“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” This is the beginning of the seventh chapter of Matthew, the third chapter of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. What follows is a description of how the Jews perceived others. They picked a small detail in the lives of others, condemning them by Jewish law, and ignored the faults in their own lives. Jesus called them “hypocrites” and told them they must first get rid of the sin in their own lives before trying to get rid of sin and mistakes in the lives of others.

We know that this passage does not prohibit civil judgment of those who have broken the laws of the land. This is approved throughout the Bible. God does not prohibit church discipline by church leaders since this is mentioned in several passages in the New Testament. He does not prohibit our making judgments of our fellowmen when violate His laws (Matthew 7:15-20). What He does condemn is a fault-finding attitude, rash judgments, the censoring of every action by those around us.

The Pharisees were particularly guilty of making accusations against other Jews, against Jesus, and His disciples. At one point, Jesus pointed out this particular problem, but not behind their backs. He confronted them face-to-face. In Matthew 23, He said of the scribes and Pharisees: “They preach, but do not practice. They lay heavy burdens on people, but they are unwilling to bear anyone’s burden. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. They love the place of honor. They love being called rabbi.” The idea is that they were jealous of anyone else being honored except them, and nothing good could be found in anyone but them.

In the early years of our marriage, we lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where my husband served as the assistant minister of a congregation there. There was a member of that congregation that had a drinking problem. He was a Christian, but he had struggled with alcohol for many years. The church leaders and ministers did everything they could to help him, and for periods of time he would attend worship faithfully and stay sober. Unfortunately, he would return to his old habits and start drinking again. Someone would go visit him, and he would come back to worship. When the invitation song was sung, the man would go forward. With tears in his eyes, he would repent of his wrong. It was a sad situation, and one that continued as long as we were there. But just as sad as the man having a drinking problem was the judgment brought against him by some in the congregation. There would be remarks like, “There he goes again,” “That man won’t ever change”, or “What’s the point in his going forward? We all know he is just going to start drinking again.”

This is just the type of judging Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7. Most people did not know the circumstances under which this man lived. Most had never spent any time with the man or even engaged him in conversation. He had been judged because he was an alcoholic. Was he a sinner? He was, but he was a repentant sinner.

In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the temple. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in the middle of the assembly, stated the charges, and identified the punishment according to the Law of Moses. The punishment was stoning. The Scripture says they were testing Jesus so they could bring charges against Him. They wanted to charge Jesus because they were jealous of His teaching. Jesus made a simple statement. “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one the people began to leave. When Jesus looked around, He and the woman were the only ones left. Jesus said to the woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:10-11 ESV).

Jesus never condoned sin of any kind. He didn’t condone this woman’s adultery, but neither did He condone the sin of judging. The scribes and Pharisees had to admit, by their leaving, that they too had sinned.

Are we not like the scribes and Pharisees? We often judge a person by what we hear about them, something we see or think we see, and form our opinions based on the facts as we know them. Do we make rash, harsh judgments about our fellow Christians, our friends, our families, even our enemies? Do we assume to know the reasons behind their behavior? Maybe we need to be reminded again of Jesus’ words. Jesus didn’t just say “judge not.” He also said, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged.” The principles by which we judge others will be applied to us. Do we want to be judged by the same standards we judge others?

It is the nature of some to sit in judgment of others based on idle gossip and without knowing both sides of the story. When we do, our behavior is just like that of the scribes and Pharisees, men that Jesus condemned. Even if the information we have is true, we see by Jesus’ example that only God can deliver judgment. Only the Father can know all the circumstances. May we prayerfully consider this the next time we decide to pass judgment on anyone for any reason. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote about the results of jealousy and selfishness, the kind of attitude of which the scribes and Pharisees were guilty. He says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:13-16).

Most critical judgment comes from jealousy. Sometimes it comes from our own failures and weaknesses. May we be stronger than the devil and resist the temptation to judge others. Let’s leave the judging to God.

Sandra Oliver