“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Matthew 7:1-6
Scripture instructs us to judge. “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” (1 Corinthians 5:12). “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?” (1 Corinthians 6:1-6). “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9). “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works” (2 John 10-11). So, what is the meaning of Jesus’ command to “judge not” in this passage?
While it is necessary to be discerning and critical, it is a sin to be hypercritical. Sadly, being critical to the point of bearing false witness and being unkind is our nature. That is why Jesus had to address it in this passage. Those who judge harshly should expect to be judged harshly as well – by men and by God (Matthew 6:14-15).
It must be seen that Jesus is not speaking against any judgment or discipline of our brother, because He speaks of removing the speck from his eye. However, Jesus does speak of removing that speck only after we can see it. This picture is humorous, as we see a man with a huge log in his eye trying to perform the delicate operation of removing a small speck of sawdust from his brother’s eye. The moral?: Physician, heal thyself. Examine yourself before criticizing others too severely.
It appears that Jesus suddenly changes subjects when he begins speaking of pearls and swing; but, it actually fits into His message regarding hypercritical judgment. While we are to avoid such over-criticism, we are not to avoid discernment, especially when it comes to the things of God. Also, He speaks about those who are overly critical of the gospel. Those who are vehemently opposed to the things of God will not appreciate them. No matter how the gospel is presented to them, they will treat it with distain and contempt. As hard as Jesus’ teaching may be, there comes a time when we are to turn away from those who are overly critical of the gospel and move on to those who are not.
