Don't Judge Me!

Don’t Judge Me! — Jay Zinn

This title is a phrase I’ve heard often over the years from those who have misunderstood the words of Jesus, “Do not judge ...” (Matthew 7:1). Typically, this comes from someone who has felt the sting of reproof or rebuke from someone else, so they defend their sin (or vice) to free themselves of guilt. But though we are not to set ourselves up as court “judges” of others, sentencing them to punishment and condemnation (the Greek meaning of the word “judge”), we are commanded to discern sin and expose it when necessary spiritually. Motive is the key behind unrighteous and righteous judgment—one comes from a position of superiority, the other from a position of love to deliver someone from the snare of their sin and deception.

Because we’re fallible and limited in our ability to judge a person’s heart, we tend to judge by the appearances and actions of others. Jesus teaches his disciples not to judge according to appearance but with righteous judgment (John 7:24). Righteous judgment requires investigation into the facts, without bias, before concluding, which is why we have courts and a judge who, after hearing both sides, examining all the evidence and arguments made against the defendant, then makes a “judgment” of who’s in the wrong and who’s in the right. Judges and juries are limited in their ability to discern truth from fiction and right from wrong unless both sides can present their cases.

God's omniscient ability to judge hearts separates the weakness of human judgment from God's accurate, perfect judgment. Paul said he was incapable of judging himself due to his limited ability to judge the motives of his own heart:

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from God. [1]

God alone can judge internal motives (Romans 2:16) and make righteous judgments. Suppose we set ourselves up as a court judge to condemn others. In that case, our decisions are influenced by prejudice, bias, limited understanding of the circumstances behind other’s actions, our weaknesses, and the secret sins in the areas we judge others by (Romans 2:17-24). In my experience, the one who commits the same sin secretly tends to be the harshest critic and judge of others because their conscience condemns or excuses their own sin (Romans 2:14-15).

The woman caught in adultery was legally condemned to death by the law (Leviticus 20:10), and those who brought her to Jesus used her adultery to trap him. Jesus knew this was a civil case and that Roman law prohibited Jews from taking the “civil” law into their own hands when it came to inflicting the death penalty (this is why they had to take Jesus to Pilate to judge and sentence Jesus to death). Jesus knew this woman’s punishment was a matter to decide before an official court judge. He refused to be her “judge,” so he said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” With this statement, he invited the accusers to become her “judge” (without the required proceedings of Rome’s civil law). An act they knew would cause someone to answer to Rome for her “illegal” sentence to death without trial. What they tried to make him do, he put it right back into their laps. Also required in Moses’ law for witnesses accusing a person of a crime that called for the death penalty—if that person was found guilty, the witnesses were the first to cast stones (Deuteronomy 17:7).

As Jesus stooped down to write on the ground, each man in the mob, beginning with the most honored among them, dropped their stones and walked away. Jesus then stood up and asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir,” to which Jesus replied, “Then neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin” (see John 8:1-11).

Jesus knew several things in this story. First, he knew this was a “civil” case and to be examined by a court judge official. Second, he knew their motives were to trap him by exploiting this woman’s sin. Third, he knew in the scriptures that no one could be condemned and sentenced to death except by an official judge who thoroughly investigated the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15-21). What Jesus knew about the law, they knew, too. When Jesus wrote in the dirt with his finger, I’ve often wondered if he wrote out the names of the men in the crowd who, themselves, had committed adultery with this woman, perhaps to silence her testimony against her accusers. Or did Jesus also write on the ground the names of those who had lusted after this woman when they saw her on the streets? (See Matthew 5:27-28).

Though the woman's guilt was actual, the guilt of the mob was equally true on many fronts. Their hypocrisy was beyond glaring. The most prominent being that they made themselves “judges” who had sentenced this woman to death without a trial. Consider Paul’s writing in Romans 2:17-24:

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because the law instructs you, if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? ... as it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

On this note, the words of Jesus now become clearer in Matthew 7:1-5 on the matter of unrighteous judgment:

Do not judge, or you, too, will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

In the context of this verse, Jesus points out that condemning others for the same sins and trespasses we’re guilty of condemns us (“forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”).

The disciples saw this type of judgment enacted by a mob who brought a woman caught in adultery to him. Jesus wanted them to model his example of mercy and no judgment as ambassadors of his kingdom. On several occasions, Jesus adjusted their critical judgment based on appearances (see Luke 9:49-50 and 51-56). Even after Christ’s ascension, the disciples wrestled with their biases to judge matters righteously. It’s possible, however, to make righteous judgments. But only if we employ keen discernment and restraint to rush to judgment without judging our motives and ourselves first.

[1] 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV 1984)