Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1–5
Have you ever completely misread a situation? Have you ever been misunderstood? Sometimes words just come out the wrong way. Sometimes our words are quoted to someone else out of context. Sometimes children repeat what they think they heard, but they don’t get it quite right. When we base everything on the superficial, we will often get the wrong impression. This is exactly what Jesus is warning against in the Sermon on the Mount: Don’t suppose that the man you always see praying is especially pious. Don’t assume that the one you always see high on donor lists is particularly charitable. Don’t reason that the man who always appears to be fasting is exceptionally spiritual.
In this portion of His sermon, Jesus turns the argument around to offer another perspective. Jesus has been urging His listeners to do their praying, their fasting, and their charitable acts in private so that their reward might come from God instead of men (Matthew 6:1–7, 16–18). When someone does this, however, what will others think? What would they think if they never noticed a man praying or giving in a public setting? Although there are situations in which we must make judgments (more on this later), we need to be sure we have all the facts before we judge a person’s character. For example, I recently heard of a young Christian man who was once verbally abused by an older sister for letting his wife go out in the rain and bring the car around to pick him up. What that sister didn’t know is that he was legally blind.
Furthermore I must be cautious not to set higher standards for others than I would like to have imposed on me. Jesus said that if I am not willing to forgive, I cannot expect to be forgiven (Matthew 6:15). If I have never visited the sick, I cannot expect others to visit me. In Luke’s account, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). In other words, what we give to others out of love will in some way and time be measured back, not only with the same measure, but heaped up and overflowing. That doesn’t mean that every casserole dish we deliver will be returned filled with some other delight, but it does mean that our works are never forgotten. When we show kindness, it will generally be reciprocated. When we give the benefit of the doubt, others will be slower to judge us. That which we demand of others we can expect them to demand of us. In Jesus’ words, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12).
This doesn’t mean there are no standards for judgment. Consider some other things Jesus says in this sermon that demand judgment: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine” (v 6). “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (v 15). If Jesus’ prohibition against judging is to be taken without any qualification, then there is no way to satisfy these other commands. Perhaps some other words of Jesus would be helpful here: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Righteous judgment is that which is based on God’s word and takes into account more than just outward appearance.