Judge Not...

The passage cited in our title is one of the most taken out of context in the bible, and it is applied to mean just the opposite of what Jesus intended. Satan is quite clever in his use of scripture (Mt. 4), but we are not ignorant of his devices.

So, first of all – let us understand exactly what Jesus was communicating here by looking at the entire context, and we will see some scathing language applied by our Lord …

Matthew 7:1-5
7:1 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 unto you.
3 And why behold thou the splinter that is in thy brother's eye, but you do not consider the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the splinter out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Why should we not judge? The first verse tells us – so that we will not be judged (the implication is … not be judged by God).

But then Verse 2 goes on to give us more explanation. Ah, it says we will be held to the SAME STANDARD that we are applying to others. Well, we certainly cannot complain about that, can we? But let’s go on.

In Verses 3 and 4 Jesus is emphasizing that what we are complaining about in others is trivial compared to our own sin. Wow – that should be an eye opener! The problem in our brother’s eye is a splinter compared to the 2x12 beam in our own eye. Obvious hyperbole, but certainly something that we can visualize in our mind’s eye.

Now the clincher that bears repeating …

Matthew 7:5
5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

What? But Jesus, I thought you said in Verse 1 that ALL judging was wrong. Now you are commanding us to judge once we get our own act together? Now THAT is a surprise I expect to many who have never read this far before.

“Thou hypocrite …” Does this apply to me?

Well, if I condemn people for judging per se, am I not doing some major judging myself? The answer is inescapable and obviously YES. Anyone who cannot see that he is guilty of judging by condemning those who judge has a beam in his own eye. When we condemn others for judging we are, ourselves, judging them. So we are guilty of gross hypocrisy. Nothing fits the definition of hypocrisy any better than that!

In fact, we are doing exactly what Jesus condemned, for we are guilty of the very same thing that we are accusing them of – JUDGING! (If in fact such is wrong per se.)

Now, for a moment of folly, let us take the perversion of Mt. 7:1 to its ultimate limit. If applied comprehensively, no one could judge anyone for anything. Think about that for a moment. Total anarchy. All of the atrocities, injustices, and hateful things we know that are going on in the world – “you cannot say anything against them because you would be judging.” Again, if those who would take Mt. 7:1 out of context (and not realize that they are totally guilty of it themselves) cannot see the ultimate consequences of making all judging a sin, then it is clear Jesus was talking to them since they clearly have a beam in their own eyes.

We do not need to quote the many places in the bible that commands us to judge in order to further make our point. But for the record, here are a few that we will present without comment:

John 7:24
Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

John 12:48
8 He that rejects me, and receives not my sayings, hath one that judges him: the word that I spoke, the same shall judge him in the last day.

1 Corinthians 5:1-5
1 It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one (of you) hath his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up [proud – db], and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing,
4 in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:1-4
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have to judge things pertaining to this life, do ye set them to judge who are of no account in the church?

The conclusion is that there IS a time for appropriate and righteous judging. If others are not judging righteously, then we should judge them. But that cannot be done by imposing a blanket prohibition of all judging. Indeed, to do so is to impose a blanket prohibition on free thought and to invite anarchy. We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.
www.biblethought.net/on-judging.html