In Matt 7:1-3, Jesus said, ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” Jesus commands us not to judge.
But almost everything we do involves us making a value judgment of some kind. When we consider something we form an opinion about that thing, and then we come to a conclusion about that something. But to do this properly, you need to know and understand that something very well. And before you can judge a person fairly and justly, you need to know that person very well. A magistrate in court has to look at all the evidence with an impartial eye; he or she has to look carefully for the truth, the actual reality of a situation. Discernment is what is needed in a good magistrate, and discernment requires an open mind and a pure heart.
We can get close to the real truth, but can we ever know the absolute truth, or the whole story, or the real person? Only God knows these things. When Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate and was being interrogated, he told Pilate that he came into the world to “bear witness to the truth,” and Pilate said, in a sarcastic way, “What is truth?” Pilate was getting so much conflicting information that it was practically impossible for him to know what the actual reality was. And he knew this. Only the Son of God, Jesus himself knows the truth, about everything. He told us, “I am the way the truth and the life.” So Pilate leaves the final decision up to the crowd. Pilate washes his hands, and the end result is that Jesus, innocent and blameless, is condemned to the cross. The sinless one is judged by an ignorant and hate filled rabble.
So when Jesus tells us to judge not, he’s talking about a certain kind of judgement, the kind that lacks discernment, the kind that comes from a closed mind and an impure heart. It’s not easy to be totally non-judgemental. The urge to make quick decisions about people, and to be critical, is always there under the surface, even when we strive to be impartial and free of prejudice. The kind of judgement that Jesus warns us against goes hand in hand with the sin of pride. Pride makes us feel superior to others and blinds us to our own shortcomings.
But what is interesting is that the more we grow in faith the more we observe the faults in ourselves, and the more we see how we fall short. We see the marvelous goal that life in Christ presents us with and we become aware of how far we are from achieving that pinnacle. So the closer we grow to Jesus, the paragon of all that is good and holy, the more we feel unworthy, and the less inclined we are to judge others. This seems to be the natural consequence. Which is ironic: the more saintly you become, the more you feel unsaintly and the last thing you feel like doing is pointing out the sins of others.
This is in contrast to the Pharisees who thought themselves to be so holy but who weren’t at all. Jesus was constantly on the receiving end of the criticism of Pharisees. In today’s reading we hear about the calling of Matthew, and the Pharisees were astounded that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. They criticised Jesus and found him wanting on so many different levels, if only they knew who they were dragging down.
Jesus asks us, how qualified are we to condemn others? Are we worthy to judge others if we too are tarnished by sin? We see here the irony of the pot calling the kettle black, as we know the pot is just as black as the kettle, because they’re both on the fire grate. We are all sinners. In John 8:1-11, the story of the woman caught in adultery is a graphic example of this. She has obviously broken the law but Jesus tells the people, “let the person who has never sinned cast the first stone.” And of course they all walk off and leave her there. Jesus tells her that he doesn’t condemn her either, and that she should go and sin no more.
The image in today’s presentation shows Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel was a Jewish man who served as a high-ranking official in the court of a Babylonian king, and he was in high favour with the king. Some other officials were jealous of Daniel so they plotted against him. There was a law in the land that everyone was obliged to worship idols and they informed the king that Daniel was praying regularly to his God, and didn’t worship the idols. So Daniel was punished by being placed in a den full of lions. But God saved his life. Daniel came out of the lion’s den unharmed and he told the king, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him.” So we can see that, obviously, the King got it all wrong, he judged unfairly, his decision would have resulted in Daniel’s death, but God stepped in and made things right. We named our youngest son Daniel, but I didn’t know the meaning of the name until later on. In Hebrew, Daniel means, God is my judge. And I love the name Daniel even more now because it reminds me not to judge others unfairly, and not to flinch when I am judged unfairly by others. Because God is the supreme arbiter.
So often we’re quick to make assumptions, and a lot of times it’s just our own ego talking. It’s Satan whispering in our ear. “Tut tut, look at what so and so did, isn’t that terrible,” or, “I can’t believe so and so said that, what was he thinking?” We say to ourselves, “oh no, I’d never do anything like that.” We create a distorted picture of a person in our minds without having all the facts and sometimes it’s totally wrong. A good example is the case of how people often view alcoholics and addicts, and there are many different types of addiction. Smoking is an addiction that affects a lot of people. It’s not uncommon for addicts to be criticised as being weak, for not having the back bone to kick the habit. It’s less common for them to be regarded as victims of something that they find next to impossible to break away from.
Thank our precious God that we haven’t fallen into these situations ourselves. And we must pray for those who are afflicted… God give them strength to break away from the torment. Life is hard, sometimes people turn to drugs because that is all that is left to them. Some people can become addicted to medications that have been prescribed by their own doctors. And when someone finds themself addicted, it’s a hellish situation to be in. Are we to judge them and put them down for this awful predicament that they’ve fallen into? No. If we are to be like Christ, we reach out to them and show them understanding and care. And it’s the same with a lot of other negative behaviours; we don’t really know what that person has gone through to make them behave in that way.
Life is hard, we’ve been blessed in so many ways, many many others haven’t been. There’s a saying that goes, walk a mile in another man’s shoes. Originally, it comes from a poem by Mary T. Lathrap called “Judge softly” which was published in 1895. In it she writes, “Just walk a mile in his moccasins before you abuse, criticize and accuse.” She was a Methodist preacher and she was influenced by the plight of the Native Americans on the reservations who were being looked down on.
There are many many occasions in which we are tempted to judge others. Sometimes it’s because people are just different. There are Christians who judge and criticise non-believers as being deficient or lacking in moral fibre or bad in some way, simply because they don’t follow Christ. And understandably many non-Christians feel that they are continuously being judged by the self-righteous few. We are all on different trajectories to God, and it is through God’s grace that we come to him. We don’t know what factors prevent God’s grace from touching certain people, and we can’t blame individuals because they haven’t yet responded to Jesus’ call.
Often we’re not in a position to judge, but we are always in a position to pray. And we must praise God always for the gift of his grace, for we can do nothing without him. Praise God that our eyes have been opened, praise God that we have had the great blessing of being raised in the faith. And if we haven’t been raised in the faith, thank God that we have come to Christ through the journey. Thank God that he has gifted us in this way, and that he’s given us new life in him. And we pray that in God’s time, all people will know his great love.
A lot of harm can result in judging others. On Pentecost Sunday we were reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan. This poor man was left for dead by the robbers. The Priest and the Levite walked around him; they saw him and decided that he was unworthy of their help. Left up to them, he would have died on the road. It was the Samaritan who, without judgement, looked with kindness on this person, he didn’t ask questions, he just picked the traveller up and took care of him. Many people would have just walked the other way. And on Pentecost itself, that very special day, the disciples went out filled with the spirit, and people assumed that they were drunk. These onlookers remained untouched by the spirit, and they totally misjudged the situation. How much harm is caused when people remain blind to the workings of the spirit? They don’t see the power of God in the world, and in their lives, and continue in their sin and isolation from God. They can look at someone who is filled with the spirit and say, oh well, they’re just deluded or a little bit mad.
God does not make distinctions, he makes his rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous, and Jesus wants us to do the same. Our own grace and good will should extend to all. Jesus said that it’s easy to be good to the people we like, anyone can do that, there is no virtue in that. God’s will for us is to do good to all, without judgement, without distinction. We are all walking our earthly journey and grappling with what it means to be human, to be Christian, and so Jesus shows us nothing but his mercy and compassion. That’s why he didn’t condemn the woman caught in adultery, he simply forgave her, as he forgives all of us. And that’s why he accepted the tax collectors, even though they were hated by everyone else. During his time on earth, Jesus was in the business of forgiveness, not judgement.
But we need to keep in mind always, that we have a just God, and that at the end of the age there will be an accounting. So we need to keep our lamps lit and be ready for when the bridegroom comes. Jesus will be the final judge for he is without fault or blemish, he is clean and pure. Jesus is the blameless, spotless sacrifice, the Lamb of God. When Jesus comes again in glory, he will judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. In the meantime, as we place our trust in our God, we have the blessed assurance of our salvation through faith, and we rest in the knowledge that our God is infinitely merciful. “Oh give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” Ame n.
Tell Out My Soul 
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