Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
In Matthew 7:1, Jesus says, “Do not judge….” The English word “judge” is not the best translation of the original word in Greek. In English, “to judge” means to form an opinion through carefully weighing the facts; to test the premises. It can mean to govern or to rule. It can also mean to evaluate something; or to be discerning. That is not what Jesus is saying here. If He were saying this, then He would be negating what He tells us to do in verses 6, 15 and 20. We derive our English word “critic,” or “critical” from this Greek word. I would prefer to use the English word “captious” to translate this word.
cap•tious [Middle English capcious, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French captieux, from Latin captiosus, from captio] (14th century)
1: marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
2: calculated to confuse, entrap or entangle in argument; argument for the sake of arguing.
Jesus is focusing on the heart. He is saying, “Do not make a habit of sharp, unjust criticism. Do not condemn someone based upon assumptions about their motives.” We do not know a person’s heart. We can only see the outward actions. And, we are hypocrites if we try to remove another’s problem without caring for our own need first.
What then, is the connection between verses 1-5 and verses 6-12? It is important to remember that Jesus is not telling us to be lax in our evaluations of people or situations. Philippians 1:9-10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 very clearly tell us to be discerning. Consequently, we do not give our pearls of truth to pigs; nor do we give the holy things of God to dogs/unbelievers (Matthew 7:6). We may be the Lord’s sheep, but we should not let anyone pull the wool over our eyes!
Ike Graham