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Vol. XIX No. 3
17 October 2021

JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

Rev Nguyen Gia Hien

Matthew 7:1–5, “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.”

One of the faculties that human beings have and animals even monkeys do not have is judgment. For example, just take a look at the procedure of a court case which is generally like this, “At the beginning of the trial, the person who is accused pleads guilty or not guilty to the charges against them. The lawyers for the prosecution try to prove that the defendant is guilty, and the lawyers for the defence try to prove that their client is innocent. The judge and the jury examine the evidence and listen to the testimony of the witnesses. At the end of the trial, the judge then sums up the case, and the jury then gives their verdict. If the person is found guilty, the judge sentences them to a period of time in prison, or orders them to pay a fine. If the person is found not guilty, they are released” (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). Monkeys can never have such a capacity of administration and judgment! We use our judgment in our daily life, and we judge someone or something every day. When we meet a man, consider what he says and how he behaves, and then we may think that he is good or bad, friendly or reserved. However, we cannot read his heart nor know what had happened to him or what troubles he is suffering from, and so we may fail to judge righteously.

It is a sin to judge unjustly. The Lord Jesus says, “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? ... 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” (Matthew 7:1–5). What does Jesus mean when He says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”?

Meaning of “To Judge”

According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, “to judge”, krínō in Greek, means “(1) To judge in one’s own mind as to what is right, proper, expedient; to deem, decide, determine, followed by the infinitive (Acts 3:13; 15:19); (2) To judge, to form and express a judgment or opinion as to any person or thing, more commonly unfavorable (John 8:15; Rom. 2:1, 3); in an absolute sense (Matt. 7:1, 2; Luke 6:37); (3) To judge in a judicial sense: (a) To sit in judgment on any person, to try (John 18:31), of Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5); (b) To pass judgment upon, condemn someone (Luke 19:22; John 7:51); and (c) To vindicate, avenge (Heb. 10:30); and (4) To have a lawsuit, go to law with someone (Matt. 5:40; 1 Cor. 6:6).” We can take some examples from the Bible.

When a Pharisee named Simon invited the Lord to his dinner, a sinful woman was coming to Jesus, weeping, washing His feet with her tears, wiping them with her hairs, kissing them, and anointing them with the perfume. The Pharisee thought that if the Lord were a prophet, He could have known who the woman was. Simon’s judgment was wrong! The Lord told him a story to teach him a lesson, saying, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” (Luke 7:41–42). Simon said, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.” And the Lord said unto him, “Thou hast rightly judged (krínō) .” This time Simon’s judgment was right! Then the Lord turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, “Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (vv43–47). Simon judged that the woman was so sinful that she would not deserve the Lord’s attention. However, the Lord saw that she loved Him more than Simon did, for her many sins were forgiven. What about us?

When the Jewish leaders delivered the Lord Jesus to Pilate to condemn Him to death according to their false accusations and evil judgment, Pilate was determined (krínō) to release the Lord because he could not find any cause of death in Him (Acts 3:13; cf. Luke 23:20–22). Here, Pilate was determined to release the Lord after he had used his judgment to try the Lord and found no fault in Him. However, he failed to do his duty to carry out the righteous judgement when he let the wrong and evil judgment of the Jewish leaders prevail over him.

When Lydia heard the Gospel from Paul and Silas, she and her household were baptized, and persuaded Paul and Silas to come and stay at her house, saying, “If ye have judged (krínō) me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there” (Acts 16:15). Lydia wanted to say that if Paul and Silas carefully thought, considered, and decided that she was faithful to the Lord, they should come and stay at her house. We use our judgment daily to consider and decide what we should do.

Paul earnestly exhorted Timothy to preach God’s Word before God and the Lord Jesus, who will judge (krínō) the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). Paul meant that God even the Lord Jesus will judge the living and the dead; so Timothy ought to preach God’s Word of salvation to others so that they might believe and be saved, and Timothy ought to preach God’s Word faithfully in season and out of season because he also would be judged at the Judgment seat of Christ. What about us?

Meaning of “Do Not Judge”

The Lord Jesus says, “Judge (krínō) 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.” According to Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, this is Jesus’ warning against human judging (in the sense of condemning) (Matthew 7:1, 2; cf. Luke 6:37); God, to whom alone judgment is given, will judge the one who judges by the same standard.

The Lord Jesus’ teaching was also recorded by Luke, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). The verb “condemn” in Greek katadikázō means “to judge, pronounce sentence, pass sentence, condemn (Matt 12:7, 37)” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). When we pay attention to the passive voice, “ye shall not be judged… and ye shall not be condemned… and ye shall be forgiven” we can see the subject is God, as only God is righteous and has the full right to judge, condemn, and forgive, “who can forgive sins but God only” (Mark 2:7).

Moreover, the Lord is the Lawgiver and the righteous Judge, whereas no human being is righteous, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). Thus, “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth (krínō) his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth (krínō) the law: but if thou judge (krínō) the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest (krínō) another?” (James 4:11–12). Who are we to judge others? When the Jews judged and condemned the woman who committed adultery to be stoned to death, the Lord Jesus said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). “Being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last” (v9). Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus never condones sins, and says to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (v11). We should do the same to help people come to the Lord Jesus in repentance instead of judging or condemning them.

“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.”(Matt 7:5)

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