So That You Can See Clearly!
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
There are a few passages in the Bible that are a favorite of non Believers. Today’s passage is one of them. In fact, it may be their favorite. You see, Matthew 7:1 is a passage that they remember, know, and misuse to their advantage. They attempt to use it as a weapon to cause us to shrink away in shame and confusion. Non-Believers often will define any talk of the Bible or scripture as “casting judgement” against their sinful lifestyle (whether their life is the topic or not), then whip out this passage expecting us to cower away like a vampire in the sunlight. No more! Why? Because, We know what Jesus said and it fits into a larger context than the single verse.
Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
(2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? (5) Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
In its proper context, not only does Jesus NOT forbid his followers from making judgements …He ENCOURAGES it! So why do so many people get this passage so wrong? Two reasons: 1). Because they want to. 2) Because they take the verse one out of its proper context.
Jesus is dealing with an issue that cannot be over looked.: the tendency for people to make unrighteous judgments of others. It becomes clear in verse 5 that the primary characteristic of an UNrighteous judgement is that of motive. We have seen it play out all of our lives. There is a belief that if we judge people harshly that it somehow makes us look superior. At the very least, by making an unrighteous judgment about others and bringing attention to another’s shortcomings, it takes the spotlight off of our own flawed lives. It was true in Jesus’ time and it’s true today. Jesus warns in verse 1 & 2 that if we judge others harshly, then we can expect the same treatment from God.
So there is a righteous judgment? You bet! Jesus deals with it in verse 5:
Matthew 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Jesus starts off verse 5 by saying: “Thou Hypocrite”. We have to remember that this teaching is based upon the assumption that people will judge wrongly… Like the example that he gave in verses 3 and 4. Then Jesus offers a two step process to Judge others: 1. Put your own house in order. As he says get the log our of your own eye. Of course the “things” in these verses that are in the eyes represent sin. So we are to first deal with the sin in our own lives. Contrary to what some critics may suggest, this does not imply we must first be perfect. No one is perfect! We all sin and fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23). So what are we to understand we are to do? Exercise Self control and live a life to the best of our ability to be pleasing to God.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Step two is both the proper motive and the proper action:
Matthew 7:5 …then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Notice what Jesus is telling us! So We can see Clearly! We are to look at the sin of our brother to assist him in removing it. How can I help my brother get rid of sin in his life? I have to make the judgement that he has sin in his life! Remember, we mentioned motive earlier…What is the motive here? To HELP the brother! Not to humiliate! Not to shame! Not to make yourself look better! Not to make him look bad. But to HELP! Love should be… MUST be the motive and manner in which we conduct ourselves! When we do, God is glorified and we have demonstrated love towards a brother.
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
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