by Jacob Ninan
'Judge not' is the phrase that many people quote often, especially when someone points out an error or sin. They believe that this was what Jesus said. But that is because they are missing context of that phrase, and so people don't understand what exactly Jesus meant. I think there are at least three different meanings to the word 'judge' in the context of the Bible.
If we look at the whole passage where Jesus said 'Judge not', we can see that He was not referring to the act of judging itself (Matt.7:1-3). Rather, He mentioned about the way we usually judge others, and the attitude with which we judge. He describes the way we ignore even large faults on our side and become very harsh and legalistic in finding fault with others. When we see any of our faults, we tend to minimise it, or find excuses, justify ourselves, put the blame on others, etc., but when we come to others, we 'throw the whole book' at them, applying every detail of the Law to them and arguing how they are at fault! It is as if we are superior, or without fault, and they are to be condemned. The parallel passage in Lk.6:37 Jesus also mentions about condemning others instead of pardoning them. This is the attitude or approach that Jesus is denouncing here. Jesus points out that we ignore even logs in our own eye while we try to attack even the specks we find in others.
The second way in which 'judge' is used is found in Jn.7:24 where Jesus actually tells us to judge! Some people may think He is contradicting Himself. But that is only because they are looking merely at words and interpreting them literally, without trying to understand the spirit from the context. What Jesus means by judging here is about our forming an assessment about others. This is an inevitable practical necessity in our daily life. We need to form opinions about the people we deal with–to know what kind of people they are, whether we can trust them, whether they will actually do what they promise, etc. It will be naive if we don't do this, but try 'not to judge' anyone! We can get deceived, taken for a ride and used by other people for their agenda. What Jesus is saying here is that when we form opinions, we should be careful not to base them on how things appear on the outside. Therefore, we should put away our prejudices and biases, and observe them closely, and think deeply about what we have observed. Then we can make 'righteous judgments'. Of course, we cannot do this properly in our own strength but learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to give us discernment.
We see an example of this in the life of Jesus Himself. We know that at one time He miraculously fed more than 5000 people. After that a great crowd started following Him wherever He went. But Jesus was not flattered by this apparent following. He told them to their face that they were following Him because they were after food, and not because the miracle had shown them that He was the Messiah or the Son of God (Jn.6:26). He was able to discern this, including what was their hidden motive. Some people say that we should not try to discern other people's motives because they are usually hidden, but only their outward actions. But recognising other people's motives is also a practical requirement for our daily life, and we need to seek the help of the Holy Spirit in this. But we should not be naive and think simply that we should not judge!
The third meaning of 'judge' which I see is that of carrying about the duty of a judge, as in a court of law. In the early days of the journey of the people of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses was the 'judge' to whom they brought their disputes. Later, as Moses realised that this work was more than what he could handle by himself, God asked him to appoint many 'judges' who were to decide the cases among the people. What we see is that this is something we also ought to do, when we are placed in positions of responsibility and authority.
As parents, we have the responsibility and the authority to train our children to grow up and become godly. This will certainly involve judging them and sometimes disciplining them. God says that if we truly love them, we will discipline them diligently (Prov.13:24). If we neglect that, thinking it is not our business to judge, they may end up in 'death' (Prov.19:18). If we are the boss at work, it is our responsibility to 'judge' people who work under our authority. There was a man who was living in sin in the church in Corinth (1Cor.5), and because the people in the church had neglected judging him, the apostle Paul had to write and tell them to put him outside the church, hoping that this would help him to repent and come back. In the next chapter (1Cor.6), Paul had to scold them because there was no one in that church who had the ability to judge cases between brothers, and people were going to secular courts to get justice.
At the same time, we must remember that we have authority to judge someone only within the domain of responsibility which God has given. We have no right to judge those who are outside our domain (1Cor.5:12). For example, we cannot discipline our neighbour's children! If we go around judging everybody around, we would be busybodies interfering with other people's affairs!
In the context of breaking bread (communion), Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if there is something in our life that we should set right first before participating (1Cor.11:28). Otherwise it could lead to serious consequences including sickness or death. Then he says that if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged (1Cor.11:31). We need to be strict with ourselves when we do this, instead of showing us lots of mercy! We must humble ourselves 'in the presence of the Lord' who knows everything about us and before whom we cannot justify ourselves or pretend to be without sin. That is the way we can cleanse ourselves and become more holy and get transformed to become like Jesus.
Many people claim, when they point out mistakes in other people, that they are only trying to help. But we must not forget that as long as there is a 'log' in our eyes, we cannot see anything! If we truly want to help others, we must first take out that log, for us to be able to see clearly (Matt.7:5). The more we humble ourselves, the less judgmental we will be towards others, and then we can express mercy and compassion towards the others.
Finally, we must know and present God to this world in a balanced manner. Many preachers these days are presenting a distorted image of God, saying only that He is loving, and forgiving. But He is also holy, righteous, just and impartial. He cannot tolerate sin in our lives, even now after Jesus has died to pay for the penalty of our sins. We should not only present a balanced picture of God, but also, we should demonstrate a balanced image of God in our life.