Matthew 7:1-6 NASB
¹Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ²For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
³Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵You 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.
⁶Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Devotional
Look at yourself and others with God’s eyes!
Those who take the teachings of Jesus to heart, also see, in the light of it, more clearly what is wrong with others .
For example, Jesus saw through the hypocritical behavior of people.
But through this He also teaches us that, and that brings its dangers with it.
We can easily begin to exalt ourselves above others. With the Jews it was already the case that they put themselves above the Gentiles, who did not know God’s law (cf. Romans 2:17-24). They conveniently forgot that they themselves were also guilty of the commandments in which they boasted (cf. Romans 2:1).
The same can happen to the followers of Jesus.
They see clearly what is wrong with others, but they close their eyes to their own failures (Matthew 7:3,4).
Of course, the teaching of Jesus is not intended to set us up as judges over others. We must first of all realize that God is Judge over us. His judgment is over our lives. And if we now judge others harshly, He will judge us in the same way (Matthew 7:1,2; As there is a connection between divine and human forgiveness (Matt. 6:12,14,15), so is there a similar connection between divine and human judgment (cf. James 2:13).
The wrong we see in other people is always small compared to what the LORD may find against us (Matthew 7:3-5; Cf. Matthew 18:23-35 – ten thousand talents: a fabulously large sum; a hundred shillings: almost nothing).
He who has not yet been convinced of his own guilt before God, misses the right view of the wrong in others. It is therefore important to first take seriously what is wrong with ourselves. We must confess this to the LORD and put it out of our lives. Only then can we carefully judge another.
That assessment is not superfluous.
We need to know who we have in front of us.
The teachings of Jesus require careful application. His words are like pearls. They are not meant to be casually scattered around. After all, it could happen that they are viciously pounded into the ground or, completely skewed, even used against us (Matthew 7:6).
The teaching of Jesus is of course too sacred for that.
Question
- How did Jesus deal with sin in John 8:2-11?
Prayer suggestion
- Ask the Lord to teach you to judge people and situations in love.
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