Matthew 7:1-6

Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge lest you be judged.

² “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

³ “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  ⁵ “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.

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Introduction

This morning I want to look at this familiar passage in Matthew 7:1-6. And I want to do so, in order to clarify a wide spread misunderstanding; a misunderstanding that you will hear repeated in churches, bible studies, and across various popular medias. You will hear people say “do not judge me” usually right before (or immediately after) they do something stupid that they know is wrong.

So, are they right? Is this what Jesus is telling us when He says “do not judge”. Is Jesus really calling us to a moral indifference or is there something else going on in our passage?

On the other hand, many theologians will respond by telling you that what Jesus is actually saying is that we are not to pronounce a final sentence of judgment against someone. In other words, because only God knows the true heart of man, we are not to say whether or not they are truly saved. So, according to these theologians, Jesus is just fine with you being a moral busy body but just within certain limits.

So, who is right? What is Jesus actually saying in this passage? Let’s listen.

Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge lest you be judged.

Verse 1

Notice at once, the first problem that we run into when trying to understand this passage is that we often assume a limited, highly refined and technical meaning for the notion “judge”. Thus, we begin with a very narrow legal sense of the word, which means to officially pronounce sentence against another and his actions. Now, this may very well be the meaning that Jesus intends here. However, we shouldn’t simply assume that it is. Instead, we should examine all the possibilities and allow the context to determine exactly how the term is being used.

Notice then the Greek word here for “Judge” (κρίνω), like its English counterpart has a wide range of established meaning. Thus, like it’s English counterpart, it can mean to pronounce guilt, condemn, and sentence another in an official civic capacity. However, there is a problem. First, Jesus is not addressing the manner that an official court conducts its proceedings. Furthermore, the vast majority of the people He is speaking to are not duly appointed judges and thus have absolutely no capacity to act in this manner. Thus, Jesus’ command “do not judge” does not address this legal and technical sense of the word.

However, the Greek word here for “Judge” (κρίνω), like its English counterpart can also mean to evaluate and decide. Case in point: when Jay and Isaac eyeballed Isaac’s couch to see if it would fit through the front door, they were making a judgement call/evaluation. Again, in almost every brand of competition (from Olympic gymnastics, to the local beauty pageant, to the 4-H club’s garden show), judges assess and evaluate the competitors to determine who has come closest to the set standard. In our own daily life, we make moral assessments and elevations, frowning on what we deem is bad and praising what we see as good. In fact, in most cases, this is what we understand Jesus to be forbidding. However, even though this is a softer version of “Judge”, it is not what Jesus is talking about. Think about it, nowhere does Scripture ever call us to be morally indifferent. Instead, Scripture constantly calls us to this very sort of moral evaluations.

Matthew 7:17 “Every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ²⁰ “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

In fact, far from dissuading moral evaluation, growing in Christ means that our moral assessments become more refined and precise.

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

However, the final nail in the coffin for this errant view is that the passage itself becomes unintelligible if Jesus is telling us to avoid making moral assessments. Notice then, just a few verses down Jesus says,

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine,

Simply put, the determination of and distinction between pearls and swine, what is holy and dogs requires the very sort of moral assessment many would have us believe that Jesus is forbidding. Thus, in the end, Jesus’ command “do not judge” does not address what sloppy exegesis and most people think it means.

Finally, there is one viable option remaining. In both Greek and English, the word judge can mean to criticize (thus we have moved from the critique and evaluation of an event judge, to straight up criticism). In fact, we often describe someone who is self-righteous, meanspirited, and always critical as judgmental. However, to criticize is not always a bad thing (thus we have constructive criticism). Regardless, there is nothing constructive or positive about what Jesus is talking about in this passage. Thus, if we take the notion of criticize and add to it the negative connotations of the passage, along with the pedantic nature in which it appears in Matthew 7, we can best translate/gloss this term as nit-pick. In other words, if correct, then what Jesus is forbidding is a self-righteous, counter-productive, and intrusive nit-picking of those around you. Let’s run this understanding of the word through the passage and see how it works ^FN#1.

Verses 1-7

Matthew 7:1 “Do not nit-pick lest you be nit-picked in return. ² “For in the way you nit-pick, you will be nit-picked; and by your (pedantic, uncompassionate, and heavy-handed) standard of measure, it will be measured to you.³ “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ “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. ⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces ^FN#2.

Bottom line: so what is Jesus saying? Jesus is telling you not to be one who delights to always point out the faults of others for your own gain. In other words, Jesus is not forbidding moral assessments. Rather, Jesus is addressing the manner, the heart, and the objective with which these assessments are made. As such, Jesus tells you not to nit-pick others and not to give those who do any credence or sway over you ^FN#3/4.

Footnotes

1] Contrast the nitpicking in Matthew 7 with the proper heart, manner, and objective that God intends from His people.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Notice, in Gal 6:1 there is both a moral assessment (an identified trespass/wrong doing) as well as a call to intervene and get involved. However, the objective that God requires is to restore the errant person, yet not with an air of superiority, but mindful of your own weakness and need for grace.

2] ⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Notice: in verse 6 Jesus turns to all those with specks in their eyes, and the first thing He tells us is not to give what is holy to dogs. In other words, we are not to give any credence, moral weight, or position to such nitpickers, who would have us believe they are authorities to be cowed to and followed. Instead, they are blind leaders who will never provide a solution to those dumb enough to pay heed to them.

            Next, Jesus says do not throw your pearls to swine. In other words, do not cast your lot with them. Do not support, fund, or follow them. We have seen this very idea work itself out in modern cancel culture, where people are afraid to speak their mind or stand up for what they believe, so they simply stay quiet and go along with the crowd. At other times people whole heartedly join in with the crowd for their own gain or position. Jesus says do not do this. Do not give the morally lost credence and certainly do not join their cause. Notice the reason: those who build themselves up by tearing other’s down or who make sport of another’s misfortune, will inevitably find it expedient to do the same to you (sin is always cannibalistic- self-devouring and bringing ruin to its own adherents). Instead, Jesus calls for the moral courage that comes from living life facing God and according to His Word. Thus do not heed or give any credence to the manipulators and self-promoters. Follow Jesus.

3]

A] what Jesus is not saying: Jesus is not forbidding the moral assessments of His people. Instead, Scripture calls God’s people to become good at distinguishing good from evil. Second, Jesus is not calling for a moral indifference to the spiritual well-being of those around you. Instead, over and again Scripture calls us to encourage, correct, and assist each other in our walk with God.

B] Instead, what Jesus is forbidding is: being a moral busy body who is quick to find fault in others. Jesus is forbidding the delight to point out other’s mistakes as a means to make you look/feel superior (to use other’s misfortunes as your sport/entertainment/gain). Jesus is forbidding any correction that is not done in love and does not lead the other to God’s throne of grace for healing. Jesus is forbidding any correction that does not start with the same patience and confidence in God’s grace, that God has afforded you.

4] The exercise demonstrated here is a two-step procedure. (1) Identify the original Greek word in question (here κρίνω). There are several apps and online Bible sites that allow you to do this. Then once you have the original Greek word, use a good Greek to English lexicon to look it up and find the range of meanings associated with this word. (2) Run these meanings (or the most likely of these meanings) through the context of the passage to see which one makes the most sense within the passage, brings the details of the passage into focus, and clarifies the passage as a whole.

            The idea here is to hear the word as the original audience would have heard it and as the speaker intended it to be heard. First, you need the root of the word. Then you need the range of various meanings commonly understood at the time the passage was delivered/written. Finally, you need to watch how each of these various meanings plays out in the text and choose the one that fits the discussion as a whole. All of this can be done with readily available tools by those with little or no knowledge of the original language.

            However, there are a couple of pitfalls to avoid. Unless you have a working knowledge of the language something like a Strong’s Concordance will be far mor likely to lead you astray. You simply need to identify the root of the word and then look it up in a good Greek dictionary/lexicon. The second pitfall is not to give more weight to the word than its simple role in the context warrants. Words are not the basis of meaning. Instead, the sentence is. However, after one spends a great deal of time on clarifying a word, very often the temptation will be to place the entire meaning of the passage on that one word. Instead, clarify the word, hear it correctly, and then return it to its place withing the greater discussion