Do Not Judge

Matt. 7:1–5

I. Introduction

A. In the past the most well known and often quoted verse in the Bible was John 3:16.

B. Today, it is probably Jesus' statement: "Judge not, that you be not judged."

1. Unfortunately, this is because so many people use this verse simply to justify their own behavior or to promote "tolerance" that will accept almost any type of behavior.

2. Was this Jesus' intention? Was Jesus being merely "politically correct"?

3. Let's look at Jesus' words and decide for ourselves.


II. The speck and the beam (7:3–5)

A. Jesus was a storyteller and he used a vivid, even humorous, illustration to explain the meaning of his statement.

1. The "speck of sawdust" was a small foreign body in the eye of another person.

2. The "beam," "plank," or "log" was a big chunk of wood in your own eye. The word literally referred to a beam used to support the roof of a building.

B. This was obviously a hyperbole.

1. It was an exaggerated figure of speech that Jesus used for emphasis.

2. Jesus used hyperboles on other occasions.

a. The camel going through the eye of a needle (Mt. 19:24).

b. Straining of a gnat and swallowing of a camel (Mt. 23:24).

3. We can imagine the smiles, even laughter, that resulted from this illustration.

4. Such exaggerations helped people to remember the story and the meaning that Jesus gave to it.

C. Some have called this illustration ludicrous, but Jesus made his point.

1. Jesus was saying: Don't be looking for the faults of others when you have major problems of your own.

2. He called those who did this hypocrites or "play actors."

D. The speck/beam illustration reminds us that we ourselves are fallible and fallen human beings.

1. Just like our brother with the speck of dust in his eye, we are also sinners.

2. And because we are sinners, we are not in a good position to stand in judgment of others.


III. "Do not judge, or you will be judged." (7:1–2)

A. Jesus was not saying that his followers must ignore the faults of others.

1. As followers of Jesus, we need to be able to determine right from wrong and good from evil.

2. Jesus spoke in verses 15– 20 of this same chapter about recognizing false prophets by their actions.

3. At times Jesus clearly pointed out the wrongs of others, such as the Pharisees and other religious leaders.

4. Jesus also frequently told individuals to leave their lives of sin and live better lives.

a. For example, Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery in
John 8:11, "...neither do I condemn you...Go and leave your life of sin."

B. What Jesus did forbid was harsh, critical, and judgmental faultfinding that ignores our own shortcomings and emphasizes the failures of others.

C. There is a human tendency to minimize our own faults and exaggerate the faults of others.

1. Jesus illustrated this in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9–14.

2. Jesus was especially critical of the Pharisees for this having this attitude.

3. In our own language the word "pharisee" is used to refer to a self-righteous and judgmental person.

D. In verse 2 Jesus is saying that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others.

1. That puts things in a whole different light.

2. Would I want to be judged myself by a harsh, critical standard?

3. Obviously, I would not want to be judged in that manner.

4. I would rather be judged fairly and impartially, and so Jesus is saying that is how I should judge others.

IV. Conclusion/Application

A. William Barclay listed three reasons why we should be slow in judging others
(Matthew, Vol. 1, pp. 263–265).

1. We may not know the whole story.

a. There may be circumstances that we know nothing about.

b. There may also be more than one side to the story.

2. It is difficult to be impartial.

a. We all have our own prejudices and emotions that can affect our thinking.

b. There is also that tendency to exaggerate the faults of others.


3. No one is good enough to be a judge of others.

1. Remember Jesus' illustration of the speck and the beam.

2. Barclay concluded: "We would do well to concentrate on our own faults, and leave the faults of others to God" (p. 265).

B. From my own experience I would add: If we take care of our own problems, then we will not have much time left to worry about the problems of others.