This is one of Jesus' best-known sayings, quoted by many people, from Abraham Lincoln to Bob Marley. In our daily lives, it seems that we meet people who know this verse, or at least who know that Jesus said something about the judgment of others, and that He was against it. As this saying is so often used (and misused!), it deserves to be studied.
What does Jesus mean when He says, "Do not judge, that you may not be judged"? Many people think this means that, according to Jesus, we should not make moral judgments about good and evil. So, if I see one person doing something and I think, "Hey, that is wrong!", some others might respond, "Well, Jesus says you should not judge, so you cannot say that." Is this really what Jesus means, that we must not make moral judgments?
The word translated as "to judge" in this verse is the Greek word krino, which can have several meanings. So it will be important to consider the context—in this case, the part of Scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5 to 7—to understand how Jesus uses that word.
As you read chapters 5 to 7 of the Gospel of Matthew, you will notice that Jesus makes all kinds of moral judgments, saying things such as: "You must not hate", "Do not indulge in sexual desire", "Do not be like hypocrites", "Do not amass treasures on earth". It would be a misunderstanding to think that Matthew 7:1 means that making moral judgments is wrong. Ironically, our key verse here, Matthew 7:1, is itself a moral judgment (Jesus says it is wrong to judge others).
It is clear that Jesus is not saying that it is a sin to make moral judgments. What Jesus is saying is that we must not have a critical mind, an attitude that consists of looking down on others, seeing the worst in people, being negative. This word is used in the same way in Romans 14:10. Jesus criticizes our negative and contemptuous attitude towards others.
But what about the second part of Matthew 7:1: "... so that you are not judged"? And what about the next verse too (see Matthew 7:2)? It sounds like Jesus is saying that God will send you to hell if you judge someone. That's not true! God does not choose individual sins by which we are condemned to hell if we commit them or invited to heaven if we do not commit them. This is not how God works. God offers a forgiveness that is infinite and eternal and can never be withdrawn. For example, look at 1 John 2. The author says in 1 John 2:1, "My children, I am writing these things to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone has sinned, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." The implication is that we will all sin ("... if anyone has sinned..."), but there is good news! God has provided a great defense attorney for you. Jesus Christ speaks to the Father on your behalf.
Maybe you are thinking, "Why can I not stand before the Father and defend myself? What credibility does Jesus have to speak for me?" Look at the following verse, 1 John 2:2, "He himself is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, not only for our own, but also for those of the whole world." This is what qualifies Jesus to be our defense lawyer. He died to pay the penalty for our sins. We have all sinned, we have all done stupid things, and before a perfect God we deserve to be judged. But the Bible says that all the punishment for everything we did was placed on Christ on the cross, so that when He died, He took that punishment for us. You can bet He has the credibility to talk about our defense! If we try to defend ourselves, we are totally guilty before God.
This is truly the good news, the gospel, the message of the Bible, that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins. Maybe you have never been reconciled to God, never allowed Jesus to pay for your sins. Have you ever come before God saying, "I want what Jesus Christ did on the cross to apply to my life"? This is the offer God is making to you right now! You can have all your sins paid for – past, present and future. Look again at 1 John 2:2b: "... not only for our sins, but also for those of the whole world." All. All was taken care of by what Christ did on the cross.
So, it is out of the question that if you have a critical mind, God will send you to hell. God paid for these sins.
So why does Jesus use this language: "Do not judge or you will be judged"? Jesus used a number of strong statements in these three chapters, Matthew 5–7, to restore to His audience the purpose of the law. God gave Israel His moral law, the Ten Commandments—this is what you should and should not do. The Bible makes it clear that the purpose of the law is to show us that we are sinners, that we are far from attaining God's perfect character. It humbles us and leads us to realize that we need Christ and His forgiveness.
However, the religious leaders of Jesus' day did not want to humble themselves before God. They wanted to be good enough. But the standard of the law was too high to be achieved. So what should you do if you cannot reach that standard and still want to be good enough? You need to dilute it or lower the standard. Thus, these religious leaders interpreted the law in a way that they (and only they!) could follow it.
It is in this context that Jesus delivered this great exposition on the true meaning of the law. For example, in Matthew 5, Jesus uses this kind of formula: "You have heard...", and then he quotes one of the laws "... thou shalt not kill." You might think, "Well, okay! I do not kill, so I am good!" But then Jesus said, "But I say to you: don't look at someone with hatred in their eyes. Don't even speak ill of anyone." Suddenly, the standard is incredibly high, and I know I am guilty. Jesus said, "You have heard it said, 'Do not commit adultery.'" Cool, I am good. "But I tell you that if you look at someone with lust in your eyes, you have committed adultery with that person in your heart." Oh, ok. Well, I am guilty there too.
Jesus ends His teaching on the purpose of the law with this great conclusion (see Matthew 5:48): "You must therefore be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Do you want to follow God through the law? Do you think you can get a righteous position before God by following the law? Go ahead! All you have to do is be perfect. Do you think that will work for you?
Another possible interpretation is that Jesus describes a reciprocal relationship – the way I treat others is probably the way they will treat me. If I treat others with a kind and generous, forgiving and humble spirit, guess how people will probably treat me? Kind, humble and gentle. Whereas, if I judge others, what are they likely to do to me? Do not judge or you will be judged – not by God, but by the other people in your life.
If that is the case, and I think it is, this verse does not deal with how not to commit sins that will send us to hell. It is much more about practical advice on how to have healthy friendships in your life, overcome critical thinking, and succeed in your relationships.
Look at Matthew 7:3-5. Jesus uses this ridiculous illustration of speck and beam to expose our hypocrisy. When you start by looking at other people's problems, and you also have so many problems, you have to turn around. Why not look at yourself first, then you may be able to start seeing what is wrong with others. That is what He says. When you walk around with a spirit of judgment, when you criticize others – and this is your starting point – you are in a bad position, because you yourself have a lot of problems. This is basic relational wisdom. In fact, if we followed this wisdom better, our relationships would be in much better shape. Let's take a closer look at the three steps Jesus gives us to overcome this critical sense of judgment and be able to have healthy relationships.
Often, we see each other's problems much faster than our own. We must be able to recognize the plank in our own eye, the sin in our own lives. Do not focus on Jesus saying you have one plank in your eye, while the other has only a tiny speck. It does not matter who has the biggest fault. The problem is that regardless of the size of the grain, if you have a foreign body in your eye, it will prevent you from seeing clearly. If you have trouble seeing your own sin, you can ask God to show you your sin. This is a dangerous prayer!
After acknowledging your sin, go to the person you are in conflict with, confess your wrong, and ask for forgiveness. This is what beam removal is all about. For some relationships, this may seem like the most difficult step we have taken in our lives. Perhaps we have lived with an unresolved conflict for many years, and we feel that the wall that separates us is too high.
In order to overcome this difficult step of admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness, we will need to know with certainty that our personal needs are being met by God. We all need meaning, safety, security, peace, and so on. If we expect another human being to meet these needs, we will never make the effort to admit our wrongness. Will I risk being rejected and having my personal needs crushed, admitting that I have harmed them? Or will I hang on, and hope that this problem passes, that everything calms down, and that everything will be fine again?
There is very good news for you. God is quite capable of meeting these personal needs. In fact, He designed you to have those personal needs so that He could be the one to meet those needs. God created you to need to be meaningful because He wants you to be meaningful. He wants to congratulate you and say "Bravo!". You have a need for safety and security because God has given you that need so that He can satisfy it, and you can be safe in Him. The moment you receive Christ, when you say "yes" to this offer of forgiveness through Jesus, an amazing thing happens: God adopts you into His family. You are now a child of God. Are you important? You could not be more important. You are an heir. You have a legacy ahead of you. You are a child of the king! You do not need someone else's approval to be important. Are you safe? Are you safe? God says, "You are my child! I will not abandon you and I will not forget you!" You are as safe and at peace as you can be because you are God's child.
So now that my personal needs are being met by the creator of the universe in a real way, I can go and risk this relationship by admitting my faults. But if my personal needs are not met by God, I will not take that step. Take Him at His word, trust Him to take care of your deepest needs.
Now that you have noticed the plank in your eye and removed it, you can finally see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. In fact, most of the time we should just ignore our brother's speck. (see Proverbs 12:16; 19:11). Ask yourself: Is this a big deal or a small one? Most of the time, the offense is not serious. Focus on the person's strengths rather than their weaknesses. The weakness you judge must have a corresponding strength – seek to find it.
If the offense is serious, why remove the speck in a brother's eye, instead of neglecting it? The Bible says that as brothers and sisters in a community, we have a responsibility to point out the faults of others. It is not easy, but God has called us to do so (see Romans 15:14). You cannot spend your whole life being kind and friendly and thinking that it will always fix the situation; sometimes it will be necessary to take a step into love and correct another person.
Here are some tips for removing specks: Gently point out the brother's fault, try to make accurate observations, and then call on him to pray about it. This is a pretty safe way to start the process. The other person may not want to hear it at that time, but if they think about it and pray about it, it is the Holy Spirit, not you, who will convince them of their sin.
Sometimes a single conversation will not be enough. If the first one did not work well, go back and try again. Eventually, you may even need a mediator to help you resolve the conflict. A neutral third party, a wise person who can share their ideas, can be very helpful. Do not let your pride stop you from trying.
What a beautiful formula Jesus gives in these verses! If we follow Jesus' words, we will be much stronger in our relationships.
But what if you have tried steps in verses 1 through 5 and nothing changes? Perhaps this is why Jesus continues with verse 6. What does this mean in the context of what we read? I think Jesus means that some people are relational pigs. They are takers, manipulators, they do not respect the rules of the game. I bet most of us have someone in our lives — a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend, a co-worker — who is simply a relationship user. The most loving thing for them and the most protective thing for me is to finally set boundaries. The beam and speck just do not work. I can no longer throw the pearls of this good relational advice in front of this pig. We must have a category for that. Examples: "If you still use this kind of abusive language, I will leave the room." "As long as you do not stop manipulating in this situation, we will not talk about it. You have to go get help." "You can live here for another x weeks/months, and then you will have to find another place to live."
What is difficult is that it is in our most important and fragile relationships that we may need to set these kinds of boundaries. We do not want to take these step; but if we keep letting them use us, it is worse for them, and it is worse for us.
Having healthy friendships and relationships is one of the hardest things we have to do in life. That is why Jesus ends with this little paragraph. God knows that it is difficult to restore relationships, and that is why He wants us to go to Him and seek from Him (see Matthew 7:7-12).
This whole context is about the reciprocal relationship. If you ask God, God loves to give good gifts to His children. Ask, seek, knock — God wants you to have healthy relationships, and He knows how to give these good gifts.
