Sunday, November 10th, 2019 - AM - Becoming Disciples with Discernment, Part 1 (Mt. 7:1-6)

Introduction:

Matthew 7:1–6 KJV 1900

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

“They have a right to censure that have a heart to help.” ~William Penn [Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 130.]

Illustration - F-14 Tomcat Canopy Malfunction, Squadron called in an expert; if the wrong thing was pushed, it would have damaged the fighter-jet beyond commission (Source - Veteran Tomcat Mechanic at Wings Over the Rockies).

There was a time when scarcely a person in the [Western] world would not have been able to cite John 3:16. Doubtless it was the best known verse in the entire Bible. It may still hold pride of place today—I am uncertain. But if it does, the percentage of people who know it is considerably smaller, and continues to decline as biblical illiteracy rises in the West. Meanwhile there is another verse that is (perhaps more) frequently quoted, almost as a defiant gesture, by some people who do not know their Bibles very well, but who think it authorizes their biases. It is Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” In an age when philosophical pluralism is on the ascendancy, these [seven] words might almost be taken as the public confession. [D. A. Carson, For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word., vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 25.]

Did you know that Matthew 7:1 is quickly replacing John 3:16 as the most memorized and quoted verse in the Bible? It is true! For instance, I am going to make a few statements. Let’s see if you agree with me.

1. Homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuals need to repent of this sin in order to be right with God.

2. All pre-marital sex is wrong. Two people living together out of wedlock are living in adultery.

[3. Transgenderism is transgression against the God Who fearfully and wonderfully creates every individual human being in the beauty and destroys the sanctity of life.]

[4.] Abortion is murder. It is the killing of a human being and those doctors who perform abortions [must deal seriously with the question of whether they are conscientiously guilty of taking innocent human life and violating their hippocratic oath.

5. Drug Abuse is wicked. It is involvement with mind-altering substances that helps lead lost souls to hell.]

Now when those statements are made the world immediately trots out their favorite verse in the Bible: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Then they will say something like this, “Well, who died and made you judge?”

That brings up this question: is it ever right to pass judgment on the actions of others? Be careful how you answer that question! You might think that Jesus would have said “No! It is never right to judge another.” Instead, Jesus said, [“Judge not…[until you can] see clearly.”] [Alan Carr, “Who Died and Made You My Judge? (Matthew 7:1–5),” in The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr, 2015), 117.]

Main Thought: Jesus taught His disciples how to have the proper discernment by keeping a proper perspective of:

Their individual accountability to God in light of their loving concern for each other (Matt. 7:1-5)

Their personal responsibility to give carefully His message to the lost (Matt. 7:6)

Sub-intro: Provide an overview of how these verses correspond to the rest of Matthew 5-7.

So what does this judgmental attitude connote? It means looking down on a person with a superior attitude, criticizing or condemning them without a loving concern (the opposite of the second we-petition on forgiveness, 6:12). The key component is the absence of love. Admonition has a humility that says, “I love you enough to want to help you, and tomorrow you will need to correct me.” There is no sense of superiority, no desire to make yourself look good at the expense of another. Bruner says this prohibition is the flip side of the fifth beatitude (5:5, “God blesses those who are merciful”) as well as of the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer (6:12, “forgive us our sins”) and recapitulates the commands in ch. 5 against anger, revenge, and hate. [Bruner, Christbook, 272. G. S. Hendry, “Judge Not: A Critical Test of Faith,” ThTo 40 (1983): 113–29, says the issue is whether we have the faith to trust God’s judgment or have to take that judgment on ourselves. Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, vol. 1, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 258.]

Body:

I. Exposing Hypocrisy: Discerning of Logs & Specks (Matt. 7:1-5)

A. The Prohibition - Judge Not… Until You Can (Matt. 7:1-2, 5)

1. The Purpose for the Prohibition (Matt. 7:1)

Matthew 7:1 KJV 1900

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Note - Pres. COULD forbid what they are already doing (if not the Disciples, then certainly the Pharisees)

Note - Purpose clause

2. Respect the Recompense of Reward (Matt. 7:2)

Matthew 7:2 KJV 1900

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Note - Explanatory “for”

Note - Divine Passives (x3)

Note - Impersonal Verb: avoidance of God’s name (speaks of reverence)

I read about an owner of a manufacturing plant who decided to make a surprise tour of the shop. Walking through the warehouse he noticed a young man just lazily leaning up against some packing crates with his hands in his pocket doing nothing. The boss walked up to him and angrily said, “Just how much are you paid a week?” Well, the young man’s eyes got rather big, and he said, “Three hundred bucks.”

The boss pulled out his wallet, pealed off three one hundred bills, gave it to him, and said, “Here’s a week’s pay. Now get out of here and don’t ever come back!”

Well, without a word the young man stuffed the money into his pocket and took off. The warehouse manager was standing nearby staring in amazement. The boss walked over to him and said, “Tell me, how long has that guy been working for us?”

The manager said, “He didn’t work here, he was just delivering a package.” [Alan Carr, “Who Died and Made You My Judge? (Matthew 7:1–5),” in The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr, 2015), 119.]

God alone can make ultimate judgments about people, and he does so through his agent Jesus, the Son of Man (cf. Matt. 7:21–23; 13:36–43, 47–50; 16:27–28; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31; 26:64). [David L. Turner, Matthew, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 204–205.]

B. The Prescription - Secure Self Before Assisting Other Brethren (Matt. 7:3-5)

1. The Dilemma - A Disqualified Ophthalmologist (Matt. 7:3-4)

a. A Shocking Absurdity (Matt. 7:3)

Matthew 7:3 KJV 1900

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Note - Repetition: Hebraistic Tautology RATHER THAN mere Digression

Note - “but” adversative (x2)

At the turn of the century, the world’s most distinguished astronomer, Sir Percival Lowell, was certain there were canals on Mars. When he heard, in 1877, that an Italian astronomer had seen straight lines crisscrossing the Martian surface, Lowell spent the rest of his years squinting into the eyepiece of his giant telescope in Arizona, mapping the channels and canals he saw. He was convinced the canals were proof of intelligent life on the Red Planet—possibly an older but wiser race than humanity. His observations gained wide acceptance and none dared contradict him. Since that time space probes have orbited Mars and landed on its surface. The entire planet has been mapped and no one has seen a canal. Today we know that Lowell suffered from a rare eye disease that made him see the blood vessels in his own eyes. The Martian “canals” he saw were nothing more than the bulging veins of his eyeballs, a malady known as “Lowell’ s syndrome.” When Jesus warns that “in the same way you judge others, you will be judged” (Matt. 7:1–3) and talks about seeing “the speck of sawdust” in another’s eye while missing the plank in our own, could he not be referring to the spiritual equivalent of Lowell’s syndrome? Over and over, we “see” faults in others because we don’t want to believe anything better about them. And so often we think we have a firsthand view of their shortcomings, when in fact our vision is distorted by our own disease. [“Specks and Planks,” condensed from Leadership vol. 5, no. 4 (Carol Stream, Ill.: Christianity Today, Fall 1984), p. 47. Stephen F. Olford, Institutes of Biblical Preaching, Volume Seven (Memphis, TN: Olford Ministries International, 1988).]

Wife Going Deaf? A man thinks his wife is losing her hearing. A doctor suggests that he try a simple at-home test: Stand behind her, ask her a question from different distances, and see when she can hear it. The man goes home, sees his wife in the kitchen facing the stove, and asks from the door, “What’s for dinner tonight?” No answer. Ten feet behind her, he repeats, “What’s for dinner tonight?” Still no answer. Finally, right behind her he says, “What’s for dinner tonight?” His wife turns around and says, “For the third time—chicken.” Jesus taught us to look at our own shortcomings before we blame others. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell [Marvin Olasky, “Did you hear the one …?” http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16594. Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Wife Going Deaf?,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015).]

b. A Surgical Stupidity (Matt. 7:4)

Matthew 7:4 KJV 1900

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Note - Hort. Subj.: “Let me pull out...” (exhortation)

Note - “Behold...is”: spontaneous ellipsis

This virtually repeats v. 2 for emphasis (with “look” [ἰδού] added for dramatic effect). There you notice the small flaw, and here you self-righteously confront the person and offer to remove it from them. The hubris involved is incredible. As Bruner says, “The tragicomic feature in this story is a log-eyed reformer saving a speck-eyed sinner, a Redwood teaching a shrub to be low-profile.” [Bruner, Christbook, 274. Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, vol. 1, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 258–259.]

Note - Biblical Theology teaches that while all sins are serious and that any sin deserves God’s punishment, this does not mean that all sins are equal.

“You do not handle a Pilate and a Herod in exactly the same way; you answer the questions of a Pilate, but you say nothing to a Herod. We must see people as they are and be sensitive to them.” [D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), Mt 6–7.]

2. The Directive - Get Qualified Before Operating (Matt. 7:5)

Matthew 7:5 KJV 1900

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

“The purpose of self-judgment is to prepare us to serve others.” [Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 29.]

The late Dr. James McGinley put it in his rather unique fashion, “I am no judge, but I am a fruit inspector.” [J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13), electronic ed., vol. 34 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 100.]

Note - “hypocrite”: Vocative of Emotional Address

Note - “to cast”: purpose (lit. “to see clearly in order to cast out”)

As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it: “The procedure of getting a mote [or splinter] out of an eye is a very difficult operation. There is no organ that is more sensitive than the eye. The moment the finger touches it, it closes up; it is so delicate. What you require above everything else in dealing with iris sympathy, patience, calmness, coolness. That is what is required because of the delicacy of the operation” (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 2, Eerdmans, 1960, p. 181). [Stephen F. Olford, Institutes of Biblical Preaching, Volume Seven (Memphis, TN: Olford Ministries International, 1988).]

Verse 5 shows that only after the beam is removed can he see well enough to perform his surgery. Until then, his hindered vision ensures that he will make a mess of the procedure, permanently damaging the delicate eye of his patient and robbing him of his precious sight. Even worse, every movement of his own head will only whack his poor patient’s skull with the mighty beam. Such a physician is destined to be like the ones described in Mark 5:26—his treatments will only make his patient worse. [Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church, NAC Studies in Bible & Theology (Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011), 287.]

II. Ending Naïveté: Discerning of Dogs & Pigs (Matt. 7:6)

Matthew 7:6 KJV 1900

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Note - Clause Order Chiasmus:

A - Give not… (= dogs)

B - Neither cast…before… (= swine)

B - Lest they trample… (= swine)

A - And turn again… (= dogs)

A. Dogs Are Undeserving of Sacred Offerings (Matt. 7:6a, d)

Note - Iterative Negative Imperative: “never give” - flavor of apprehension

Note - “dogs”: Diminutive Euphemism for profane men (see Blass, Greek Grammar)

kuon are distinct from household pets (see Mt. 15:26, kunarion)

Note - Circumstantial Ptc.: Metaphorical (physical for mental)

Note - On Dogs, See also Exodus 22:31; 1 Kings 21:23; Psalms 22:16; 22:20; 59:14; 68:23; Jeremiah 15:3; ... Mark 7:27–28; Luke 16:21; Philippians 3:2; and Revelation 22:15. [New Manners & Customs]

B. Pigs Don’t Eat Pearls (Matt. 7:6b, c)

Pigs, swine, or the wild boar, which is common among the marshes of the Jordan valley (Psalms 80:13), were regarded as the most unclean and the most abhorred of all animals (Leviticus 11:7; Isaiah 65:4; 66:3, 17; Luke 15:15, 16). [James M. Freeman and Harold J. Chadwick, Manners & Customs of the Bible (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998), 418.]

His command is that we should not give dogs what is holy and not throw our pearls before swine. The picture is plain. A Jew would never hand ‘holy’ food (perhaps food previously offered in sacrifice) to unclean dogs. Nor would he ever dream of throwing pearls to pigs. Not only were they also unclean, but they would probably mistake the pearls for nuts or peas, try to eat them and then—finding them inedible—trample on them and even assault the giver. [John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 181.]

“Pearls” clearly refer to something that is precious, but what does it refer to? In Job 28:18 pearls represent the enormous value of wisdom. In Matt 13:45 a priceless pearl represents the enormous value of the kingdom of God that, like a great treasure, is worthy of any sacrifice necessary to obtain it. In light of that verse, one suspects that the pearls represent the message about the kingdom that was first preached by John (3:2) and Jesus (4:17) and would soon be preached by Jesus’ disciples (10:7) Ancient Jewish literature used pearls as a symbol for excellent teaching.608 Thus it appears that the common Jewish usage (pearls as teaching) and the meaning in Matthew (pearls as kingdom) have coalesced and refer here to teaching about the kingdom. [Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church, NAC Studies in Bible & Theology (Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011), 292.]

Note - “trample”: w/ mepote= Deliberative Future; Rhetoric

Jesus’ teaching demonstrates that the disciples were not to presume that any person would reject the gospel. They were to offer it to anyone. However, when the gospel was rejected, the disciples were to refocus their evangelistic efforts on others. Allison seems to capture the spirit of the command: “The saying is an admonition about the necessity to limit the time and energy directed towards the hard-hearted. . . . They were not to throw away wittingly the words of the gospel. . . . There has to be an economy of truth.”619 The apostle Paul provided an excellent model of obedience to this principle in his missionary work. He patiently explained the gospel to a group over periods of weeks, even if they did not accept the message, so long as they remained open to it. However, when the audience adamantly rejected the gospel, he turned his attention to others (Acts 13:42–14:20; 17:1–15,32–34; 19:23–20:1). Believers in the modern church would do well to follow Paul’s example and Jesus’ instructions. [Charles Quarles, Sermon on the Mount: Restoring Christ’s Message to the Modern Church, NAC Studies in Bible & Theology (Published by B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011), 295.]

“Saints are not to be simpletons; they are not to be judges, but, also, they are not to be fools.” [C. H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Book of Matthew (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1893), 42.]

Jesus’s disciples should be neither inquisitors (Matt. 7:1–5) nor simpletons (7:6). Neither censoriousness nor naïveté helps the church (cf. Kollmann 1997). Yet unless one has removed the log from one’s own eye, one will not be able to discern the difference between a fellow disciple with a relatively minor problem and an enemy who will do great harm to the [cause of Christ]. If genuine introspection does not occur, a disciple may blunder on the side of judgmental hypocrisy or naive gullibility. Ignorance of oneself is often mixed with arrogance toward others (W. Davies and Allison 1988: 673), with disastrous results. [David L. Turner, Matthew, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 207.]

Conclusion:

We are the custodians and the expositors of the Bible; and if we gain nothing else as the result of our study, we must all feel that we have been lazy, that we have not prepared ourselves as we should have done for such a responsible, such a great task. It is not quite as easy as we sometimes seem to think, and if we take the Word of God seriously, we shall see the vital need of study and preparation and prayer. We must, then, consider this question; but above all, let us remember those other aspects of the truth which we have seen so clearly, and never forget the absolute need of regeneration for the reception and understanding of spiritual truth. The mere distribution of Scripture as such is not the key to the solution of the problem today. God still needs men and women like ourselves to expound, to explain the truth, to act as a Philip to those who have the Word but cannot understand it. Let us maintain a true balance and a due sense of proportion in these things, for the good of souls and in order that we may give a balanced, full-orbed representation of the truth of God. [D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), Mt 6–7.]

Here’s a prayer you can use to set you on your way: Judge of all the earth, only you know what is in people’s hearts, and only you are righteous and holy. Therefore only you have the right to judge. Forgive us for being so quick to play God and stand in judgment of others; we should really be looking at our own faults and sins. You have invited us to come to you with our requests, so we pray that you will keep us aware of our need for your mercy. Keep us also grateful for your good gifts, both spiritual and material, so that we will not fall back into self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. [John Stott, Dale Larsen, and Sandy Larsen, A Deeper Look at the Sermon on the Mount: Twelve Sessions for Groups and Individuals: Living out the Way of Jesus, LifeGuide in Depth Bible Studies (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Connect: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2013), 135.]