Judge Not....?

This scenario has played out repeatedly in the last week:

A person in authority, surprisingly well-respected in some segments of the religious community, says or does something inflammatory, offensive, and in no way representing biblical values and expectations. 

A sincere critic responds something to the effect of, “Boy, that just seems completely un-Christian.  Those words and attitudes conflict with everything the Bible endorses.” 

The response to that response from the camp that offers unusual support to the authority is thoughtlessly repeated and customarily serves as the final word:  Judge Not Lest You Be Judged!

I wonder if you can see the hypocritical irony in that retort.  Do you not know that in order for you to utter the words, “Judge not lest you be judged,” you must first have made a judgment yourself?  It is impossible for you to criticize someone else for “judging” unless you first have already “judged” that person to be wrong.  The moment those words leave your mouth, you are guilty of the very judgment you condemn.  Is your mind blown yet?  It will be…

“Judge not,” originated on the lips of Jesus as part of a speech where he is (wait for it… wait for it……) judging!  The entire Sermon on the Mount is governed by Jesus judging the religious elite:

"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:20). 

Jesus has evaluated the scribes’ and Pharisees’ “righteousness” and determined it to be hypocritically inadequate.  Their “Righteousness” involves judging a book by its cover, but you?  Don’t be like them.

Judge not.  Don’t be like the Pharisees who assume they know the book after having seen only the cover.  They see Jesus crack open a cold one with his buddies and assume he is an alcoholic—don’t be like them.  They see Jesus eat dinner with crooks and assume they are all up to no good—don’t be like them.  They see Jesus heal on a Sabbath and assume he has no respect for Torah—don’t be like them. 

If that is what you are doing, then stop.  If you are making a determination about a person’s character based solely on whether their name is followed by a “D” or an “R,” that’s wrong—do not judge.  Worse, if you assume a black man running through your neighborhood is automatically up to no good because his skin is darker than yours, then your judge will be much harder on you than you are on the “other.” 

To weaponize Matthew 7:1 is to reveal our own hypocrisy and proves we have read no further.  Otherwise we would soil our garments at the words, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” 

“Judge Not” is a contextual command, warning us against the unfair execution of our bias based on superficial categories or unseen motives.  But it was never meant to prohibit us from being thoughtful and discerning about what we literally see and hear.  When political leaders expose their hearts through their own words in a perpetual barrage of social media posts, we have more than enough information to “judge” the content and question the character of those who let their thumbs do the talking. 

Am I wrong?  Maybe.  But consider Paul who “judged” Peter, Jesus’ own right-hand man:

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned” (Gal. 2:11).

Paul judged without fear of himself being judged, should the same standard have been imposed upon him.  There was something about Peter’s conduct that Paul determined, after careful evaluation, to be hypocritically un-Christian.  So, he publicly called him out (Gal. 2:14).  That confrontation needed to happen because a well-respected figure such as Peter was dead wrong about something very critical.  If his hypocrisy went unchecked for very long, it would have had a severe impact on the lives of so many who revered Peter, leading them to their own hypocrisy. 

But Peter isn’t all bad.  He engaged in some “judging” himself, and the community of faith was better for it.  He “judged” Ananias for allowing Satan to fill his heart, lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3).  He followed that by “judging” Sapphira for agreeing with her husband to “test the Spirit of the Lord” (Acts 5:9).  After careful evaluation of deeds known to have been committed and words confirmed to have been spoken, Peter “judged,” and the married couple died right where they stood.

But Peter and Paul were only following the example of Jesus.  His condemnation of behaviors, words, and attitudes of his contemporaries include judgments like “brood of vipers,” “hypocrites,” “whitewashed tombs,” and even “Satan,” among others.  Even Jesus judged.  But we cannot get away with saying, “Yeah, but he was Jesus and he knew peoples’ hearts; we can’t know what’s in a person’s heart.” 

Actually, we can.  In Matthew 12, what causes Jesus to condemn the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers”?  Well, in the next breath, he gives us all the information we need to suggest what is, in fact, in a person’s heart:

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (Mat. 12:34-35).

Our heart is revealed by our words, either confirming or betraying the public face we long to create.  But I hear what you’re saying: “Well, he doesn’t actually mean it.”  That is an excuse, and a poor one, for in the next breath, Jesus continues,

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mat. 12:36-37).

Words matter.  Careless words matter.  We should not make an evaluation about someone’s character—even less their eternal fate—based on superficial things we perceive from a distance.  But we should not be mindless dolts, refusing to raise questions or criticisms based on those things we know to be true and can confirm.  Even less should we be silenced by the theological misuse of, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

When we repeatedly hear words that run in direct conflict against everything scripture endorses, particularly by one who claims to be a man of that book, we must call those words and the attitudes they reflect to account.  With care and thoughtfulness, quick to extend mercy and forgiveness, we can and must “judge.”  The resurrected Jesus himself gives us that expectation and responsibility when he tells his disciples—and us—“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:23).  That is a weighty responsibility indeed; not one to be taken lightly.  It is a responsibility we assume only after first having evaluated our own hearts.  But it is a responsibility nevertheless, and one that requires us to gather information, evaluate, and—for lack of putting it another way—judge.