A New Vision for Relationships
Matthew 7:1-12
Jesus now offer a new vision for relationships by correcting hypocritical judgmentalism, encouraging expectant prayer and calling us to treat others as we wish they would treat us.
Judging others – Matt 7:1-6 (ESV)
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 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? 4 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? 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 dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Other translations of Matthew 7:1-2: NRSV- "do not judge, lest you be judged"; NIV - "do not judge, or you too will be judged." This is often interpreted as a prohibition against all judgments. So are we never to judge others, and if, as some say, ‘always do the right thing,’ how can anyone determine the right from wrong without making a judgment?
Two online meanings of Judge: 1) to assess or evaluate (2) criticize or condemn.
The word “judge” in Matt 7:1 comes from the Greek word krino, which can mean to discern or decide. But it can also refer to condemnation, either in a legal court setting or in our day-to-day relationships.
BibleProject: During his time on Earth, Jesus would regularly (and rather assertively) address people’s harmful choices. So it wouldn’t make sense for him to prohibit us from using discernment in our relationships or the world at large.
So is Jesus saying “Do not be discerning” or “Do not be condemning”?
Remember the story of a woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume from an alabaster jar (Luke 7:36-50) and Simon judged her character by what he can see on the outside and decides she is unworthy of Jesus’ time and attention. His thoughts condemned her because of his perception of her.
Jesus’ response to Simon highlights what he means by “…lest you be judged.” He turns Simon’s critical thoughts toward his own life. How? Simon was so busy counting the woman’s flaws, he overlooked his own lack of love and courtesy toward Jesus when Jesus entered his house. This is the contempt/judging/condemnation Jesus has in mind when he tells his followers not to judge one another because we do not know the whole story.
So in this context, Jesus uses krino to refer to condemning others: treating them with contempt, fault finding, nitpicking (Rom 2:1; 14:4, 10-13). He’s talking about the times we decide another person doesn’t measure up, so we look down on them or think of them as a lesser person, and He wants us instead to practice self-reflection and humility, (vv3-5) and encourages compassion over condemnation because we will be judged by the same standard we use to judge others.
But what about the more basic act of judging light from dark or good from bad?
Michelle Jones from BibleProject: “What if you don’t like the way someone is acting?” What if you see a problem in somebody’s life? Practically speaking, that can’t mean that you never evaluate someone’s behavior because that will happen all the time, consciously and unconsciously. Even when you evaluate, don’t judge. In other words, don’t make a final declaration of the motive and value of another person. A great word to use here is don’t condemn.
Immediately after teaching people to never judge (condemn) one another, Jesus goes on to talk about issues that require careful judgment or discernment and tells us that before judging someone else we should first attend to our own blind spot (log in the eye).
The Speck and the Beam - Matthew 7:3-5: Why do you see the speck in the eye of your brother, but you don’t perceive the beam in your eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Allow me to take out the speck from your eye,” and look, the beam is in your eye!? Hypocrite! First take out the beam from your eye, and then you can see clearly the speck in the eye of your brother.
Jon from BibleProject asks: So when you see a speck in someone’s eye you should jump in and remove it for him?
Michelle replied: No. Actually, you take that moment of evaluating others as an opportunity to first evaluate yourself. We are really good at being generous and patient with ourselves so extend that same posture to others. Jesus’ words suggest that there is a time and place to speak up when we see a problem. We can call out wrongdoing in ways that do not condemn or even diminish others. His instruction is about the importance of self-reflection before assessing another person’s behavior. Just like in the story of Simon: we need to address our own issues “beam in our eye” before we evaluate someone else’s “speck,” or bad behavior. We need to be tolerant and forgiving of each other.
From BibleProject: These teaching are challenging and instructive but they don’t tell us exactly what to do in every tough situation. Each of these doesn’t really arm you with the formula for what to do in a relationship, it shapes you into a certain kind of person so that you begin to have intuitions of generosity and humility. Recognizing, acknowledging, and addressing our own failures is a humbling process.
Michelle from BibleProject: As I think about living with generosity and humility, I realize I need help. I mean I’m really going to need a lot of guidance from God. Am I done with my own self-reflection yet, should I point out a problem in someone else’s life, can I even trust the way that I’m seeing things as accurate?
Jon: What I hear you saying is that we need wisdom.
Amen and Amen to these words.
Matthew 7:6: “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.”
- Pearls and holy things are the gospel, the teachings and wisdom of the kingdom of God. We learn that Torah instruction was sometimes referred to as pearls because they are so valuable, and so we may want to give this value to everyone, but not everyone is willing to see and receive it as valuable.
- Dogs here certainly could not refer to Gentiles (as some have suggested) since Paul and other apostles were constantly carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. Therefore, dogs here, (one source says) refers to Cynics whose name comes from the adjective kunikos meaning to be dog-like and applies to both Jews and Gentiles alike: Judaizers (Phil 3:2), the wicked (Rev 22:15), and apostates and false teachers and false prophets (2 Peter 2:21-22).
- Lots of people have had the opportunity to hear the truth but have stubbornly rejected and turned their backs on Jesus. Therefore, do not offer something valuable to someone who is not going to appreciate it. Those who would ridicule, reject, and blaspheme the gospel they hear.
- Sharing the gospel can be dangerous so don’t waste time and energy on those who reject the gospel, because being persistence can invite contempt and maybe physical attack. Scripture says they will trample it under foot and turn and tear you to pieces.
- So we shouldn’t keep pushing. Shake the dust off your feet-Matt 10:14. Prov 23:9-Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. And Proverbs 26:4-5: Don't correct a fool, or you could become like them.
Ask and it will be given to you… Matt 7:7-11
Jesus invites us to ask for good gifts from the Father and when we read these verses, we usually think of asking for stuff. God certainly is concerned about our daily provisions (i.e. Psalm 2:8; Psalm 21:4; John 15:7; 1 John 3:21-22), but what else do you think this asking, seeking, and knocking is about? Maybe we can ask for mercy or wisdom (James 1:5) in a situation or on someone. We can ask for financial help or for healing or maybe for his desire or will for us for the day. These are and can be legitimate requests, but will we receive everything we ask for, and how do we or can we know the will of God in any situation?
The Golden Rule Approach – Matt 7:12
So then, everything you desire that people do to you, so also you do to them, for this is the Torah/Law and the Prophets (you shall love your neighbor as yourself – Lev 19:18).
BibleProject: Imagine living in a world where everyone treats everyone else (in thought and deed) the way that we all want to be treated—with fairness, kindness, generosity, and love. Rather than sizing one another up, trying to determine who is better or worse, who is good or bad, we instead choose to love one another because that’s how we want to be treated.
Jesus called his followers to live with radical generosity, to be peacemakers who love their enemies, and to hunger and thirst for right relationships. Jesus called this way of life a ‘greater righteousness’ because it fulfills God's will for his people that's expressed in Israel's Scriptures, the Torah and Prophets.
He talked about laying up treasures on earth, which are temporary, versus laying up treasures in heaven, which will be eternal. (AJL- says laying up heavenly treasures is a process that becomes easier with intention and practice.)
Jesus also gave some warnings about potential traps along the way. For example, when you spend a lot of time studying God's wisdom in Scripture, it's easy to start thinking of yourself more highly than you should, ignoring your own blind spots, and it can feel natural to start handing out God's wisdom to others when you think they need it. So the earnest quest for doing good could lead to a lack of self-awareness and a judgmental attitude? But Jesus bluntly says "Do not judge" or condemn others.
But, you would say, “It's not easy when I see other people living foolishly.” Jesus invites us to take our instinct to judge others and instead empathize with them. How would I want to be judged if I were in their place? What standard would I like to be measured by? Well, for a start you would like to be judged fairly. And as Luke 6:31 reads: “and just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”
How would following the so-called Golden Rule change the way we judge others? What happens when, rather than being quick to judge, we are instead quick to wonder, ‘How do I want people to approach me when I drop the ball and fail’? Operating from this angle will temper our responses, increase our wisdom and, most importantly, draw us deeper into strong bonds of mutual love with our neighbors.
The Golden Rule helps us follow through on God’s greatest command—to love God and love all others with everything we’ve got. Again as Luke 6:31 says: “and just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”
