Jesus said, “Do not judge,” or “judge not,” (depending on your translation) in the Gospel of Matthew. It’s one of the most well-known statements of Jesus. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood and misquoted sayings in the entire Bible.
I ran across a meme some time ago which reflects how how many see or interpret this biblical phrase:
Some act as though Jesus called everyone’s attention, said “do not judge,” then said nothing else. But this is not what happened.
Matthew 7:1 is part of one of Jesus’ most well-known sermons, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapter 5-7). The Sermon on the Mount is a guide to Christian ethics. Don’t miss this–“do not judge” appears in a sermon on Christian ethics.
Here’s the biggest mistake I see in relation to this phrase: many believe that “do not judge” means we should never make any type of ethical assessment between right and wrong.
“Do not judge,” for example, is often spouted as an objection when we (believers) say that certain types of sexual behavior (such as homosexuality) are immoral/sinful. But let’s once again consider the context.
Here’s something Jesus said in Matthew 5:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-28
According to Jesus, an intense desire to have sex outside of marriage is just as evil as the act itself. The only thing lacking is opportunity when someone’s heart is in this sinful state. It’s beyond ludicrous to use Jesus’ words from this same sermon to justify an “anything goes” approach to human sexuality.
What exactly was Jesus warning us about, then? Let’s look at Matthew 7:1-5:
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.
Matthew 7:1-5
Here’s the point Jesus is making:
We should honestly look at ourselves before looking at others.
This doesn’t mean that we must be completely sinless in order to call something sinful. No one could make any type assessment if that was the case.
It does mean we should be constantly vigilant against hypocrisy. We all have a strong tendency towards self-deception and self-righteousness. It is very easy to see others’ flaws while being blind to my own. The Pharisees were masters of this hypocrisy, but we should be just the opposite. I like the way AW Tozer put it:
A pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself.
-AW Tozer
The worst form of hypocrisy is to hold others to a standard that I myself am violating. Jesus used an outlandish (and humorous) image to make his point: imagine trying to remove a small piece of sawdust out of your brother’s eye while you have a huge plank protruding from your own.
Having a foreign object in your eye is not good–we all know the irritation a single eyelash can cause. Jesus did not say, “Ignore the log and the speck because after all I just said don’t judge.” Instead He said I must first examine myself so I can see clearly to help someone else come to repentance.
Part of my role as a pastor is to correct and rebuke (2nd Timothy 2:4). This happens through the proclamation of God’s word and can even happen privately. But I should always be harder on myself than I am with others.
This is the heart of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:1-5.
Lord, please give me the courage to relentlessly examine my own heart and life in light of Your word. I pray that my own sin grieves me more than anyone else’s. May any correction from me come from a place of love and humility, not hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
