Judge Not

Matthew 7:1–6 "Judge Not" — The Symptom and the Disease

I. Review (from memory — no notes)

High-level flyover, Matthew 1–6: Matthew presents Christ as the promised Messiah. Into the Sermon on the Mount → the citizens of the kingdom (the Beatitudes) → how those citizens ought to live. Chapter 5 corrects six things kingdom citizens must not do (the antitheses, 5:21–48).

Chapter 6 turns to giving, prayer, fasting, treasure, and anxiety — the affirmative teaching. 7:1–6 continues the affirmative: not merely what to stop, but how kingdom citizens are to see and treat one another. This serves as a hinge to the whole Sermon.

If we are the people that Jesus describes in the beatitudes, and if we hear Jesus describe what the Kingdom of Heaven brought down to earth looks like, and we give an emphatic Amen, then we will desire deeper communion with our God.

Jesus gives us 3 “spiritual disciplines,” that are given as beautiful gifts where, through Jesus, we can apprehend, behold, and commune with the invisible, omnipresent, living God.

If we are those people whose is the Kingdom of Heaven, then we will not do as the hypocrites do, but we will do them for an Audience of one, the Lord alone.

We will hear Jesus’ teaching as desire to store up our treasures in heaven, We will hear Jesus teaching and we will not be anxious, we will hear Jesus’ teaching and we will not judge.

II. The Text — Matthew 7:1–6

The passage moves in three beats:

(v. 1–2): "Judge not, that you be not judged."The command

(v. 3–5): the log and the speck — a heart and sight problem, dealt with in oneself.The diagnosis first

(v. 6): dogs and pigs — the outer edge, those who will not receive.The boundary

Framing note (Sproul-consistent, covenant-community reading): vv. 3–5 address a "brother" — this is chiefly how kingdom citizens treat one another. Verse 6 marks the boundary toward those outside.

III. Two Common Readings (state, then set aside)

A. The world's shield. "Judge not lest ye be judged" turned back on Christians whenever we hold society to a biblical standard.

True as far as it goes, but a poor main point to carry.

B. The pastor's bludgeon. The log and speck wielded over a congregation to beat them down for judging others.

Not untruthful — but not the beneficial way forward for this body.

Transition: Both readings stop at the behavior. Our aim is the root beneath it.

IV. The Reframe (Lewis / Piper foundation)

[SLOT: deliver Lewis quote — The Weight of Glory — "our desires are not too strong, but too weak… far too easily pleased." Verify exact wording against your copy before quoting verbatim.]

The move: Our problem is not that we desire too much, but too little. Applied here — our problem is not that we speak judgmental things; it is that we believe them, because we do not see our fellow image-bearer as Christ sees him.

White-knuckling won't hold. Any righteousness built on strong-arming ourselves to speak may last a while, then runs out of fuel.not

The symptom is the judgmental word; the disease is the settled inner verdict (cf. Matt 12:34 — "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks").

the judgmental must stop — and they stop only when we see people as Christ saw them in His earthly ministry.The only true solution:thoughts

V. The Anticipated Objection

"But Christ is King of kings and casts final judgment — how can you say judgment is wrong?"

Answer (concede, then distinguish): Correct. But that is Christ in His divinity — He discerns the heart perfectly, and so has the authority to pronounce final condemnation.

We can discern . We cannot discern the .fruitheart

Because we lack the divine ability to read the heart, we never hold the divine authority to speak final condemnation over a soul.

So we turn to Christ's , where the same Judge shows us what our judgment of one another must look like.earthly ministry

VI. Three Attributes of Christ's Judgment

Order: Merciful → Restorative → True. The first two we can replicate; the third is His alone — and becomes the high-Christological landing.

A. Christ's judgment is MERCIFUL (replicable)

He sees the sin with full accuracy and moves toward the sinner in love.

Simon ("what sort of woman this is"); Jesus both hearts and forgives her. Condemnation and discernment side by side in one scene.

Luke 7:36–50 “One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.””

— Simon and the sinful woman.

Sees past the tax-collector label: "the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Luke 19:1–10 “He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”” — Zacchaeus.

Precise diagnosis ("you lack one thing") held together with "Jesus, looking at him, loved him." Accurate sight and love in a single glance.

Mark 10:17–22 “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” — the rich young ruler.

B. Christ's judgment is RESTORATIVE (replicable)

It aims at repentance and return, not at disposal. (Fits the affirmative arc of ch. 6–7: treasure, anxiety, and now — restore.)

John 21:15–19 “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”” — Peter restored.

The most searing sight of sin culminating in a longing to gather, not to write off.

Matthew 23:37 ““O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

— "How often would I have gathered your children… as a hen gathers her brood."

John 4:1–26 “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.””

— the Samaritan woman.

C. Christ's judgment is TRUE (His alone — the divine seat)

Because He reads the heart perfectly, His verdict is always true — and only He may render the final one.

Needed no one to testify about a person. Your thesis in narrative form.

John 2:24–25 “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” — "He knew what was in man."

"Why do you think evil in your hearts?"

Matthew 9:4 “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (cf. Mark 2:8) — perceived the scribes' reasoning.

The clinching text: Christ a kind of judging. The problem was never assessment, but shallow assessment.

John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”” — "Judge with right judgment."commands

The precision to hold here: "True" has a ceiling and a floor. The ceiling — perfect heart-judgment and final condemnation — is Christ's alone. The floor — right discernment of fruit — is still commanded of us (John 7:24; Matt 7:6,

Matthew 7:15–20 ““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” ). We are not called to see less, but to see more truly.

VII. Back Into the Text's Own Logic

"Judge not, lest you be judged" ↔ the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:14–15).Same logic you drew from the Prayer: if we will not forgive, it is because we have not reckoned with the forgiveness purchased for us at the price of Christ's blood. So here — if we are willing to speak final condemnation over a soul, it is because we have not recognized the merciful judgment shown to us in Christ. We forgive not because the other is worthy, but because we have been forgiven.

The log and the speck (v. 3–5) — the meat of the sermon.Deal first with the internal sin. This is mortification — dying to self, more of Christ and less of us. Only the cleared eye sees the brother rightly, and then sees him graciously.

Keystone — Galatians 6:1.

"If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."

Paul holds your whole arc in one verse: restoration ("restore… in gentleness") welded to self-examination ("keep watch on yourself") — the log and the speck, restated.

VIII. The Outer Boundary (v. 6)

Dogs and pigs — the one who will not receive. Paired with

Matthew 10:14 “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”

(shake the dust from your feet). This is not license to withhold the gospel from those we assume will reject it — that is a false exit for a lazy heart. It is discernment about when to stop pressing truth into someone set on rejecting it wholesale.

Proverbs 26:4–5 “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

— the deliberate pair.

"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. / Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes."

The apparent contradiction is the point: discernment decides which verse applies. This is 7:6 in wisdom-literature form — and the reason discernment is commanded even as final condemnation is forbidden.

IX. Landing — High Christology

Christ’s judgement is merciful, Christ’s judgement is restorative, Christ’s judgement is True.

Return to the seat of the Judge. Christ's judgment is true — always. For those covered by His blood, that true judgment arrives as mercy: "Well done, good and faithful servant" — not by merit, but because His blood covers. For those bent away from God, that same true judgment is justice.

Both are true. One is justice done; the other is justice satisfied in Christ and mercy received. The call to the room: stop white-knuckling your words. Receive the mercy shown you — and it will change how you see the brother beside you.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here’s my heart; O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.