Judging According to Jesus
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1 “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.
Still on the sermon series: Living According to Jesus, based on the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher/teacher of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We ARE PEOPLE OF GRACE BECAUSE WE RECEIVED GRACE
In light of the tremendous grace given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, He teaches on a very important topic, JUDGING
There are people who don’t come to church, reasons(?) “the church is full of hypocrites”.. “I don’t want to be judged”
Why we shouldn’t judge:
1. We don’t know enough!
2. We are biased!
3. We are not good enough!
I. We Don’t Know Enough!
Albert Einstein, the great physicist, once boarded a train, but as the conductor came by to check tickets, Einstein frantically searched his pockets, his briefcase, and even the floor. The conductor, recognizing him, said, "Dr. Einstein, we know who you are. No need to worry about your ticket."
Einstein, still searching, replied, "Young man, I, too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going!"
This humorous but insightful story reminds us of Matthew 7:1-5. Just like people assumed Einstein had everything figured out, we often assume we know enough to judge others. But the truth is, we don’t always know the full story.
Before we criticize someone else, Jesus reminds us to check our own hearts first!
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
You notice that Jesus throws back our judging to us …
“Do not judge”
We must not pass judgement on people’s motives. We can examine their..
a) Actions
b) Attitudes
c) Fruits
But we cannot judge motives because only God knows people’s hearts.
This warning “, that you will not be judged”.?
It may come back to you, you do not know the whole story and you may end up embarrassed
But The tense of the verb “judged” signifies a once-for-all final judgment.
If we first judge ourselves, then we are preparing for that final judgment when we face God.
ONLY GOD CAN REALLY JUDGE
The Pharisees “played God” as they condemned other people; but they never considered that God would one day judge them.
DON’T BE A PHARISEE!
The pharisees and other religious leaders, the scribes and Saduccees committed the worst misjudgment in history — when they judged the Christ, the son of God.
Pastor, but They didn’t know, yes, but they pretended to know..
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
DON’T BE A PHARISEE!
Discernment is different from judging.
The word "judge" here doesn’t mean we should never use discernment, but that we must not assume the role of God in condemning others.
We simply do not have all the facts. Only God sees the whole picture.
Illustration: Imagine seeing a man pushing a child roughly into a car. We might assume the worst, but what if we later learned that the child was in danger, and the man was actually saving him? Our judgments are often based on incomplete information, leading to wrong conclusions.
Jesus reminds us that our knowledge is limited. We are like blind men trying to describe an elephant—each touching only a small part but thinking we know the whole. Before we judge, we must recognize that we don’t know the full story.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Verse in Luke 6
The parallel passage in Luke 6:37–38 is helpful here. Not only will God judge us at the end, but people are also judging us right now; and we receive from people exactly what we give. The kind of judgment, and the measure of judgment, comes right back to us. We reap what we have sown.
II. We Are Biased!
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
It’s hard not to be impartial.
Human nature is quick to see faults in others while excusing our own. This is because we are biased! We judge others through our own experiences, backgrounds, and prejudices.
If you start as being biased, not only will you judge wrongly, you will also be finding fault.
Illustration: Picture of family, ask the congregation what is going on between the husband and the wife.
Picture of family here.
The correct story: They are on the way to visit the wife’s sick mom. The husband is mad because of an erratic driver in front of him that is driving at 30 miles per hour on a 60 mile per hour single lane road. The wife is just deeply worried about her mother.
Our assumptions often say more about us than about the people we judge.
Maybe some of you were fighting this morning :)
Jesus calls us to examine our own biases before criticizing others.
Are we being fair?
Are we projecting our own struggles onto others?
It is hard not to be impartial.
Maybe there is a plank in our own eye, Humorous: Imagine a 2x4 piece of wood in someone’s eye. Remove it before you mind the speck in your brother’s eye.
“We judge people by their worst actions and judge ourselves by our best intentions”
III. We Are Not Good Enough!
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.
Jesus' warning is not against discernment but against hypocrisy.
None of us are perfect. We all have planks in our own eyes. The problem isn’t that we shouldn’t help others; it’s that we must first deal with our own hearts before correcting others.
Illustration: Imagine a doctor who smokes five packs of cigarettes a day telling his patients to stop smoking. His advice might be true, but his credibility is lost because he has not taken his own medicine.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Never help your brother,” but rather, “First deal with yourself.”
Before we judge others, we must examine our own lives and seek God’s grace for our own faults. Only then can we lovingly and humbly help others.
Before trying to help others, make sure that you are qualified to help first.
We are only made good because God is good.
We are only made righteous because of the righteousness of God.
Conclusion: A Powerful Story
A man once stood before a judge, accused of a terrible crime. The evidence against him was overwhelming. But then the judge shocked the courtroom by stepping down from the bench, taking off his robe, and declaring, “I will take his punishment.”
This is what Jesus did for us. Instead of condemning us, He took our place on the cross.
He had every right to judge us, yet He chose to save us.
If Jesus, who is perfect, chose mercy over judgment, how much more should we, who are sinful, show mercy to others?
Jesus calls us to humility, grace, and self-examination. Before we judge others, let’s remember:
We don’t know enough. We are biased. We are not good enough.
Final lessons:
Instead of being quick to judge, let’s be quick to show love.
Instead of pointing fingers, let’s give grace.
And instead of condemning, let’s point others to the One who took the judgement for our sins —the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
