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1 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye;" and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ~ Matthew 7:1-5
Today, we transition into Matthew 7 which is the continuation of the Sermon on the Mount wherein the Lord Jesus was comparing His teachings with the teachings of the religious leaders of Israel. In this sermon the Lord Jesus gave us an overview of what the culture or kingdom of God looks like in our everyday lives.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Judge not, that you be not judged."
The word translated "judge" means "to condemn." It does not mean that we cannot distinguish between good and evil or between right and wrong. It means to steer clear of condemning others. Condemnation never does what we want it to do. If someone were to condemn us, we do well not to retaliate. Condemnation rarely leads to a change of heart. Usually, it backfires. Almost always, it generates return fire. People hate to feel condemned, and in order to not feel it, they condemn in return. The Lord Jesus said these words so that "you may not be judged."
In v.2-4 of today's passage we read, "2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"
Here, we are given further explanation to what the Lord Jesus just said. When we judge in a certain manner, that same judgment can be expected to be returned to us. Those who go around pointing fingers at others from some supposed position of moral authority that really doesn’t exist except in their own minds, can expect scrutiny.
Then the Lord Jesus reconfirmed this with another statement saying, "and in what measure you measure, it will be remeasured to you."
The word "measure" means to determine something acceptable or unacceptable. This confirms the Lord Jesus did not mean to not judge, He meant do not be arbitrarily judgmental because people will be judgmental of you. We will be judged by the same rule which we apply to others. The arbitrary nature of said judgement is really the problem. Then the Lord Jesus underscored the fact that if a person is out judging others without examining himself, he has a major fault in his life, yet, he rebukes someone else for a lesser sin. That man, according to the Lord Jesus, is a total hypocrite. The person the Lord Jesus spoke of here is annoyed at the teeny perceived imperfection in someone else’s life. It is as if it is too much of an annoyance to allow it to continue without being highlighted and removed. While standing there noting that he can take care of the little chip in another’s eye, he is unwilling to acknowledge the two by four sticking out of his own eye. This is the height of hypocrisy because the Lord Jesus was actually referring to a moral defect in the other person, using the speck and the beam as metaphors for spiritual truths.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
The speck and the plank are essentially the same substance. One is the other, one is much smaller, the other is much bigger. The reason someone can see little splinters in another's eye is because they have the same problem. They have a huge two by four in their eye. We are good typically at spotting sins in other people because we're familiar with them in our own lives and we become unfortunately very judgemental over the sin that lurks in us. Those who arbitrarily judge others are identified here as hypocrites because they isolate a moral defect in someone while having their own, much greater, moral defect. They identify some supposed fault in those they oppose but they are filled with fifty times more moral corruption than the insignificant point they have called out in their opponents. They make a mountain out of a molehill while sitting on their own heights of hypocrisy. These are those who see flaws in others in order to feel better about themselves. They think, if we can identify other’s flaws, we can avoid facing our own.
The Lord Jesus' remedy to all of this is, "first remove the plank from your own eye." When we confess our sin to God and admit it before Him, we actually help in the process of restoring other people who have similar situations. In Psalm 51, David wrote that beautiful song about how sorry he was that he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered. At that same time David also wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation, then I will teach transgressors Your way, then others will be converted to You." Once we confess our sin and humble ourselves before the Lord, we will be compassionately positioned to help a brother in need. And those who are not compassionate give evident that they know not God's compassion for them.
The Lord Jesus never says we should not point out the speck. Rather that we should deal with our problems so that we can help others deal with their’s. As followers of the Lord Jesus, we have the responsibility to confront erring brothers and sisters, but we must do this in love and without judgement. After all, we are all sinners in need of a savior. The religious leaders of Israel were known for pointing their fingers at others, but that helps no one. What we should do is come alongside each other in love. It’s not judging to help someone see the sin in their life. It’s judging when we condemn them for that sin rather than helping them through it. There’s a big difference between the two.
