Judge Not!

WHAT was Jesus calling for when He ordered His followers to “judge not” (Matthew 7:1)? Did He want them to close their eyes to error and evil? Did He intend that managers forego critical performance reviews of their employees, or that news editors and art critics pull their punches? And what about juries? Should they stop judging? Or should people go even further and decline any assessment of others, since none of us is perfect?

No, those would all be misapplications of Jesus’ teaching. He was not commanding blind acceptance but grace toward others. Since we are all sinners, we all need to stop bothering with the failings of others and start attending to serious failings of our own (Matthew 7:3-5). His words here extend His earlier exposé of hypocrisy (Matthew 6:1-18). Don’t blame or put down others while excusing or exalting yourself, Jesus was saying.

Is there room, then, to assess others? Yes, but only in Jesus’ way: with empathy and fairness (Matthew 7:12), and with a readiness to freely and fully forgive (Matthew 6:12, 14). When people must correct others, they should act like a good doctor whose purpose is to bring healing, not like an enemy who attacks.

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.