirit guide you and listen carefully to the voice of God.
Today more than ever we need to speak the truth in love to a world who wants wrong to be right and lies to be truth. We do need to hold each other accountable for our actions because we love each other and truly want what is best for each other. We don’t need to krino judge each other. Judgment that lowers people and discriminates against them is never right. Instead correction comes out of a heart motivated by love and mercy because we have been shown great mercy and love by our Father in heaven whose name is Hallowed. The only way for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven is for His children to speak truth in love. Love that is patient, kind not envious, boastful or proud. Love that does not dishonor others, or is self-seeking. Love that takes no delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Questions to Ponder
1. Have you ever judged someone with the wrong motivation?
2. How can you better hear the voice of God in this time when discernment is so important?
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