A right relationship with God requires that we use good judgment when making judgments...

This week, we are looking at a section of this famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. Yesterday, we saw Jesus command those listening to His sermon, and humanity throughout history, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged”.

We discovered that this single statement by Jesus is the statement that is most often quoted by others concerning the message and teachings of Jesus. In addition, this statement is one of the most misunderstood and misused statements of Jesus in the entire Bible by Christians and by non-Christians. When Jesus uses the word judge here, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to express an opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone. This word is addressing the concept of making a judgment about the words and actions of another.

You see, there is a profound difference between making judgments and being judgmental. There is a profound difference between making judgments that address that attitudes, actions, or words of someone and being judgmental so as to view another as being of lesser value, worth or significance. And the letters that make up the Bible are crystal clear in that we are not to be judgmental of others who are created in the image of God so as to view them as being of little value, worth, and significance.

Jesus seems to also be saying that we should not be expressing our opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone. Jesus seems to be saying that we should not be making judgments about the words and actions of another. Now if we simply stopped reading at verse two, which is where many people tend to stop reading, it would seem to be clear that Jesus is commanding the crowds listening to Him to not judge the attitudes, actions, and words of others. If we simply stopped reading at verse two, it would seem to be clear that Jesus is commanding the crowds listening to Him to not express an opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone.

However Jesus doesn’t stop in verse two. Instead, as Jesus continues His sermon, we see Jesus tell a parable. Now a parable is an earthly story that is designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. And it is in this parable that contains an almost sarcastic level of humor that Jesus reveals what He was truly getting at with this command. So, let’s look at this parable together, which begins in Matthew 7:3:

 "Why do you look at 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,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?

Now to fully understand this parable, we first need to define some terms. When Jesus uses the word look, this word literally means to perceive with the eye. By contrast, the word notice literally means to observe carefully. In addition, the word speck was used to describe a small piece of straw or wood that was insignificantly small. By contrast, the word log was used to describe a piece of heavy timber such as a beam used in roof construction or a railroad tie.

Now, with the meaning of those terms in mind, Jesus parable, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: Why are you so perceptive that you can see the splinter in someone else’s eye, but are unable to observe carefully enough to see the railroad tie that is protruding out of your own eye. How can you say to someone ‘Hey let me remove the splinter that is in your eye, yet you haven’t even taken the time to remove the railroad tie out of your own eye’”?

Do you see the sarcasm here? I mean how could someone possibly be able to perceive a small splinter in someone else’s eye when they have a railroad tie sticking out of their own eye? I mean, how ridiculous. Jesus then sarcastically hammers His point home in verse 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.

Now when Jesus uses the word hypocrite, we need to understand what He means. The word hypocrite, when used in Jesus day, referred to one who was an actor or a pretender. In our culture today, we would refer to such a person as a poser. A hypocrite creates a public impression that is at odds with one’s real motivations or purpose.

So, to be a follower of Jesus who strives to follow the message and teachings of Jesus, yet sometimes falls short is not being a hypocrite. A hypocrite is someone that says, “here is the message and teachings of Jesus, and you need to follow them, but I am not going to follow them”. A hypocrite fails to follow the message and teachings that they impose on others.

Jesus point here is that a person is a hypocrite when they express an opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone while not letting their opinion influence their own life and actions. Jesus point here is that a person is a hypocrite when they make a judgment about the attitudes, actions, and words of others while engaging in the very attitudes, actions, and words that they are judging others for.

Instead of being a hypocrite; instead of being a poser, Jesus basically says “first remove the railroad tie from your own eye, then you will be able to see clearly to remove the splinter from someone else’s eye”. But did you notice what Jesus did not say? Did you notice that Jesus did not say, “first take the log out of your own eye, and then leave the speck in your brother's eye?” Did you notice that Jesus did not say “first take the railroad tie of your own eye, and then leave the splinter in your brother's eye?”

Jesus is not commanding the crowds to never express an opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone. Jesus here is not commanding the crowds to never judge the attitudes, actions, and words of others. Instead, Jesus point in this sarcastic parable is that before you express your opinion about something in a way that seeks to influence the life and actions of someone, you better make sure that you are living according to the opinion that you are about to give. Jesus point in this sarcastic parable is that before you judge the attitudes, actions, and words of others, you better make sure that you are not exhibiting the same attitudes, actions and words in your life.

You see, Jesus is not commanding the crowds to never express their opinion. Jesus is not commanding the crowds to never make judgments about the attitudes, actions, and words, or others. Instead, Jesus is commanding the crowds to make sure that the opinions that they express and the judgments that they make begin with the person in the mirror before moving to the person out the window. Jesus is commanding the crowds to make sure that they point the thumb at themselves before pointing the finger at others.

 Jesus and the authors of the letters that make up the Bible not only don’t forbid making judgments, they actually give a set of principles and lenses through which to make those judgments. As a matter of fact, Jesus here is telling us how to make judgments because some beliefs and actions are true, and some beliefs and actions are false.

Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, if what you are saying is true, then how did we get to the place that these verses have been so misunderstood and misused? How did we get to the place where Jesus words could be so distorted?" 

I believe that one of the reasons that this has occurred has to do with the changing definition of tolerance. Historically, tolerance has been defined as having the right to be wrong. However, in the post-modern culture that we live in today, tolerance is defined as affirming that everyone is right and that nobody is wrong, no matter what they believe or do.

Now, the problem with this definition of tolerance and the call not to judge is that two competing truths cannot both be true at the same time. For example, take gravity. Now one person could claim that gravity exists; another could claim that gravity does not exist. But both truths cannot be equally true: either gravity exists, or it does not exist. You see, only in the moral or spiritual realm would anyone think to live life in a way that believes that two competing truths can be equally true. In addition, if we were forbidden to make moral and spiritual judgments, we would have no way to discern between truth and error.

And it is here, in one of the most misunderstood and misused statements of Jesus in the entire Bible, that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: A right relationship with God requires that we use good judgment when making judgments.  

You see, Jesus addressed the issue of us making judgments because Jesus knew that the tendency of humanity is to make judgments and to be judgmental. Jesus addressed the issue of making judgments because Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. And because of the reality, Jesus commanded humanity throughout history to make sure that they used good judgment when making judgments.

And because of the reality that a right relationship with God requires that we use judgment when making judgments, I want to spend time on Friday applying this truth in real and tangible ways to our day to day lives...