"Don't Judge Others!": Eye, eye, Jesus! ~ Matthew 7:1-6 (Jesus Said What!? Series)

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. ~ Matthew 7:1-6

Jesus said what?! In our series I’ve discovered that the “what” is not always the same. There’s the “what?” – Jesus, I don’t understand. This is difficult to comprehend. This feels old, far-away, complicated. But there’s another “what?” This is the “what” our children often use against us. The “what” of "I don’t want to do that. I don’t like it. I want you to say something different." This is the “what” of our passage this morning. So what’s the “what”? What do we need to learn to lean into the “what”?

1.    Jesus told a joke.

It’s a bit gross, a bit like a “Dad” joke, a bit cornea. Sorry! Jesus teaches his disciples by telling a joke about a guy with a plank in his eye wanting to perform eye-surgery on another with a speck in his own eye. I don’t think it’s an incidental point to acknowledge that Jesus wants us to experience the joy of the joke, a bit of laughter at our own ridiculousness, to snicker a bit at our inability to see, our fumbling to follow.

Jesus loved to talk about eyes, to tell jokes, because he wants

us to be able to see. Can you see? In vs. 3 he points out that the failure was one of attention, failing to notice. Are you aware enough to laugh at yourself? At the very least, what is forbidden here is the sort of fault-finding mentality and withering criticism of the community toward each other. It often takes the form of sarcasm and insult, holds no joy or laughter, and because it’s bitter creates bitterness. Friends, I believe that our passage asks of us a simple question: What good is holiness or morality which in trying to get people to see pokes them in the eye? What good is a community that can’t laugh at itself?

A Baptist man went on a cruise and one night, alone on the upper deck, while watching the sun go down, fell over-board. No one heard him screaming for help but he eventually was able to swim to the shore of a deserted island where he lived for a number of years before finally being seen and rescued by a passing a ship. When his rescuers arrived on the island, he asked if he could show them his house that he had built. They were amazed by the artistry and craftmanship that he had accomplished with simple tools and his bare hands. He then asked if they would like to see his church. He showed them a beautiful building with gorgeous high ceilings, a well-crafted pulpit and even comfortable pews. As they were leaving, one of the sailors saw another beautiful building at the far end of the island. “What’s that building?,” he asked. The Baptist replied, “Ugh. That’s where I used to go to church.” We could talk about the seriousness of unity, carefully study Jesus’ prayer for his followers to be one from John 17, or investigate the challenging internal disputes that the early church faced in the book of Acts. We could also be challenged by the joy of a joke, chuckle a bit at our foolishness and sinfulness, and God’s surprising forgiveness. Jesus teaches us, “with you measure you use, it will be measured to you” so tell a joke. Do you see?

2.    Don’t do “what”?

It seems straight-forward enough – “Don’t judge.” But is Jesus suggesting that we should practice no discernment with one another. Is he advocating a logic of “don’t say anything to anyone for any reason”? Is he saying, “Look, you one-eyed-

freak, just keep an eye on yourself!” Well, as we’ve encountered before, our passage also exists in another Gospel which offers some helpful points of clarity in understanding Jesus’ intended meaning.

In the Gospel of Luke, we find: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). To “condemn” is more than simply judging something as right or wrong, wise or foolish, helpful or ill-advised, but includes the pronouncement of punishment, a withholding of forgiveness. I can judge something without imagining that I determine the outcome or know someone’s fate. A jury member can exercise proper discernment but isn’t a judge or a jailer. Neither of those roles are yours to take. So it strikes me that Jesus is challenging a condemning form of judging. He’s addressing the down-to-earth issue of what happens if we offer unfair, overly critical attitudes, which when combined with a lack of self-criticism, threaten the community. He’s addressing the fine line between sound judgment and being judgmental.

It’s the subtle move from telling Johnny that if he doesn’t study, he won’t pass algebra, to if he doesn’t study, he will fail algebra and high school, become a loser, most-likely homeless, turn to drugs, and die on the streets.

In a story from the fourth century we are told of monk named

Moses the Ethiopian. Moses had been a leader of a gang of robbers in the Egyptian Desert who converted to Christianity after taking shelter with a bunch of Christian monks. Toward the end of his life he was called to come and pass judgment on a monk who had sinned. “Moses was invited to attend a council about this, but he refused to go. Then a priest sent someone to say to him, “Come, for everyone is waiting for you.” So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said to him, “What is this, Father?” The old man said to them, “My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.” When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

3.    Don’t be a hypocrite, be Hippocratic.

The humorous joke of vss. 3-5, speck and plank surgery,

makes two related points: 1) the wrongfulness of drawing attention to another’s failings when your own is much greater; and 2) the impracticability and insincerity of an offer to help until your own greater problem has been dealt with.

To ignore either of these, Jesus says, brings us to that hard word in Jesus’ joke – “hypocrite.” What does that mean? But first let’s be sure of what a hypocrite is not. A hypocrite is not someone who fails to practice those virtues that she preaches. It is not a failure to do or say what one believes.  If that were the case then the whole of Christianity is one big hypocrisy – yet Jesus reminds that we are speck and log people. We are sinners. We do fail. We will need correction. These are givens. In fact, forgetting this is blindness, Jesus says. No, a better source of meaning surrounds the debate about the origins of the term. Some

argue that “hypocrite” comes from the world of the theater and can translate as “play-acting,” it involves the active deception of others by pretending to do or believe something that you knowingly do not. It’s not finding a log in your eye that makes you a hypocrite – it’s when you put make-up on it and call it an eyelash that does.

Others have argued, however, that “hypocrite” comes from the verb meaning “to sift or decide” and implies a deficiency on the part of the person to make a correct decision and their

refusal to admit that deficiency.  It’s someone who knowingly doesn’t know what he’s talking about trying to explain it to others. It’s when you ask me about cars and I use the fancy language that I learned from my mechanic grandfather without any sense of being able to fix anything on a car. The first definition reflects our refusal to confess that we are sinners and the second our inability to confess that we are not God, that we don’t know what God knows.  Failure to admit our own sinfulness and limitedness is what makes us hypocritical.

But the danger of hypocrisy does not dismiss us from needing to be helpful. The Bible offers ample evidence, even direct statements about correcting brothers or sisters gently – Matt. 18:15-20; Galatians 6:1-5. In our passage today, we know we are called to help by Jesus’ “then.” Jesus says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus is not saying that I should only be concerned with myself. Yes, “don’t be a hypocrite”, Jesus says, but still be Hippocratic.  You’ve heard of the Hippocratic Oath, right? It’s the ancient Greek ethical oath for physicians often known by the phrase: “First do no harm.” Jesus’ warning against hypocrisy is naming that reality – that if we try and help the wrong way we risk greater damage, we risk harming the patient. So, in our desire to help first do no harm. But we still need to help. We need to remember that for many of us even small specks can create a great amount of pain and eyes are sensitive things.  Should we simply ignore our brother or sister’s pain? That’s a good rule of thumb, by the way, let the pain be your guide, possibly your own.

 This past week I had a speck pulled out of my eye by someone I love (okay, it was my wife). She judged something I had said and found it insensitive, unhelpful, and misguided. She wasn’t judgmental, but I needed it. Jesus was no fool. He knew that eyes were sensitive things and that even specks can hurt.

4.    Don’t be silly. Pigs don’t wear pearls.

Some treat verse 6 as if it is a free-floating verse not connected to vss. 1-5. But it is not free-floating here. By following Matthew 7:5, it shows that Jesus also wants to talk about the role and emotional state of the corrected, the one with the speck.  And I believe Jesus is offering a paraphrase of Proverbs 9:7-8: Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. ⁸ Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.

As we know from workplace evaluations, giving and receiving feedback can be perilous. Self-examination and gentleness cannot guarantee that another will receive correction. Feedback or correction (sacred; pearls) can be rejected and trampled underfoot by a person who doesn’t want to hear it (dogs; swine). Counter-attacks can result. Correction is not to be pressed when it cannot be received (Matthew 7:6).

In essence Jesus is saying: “Don’t cast pearls of wisdom before those who don’t want or comprehend precious things.” Or, in other words, “Don’t be judgmental. But don’t be a fool either.”

          5.    Ask yourself, “What do I want?”

A final element of Jesus’ joke – that permeates it from start

to finish – is the simple wisdom of reciprocity. If you wish to receive something – then give it. If you don’t wish to receive something – then don’t give it. It’s a joke that aims to remind us that you get what you give. How do you want to be corrected?

How do you want people to behave? Do you want someone to be gentle with you when you’ve done something wrong? Be gentle when someone wrongs you. Do you want to be a community that loves and helps each other? Then follow Jesus and learn to tell a joke.