8 July 2017
Text: Luke 6:36-42 (Rom 8:18-23)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
I
recently saw an internet cartoon that featured today’s text with all of the
words crossed out, except for two: “Judge not.”
The
reason this is so witty is that this is how a lot of people treat Scripture:
they grab hold of two words and ignore the entire passage. And the reason that “Judge not” is so popular
is because we live in a society that refuses to use the Bible – or even nature
and common sense – as a means of sorting out right from wrong. Because to say that something is wrong is to “judge”
– and didn’t Jesus just say, “Judge not?”
Didn’t
Jesus just say not to exercise judgment in matters pertaining to life in this
world? Didn’t Jesus just say all
lifestyles, thoughts, words, deeds, religions and worldviews are equal?” Didn’t Jesus just encourage Supreme Court
justices, circuit court judges, and justices of the peace to quit their jobs?
“Judge
not.”
According
to those who repeat these words of Jesus (without the rest of His words), we
should not say that anything is wrong (well, except for being judgmental, that’s
wrong, along with violations of political correctness, that’s wrong too). But to make use of Dr. Luther’s question from
the catechism, “What does this mean?”
Well,
if the Judge-notters are correct, then what about religion? We cannot distinguish between idolatry and
the worship of the True God. So there goes the first commandment. We can’t render a judgment concerning the appropriateness
of cursing with the name of God or Jesus, as that would be to judge. Number Two is gone. And we shouldn’t judge the practice of
avoiding weekly worship, despising preaching and His Word to binge-watch TV or
stay on bed. There goes the first table
of the law.
Similarly,
we should not judge those who dishonor parents and other authorities, or judge
between the killing of a mosquito and a human being, judge between sexual
practices, judge between stealing and not stealing, judge between telling the truth or lying, or judge the practice of
coveting.
There
goes the entire ten commandments, which is most convenient for those who wish
to break them. To those who cling to the
Lord’s command to “judge not,” we are to look the other way when people are
being bullied or robbed or raped or beaten. We are to accept anything and everything – no
matter how destructive, unnatural, or harmful to children – without criticism.
Do
such people really think this is what our Lord Jesus is teaching us to do?
But
if they were to read beyond these two words, they would see the context of “judge
not.” We are to be judicious when we do
judge. We are to “be merciful, even as
your Father is merciful.” And we are to
forgive – which presumes that there is something to forgive, which presumes
that there are sins, which presumes that we need to judge whether something is
sinful or not. Indeed, Jesus says we are
to judge, but we are not to judge in such a way that indicts ourselves.
For
a judge that sends a person to prison for being a crook, but is himself taking
bribes, is not a good judge; he is a hypocrite. Don’t judge like that! A judge who makes a great show of wanting to “throw
the book” at an unfaithful spouse, all the while he is himself unfaithful, is
not a good judge; he is a hypocrite. Don’t
judge like that!
In
fact, if it isn’t your job to pass sentence on someone, don’t. But this is not to say that we are not to tell
the difference between right and wrong, or that we are not to confess publicly
that there are universally true morals, or that we should not teach our children
to be upright and obedient to God’s Law. But the Lord does say to be careful, very careful
indeed: “For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Jesus
doesn’t say that we should all just throw our hands in the air and accept the
secular worldview that all religions are equal, all systems of morality are the
same, and that we should simply embrace immorality as a virtue.
But
he does say that we have a primary responsibility of self-judgment. “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? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let
me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the
log that is in your own eye?”
And
here is where Jesus Himself becomes very judgmental: “You hypocrite,” He says, “first
take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the
speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Our
blessed Lord is in no way saying that every human action is morally equal. Far from it.
And in fact, He wants us to help our brother with that speck in his eye,
to serve him in love, not in hatred or mockery or smug self-righteousness, but
out of a genuine desire to help bring our neighbor to healing and wholeness –
the kind of help that comes from a life led as a struggle to keep the
commandments and to strive for righteousness. And we can’t help our brother by
pretending that he has no speck in his eye.
But
we can’t look to others until we look to ourselves, until we repent, until we
take the logs out of our own eyes. This
is the danger of hypocrisy, dear friends.
Hypocrisy chases people away from the church and repels people from the
glorious Gospel by which Jesus has come to judge us “not guilty” and forgiven.
This
brings us back to the beginning of our text: “Be merciful, even as your Father
is merciful.” For our Father was
merciful to the point of sending His Son to the cross on our behalf, to rescue
us from the judgment of death and hell. Instead, by the only Man who is not a
hypocrite, by the only Man who is sinless, by the only Man who is God, our
merciful Father judges us, and that judgement is that we are freely forgiven and
brought graciously to the blessing of eternal life, for by this judgment, “creation
itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the
glory of the children of God.”
That
is the Lord’s judgment, and it should be our desire that all men are so judged!
And
so let the Lord’s words not be crossed out, but rather let them go forth and
work the miracle of redemption. And let
us judge not as hypocrites, but as forgiven sinners, seeking to humbly and
lovingly share the Lord’s favor with all others who, like us, “sin and fall
short of the glory of God,” and yet, by God’s merciful judgment, have obtained that
gift of God, which is “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thanks be to our merciful Judge, now and
forever.
Amen.
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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