In 2023, there was a man in Louisville, KY by the name of
Brent and he was carrying his six year old daughter Emma
across the street. As they were crossing the
street, a stranger, a total stranger some 30 feet away,
yelled at him, actually did some cursing and he said, why are you
carrying that girl? That's what's wrong with kids
today. Wednesday morning, when Gabby
and I were on our morning walk, as we were coming toward
building that has a daycare and maybe also a preschool, we could
hear a young child complaining, protesting loudly.
She was between two cars. At first we couldn't see her,
but when we walked by she looked like she might be 4-5 years old,
could even be having sex. Anyhow, she was protesting
loudly and her mother was standing a few feet away, almost
looked like she wasn't sure what to do.
She tried to calmly reason with the child and by that time we
were out of earshot again. But I have to admit, I had a
thought go through my head. I wonder what parenting style is
going on in that family, in that house.
I was making a judgement. I knew nothing about this girl,
about her mother, about the family or anything like that.
And this morning, our text is from Matthew Chapter 7.
And maybe the best thing would be, if we first read through it,
do not judge, lest you be judged yourselves.
For in the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your
standard of measure it shall be measured to you.
And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do
not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or 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, you
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then
you will see clearly enough to take the speck out of your
brother's eye. Do not give what is holy to the
dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be open to
you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.
Or what man is there among you? When his son shall ask him for a
loaf, will he give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish,
will he not give? He will not give him a snake,
will he? If you then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
your Father who is in heaven, give what is good to those who
ask Him? Therefore, whatever you do,
whatever you want others to do to you, do so for them.
For this is the law, and the prophets enter by the narrow
gate. For the gate is wide, and the
way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those
who enter it. For the gate is small and the
way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find
it. So far, I've taking this last
verse as well. Actually it's the 12th verse, I
think, as a sentence on which to to hang our thoughts this
morning. As followers of Christ, we must
treat others as we want others to treat us.
Now this is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and I'm under the
impression that that's what you've been dealing with for
several Sundays already. I looked at the sermon and I
noticed that in chapter 5, Jesus deals with principles of Kingdom
life. Matthew calls it the Kingdom of
heaven. This Matthew was writing
basically to a Jewish audience, and we know that the Jews
reluctant to call God by name. As a matter of fact, if you read
some Jewish literature even today, when they write the word
God, they leave out to all. God is very holy to them and
that is a measure of respect that they show.
So Matthew, instead of writing the Kingdom of God, which we
find in other gospels, he says Kingdom of heaven and he is
talking to the disciples, but he's referring to them as
citizens of this Kingdom. So in chapter 5, it's about
principles that should govern people who consider themselves
Kingdom citizens. Chapter 6, he talks about about
the disciples, about things like giving and prayer and fasting
and things like like that. Then here in Chapter 7, Jesus
starts talking about relationships.
How should a Kingdom citizen behave in relationships?
Now, at first one one reads our text, our portion here.
It looks like he's talking about several different things.
But actually when I started really concentrating on it, I
saw that this is actually a series of that progresses and
I'll try to expose that to explain that as we go along.
So in verse 4, verse one, pardon me, do not judge lest you be
judged yourselves. It's pretty black and white.
Now the word for judge here Clino, like a lot of words, has
several nuances of meaning. One is certainly judge, like if
we imagine a court with a judge sitting there and making a
decision of over an event or over a happening, that is
certainly a core meaning to this.
But this word was used sometimes for discernment or for choosing
and not only for for judging others.
So that's that's how Jesus starts off here.
So which nuance is Jesus talking about?
Well Jesus starts to explain that in verses 2 and three that
how we judge we will also be judged and uses the example of
seeing a fault in our neighbor and pointing it out.
But the danger is always there that we have a similar but
greater fault than our neighbor actually does.
Just like I was saying about this sort of judge mental
thought that went through my head when we heard this little
girl protesting. Now Jesus in a number of places
tells us to judge. He says, for example, that we
are like wolves among sheep. That means we have to judge
who's a wolf and who's a a sheep.
He warns the disciples about false prophets and he says you
can recognise them by their fruits.
You won't find grapes on bushes or figs on thistles.
So there is a place for judgement.
So what exactly does Jesus mean when he says we're not supposed
to judge so that we won't be judged?
It turns out he is thinking, thinking more of this
instantaneous or hasty judgement and where we don't take time to
evaluate what we're actually seeing or hearing and what we're
judging. If we look into Romans chapter
14, Paul talks there about to the Romans about judging each
other. Actually, he's what he's
concerned about. There is there are new
Christians, he refers to them as as weak brothers, and there are
the mature Christians whom he refers to as strong brothers.
Now New Christian has come out of a world and he has come to
see the errors in that part of his life, and then he sees an
older, more mature Christian doing something which to him is
abhorrent. The setting there has to do with
with meat bought in the market. Meat in the market in those days
was meat that the person who had slaughtered it, who was selling
it would be an idol worshipper. So this new Christian knew very
well that that meat has been offered to idols before it's put
up for sale. And so he, the last thing he
wanted to do with such meat was nothing.
He wanted nothing to do with it. And the strong Christian, on the
other hand, he would sort of poo poo that and say, well, that's
not important. The idols are nothing.
And so that guy offered it to his idols.
I'm just buying it as meat and eating it.
He also talks about one person takes a certain day as very
important. The other day person takes them
all as of equal value. So Paul cautions both sides, he
says to the new Christian, don't condemn the older one for buying
meat at the market and and consuming it.
And he says to the more mature Christian don't for akht disdain
the the new Christian for being sensitive on on that thing.
So that is the kind of thing that Jesus is pointing at here.
And then he says, you hypocrite, you know, you see this little
thing and another person when you're not even aware of your
own failures and and sins. Now maybe to help us get a hold
of this idea, I can take an example out of the Old
Testament. We all, I assume, know about
David and Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and how they got into a
situation that was uncomfortable.
And so David calls Uriah home from from the army and it
doesn't turn out the way David had hoped.
So he sends Uriah back to the army with a note, which Uriah
had no idea what was in there, but a note for his commander to
put Uriah in a in a small troop and attack the city, hoping that
Uriah would get killed in that. And as a matter of fact, it
turns out that he does that David's hope is is fulfilled.
And then God sends the prophet Nathan to David.
And the prophet tells David about a rich man and a poor man
in the same city. The rich man had huge flocks,
big herds. The poor man had one little U
lamb. And so then in those days when
travellers came to a town or to a city, then at the gate was
usually where the people from the town were assembled or
hanging around or visiting or whatever they were doing.
And the culture was one where somebody from the town would
then invite the stranger home for for night and give him
supper and so on. That's what this rich man did to
some stranger. And then it's time to prepare
supper for the stranger. And so instead of going to his
own herds, he goes and grabs this poor man's little ewe lamb
and slaughters it. That's how Nathan tells the
story to David. And the King's.
One of the King's jobs in those days was also to judge
situations where there was disagreement.
And as Nathan finishes this story, David is angry.
He's incensed. That rich man needs to be
punished. And as he says that, Nathan
points to him and says you're the man.
David had never connected that with himself, but this was God's
message to David, and as a matter of fact, Nathan actually
tells David how God is going to deal with him as a result of
that. Now what what actually does
happen in in David's life is that his son Absalom organizes a
coup against David. David actually has to flee
Jerusalem and ultimately his soldiers win against the the
coup that is set up against him. But this allegory shows us how
what Jesus is talking about here.
David was not seeing himself as a problem and yet when he
pointed out that problem, Nathan said that's rather when David
judged. That's the rich man in that
story. Nathan said that's you.
So I don't know whether you've noticed, but the title to my to
my sermon was how can you be that stupid?
And this is a case where we can say that to David.
How can you be that stupid? Only let's not say it too loudly
because we may have to turn that finger around and point it at,
at ourselves. We need to ask, what is it that
annoys me about about my neighbor?
Is it that really that serious? Or is it simply that he holds
one day a special and we don't, or we hold one day special and
he doesn't? Things like that of what am I
guilty? Which is more serious, my
neighbour's position or my position?
And verse 5, Jesus clearly says, you hypocrite, first take that
log out of your own eye, then you might be able to see clearly
enough to remove that speck from your neighbour's eye.
As Jesus followers, we are to be holy.
The word holy is this idea of setting apart, setting something
aside and that's what we as children of God are.
We have been set aside. We are supposed to be be holy.
However, if we approach our neighbor hypocritically, then
what happens is that's the next verse here, verse 6.
Then we are actually giving our holiness to vicious dogs and to
pigs. Now both these dogs, apparently
dogs would run the streets during that time.
And Gabby and I have experienced that when we lived up north in a
little northern village close to the Yukon, there were tons of
dogs running those streets. And so that seems to be the kind
of situation in in Jesus time as well.
So dogs and pigs, we know that eating pig meat for a Jew was
actually forbidden. So if we as holy ones, citizens
of the Kingdom are judging and are hypocritical judges, then
what happens is the other person will see the hypocrisy in US.
And what will be his reaction? Well, his reaction will be that
who are you? And, and look how hypocritical
you are in this situation. That's like throwing pearls in
front of swine. Pig couldn't care less about
about pearls. He wants to eat grain and, and
those kinds of things. So we see how this passage is
progressing. Then we get to this ask and it
shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find and so
on. I'd like to jump over verses 7
to 11 and go directly to verse 12 first.
Then we'll back up and look at those previous verses.
Verse 12, Jesus says to the disciples, therefore, whatever
you want others to do to you, do so for them, for this is the Law
and the prophets. Jesus and the Sermon on the
Mount refers back to the Law and the prophets a number of times.
Here the word therefore tells us that there is a connection
between what He has just said in 7 to 11 and this verse, verse
12. So this idea that we find in
verse 12 is very common. We're all familiar with that.
Do unto others as you want others to do unto you.
And of course everybody nods his head.
Even whether you're a believer or not.
That just seems like a good way to live.
Now with what we have just seen in the 1st 6 verses about not
judging, we then go to verses 7 to 11.
Then it all of a sudden starts to make sense in not judging.
We need God's help. So ask, and it shall be given to
you. Seek and you shall find.
Knock, and it shall be open to you, for everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it
shall be open. Jesus drives that home with just
this little illustration. What man is there among you when
his Son shall ask him for a loath, we'll give him a stone,
or if you ask him for a fish, we'll give him a snake.
I mean, the answer is obvious, right?
Everybody would have the same and the correct answer, Nobody.
So then Jesus says, OK, if you guys who are not guiltless, he
actually uses the word evil. If you guys know how to give
your child good gifts, how much more will your Father in heaven
give you what you ask for? So our danger is that we judge
other people. Christ's advice is ask God for
help. It's not just a matter of asking
there and then sitting there with your arms crossed.
Also seek. So seek is already action,
activity and knock so that God will reveal to you on the one
hand where you need to improve, where you need to fix things in
your life, and on the other hand, not to judge the other
person. So as Jesus followers, we are to
be holy. Set apart.
Now I said that verse 12 is the goal.
That's what we want to get to, treating others the way we want
to be treated. Just maybe a week ago or so,
Gabby and I were driving from Niverville to Steinbeck and
along the 311 there's an intersection where traffic comes
from New Bothwell. We were coming along the 311
almost at the intersection when a car pulls up ahead of us and I
had to break fairly well. It wasn't a near accident, but
it could have been. And so, you know, our comments
to each other were, I mean, that was sort of a nasty thing to do.
And it's situations like that that road rage come out of, I
don't know, you may not have road rage here, but in Manitoba
it sometimes happens. And so how 1 responds in, in
that particular situation, there was traffic coming from the
front, so I couldn't pass and, you know, slam on the brakes or
do anything stupid like that. But that sometimes happens,
doesn't it? We're sometimes tempted to do
that. And is that a proper response?
You know, you consider that person very inelegant.
He, he just couldn't care less about other drivers as long as
he gets onto the road and and gets going.
And so those are things, everyday things that happen in
our lives and they happen so quickly and our judgement is
just as quick. And then comes this statement.
Treat others the way you want to be treated by them.
As followers of Christ, we need to treat others the way we want
to be treated. This truth has not gone gone
lost to our society either. I'll share 3 English proverbs
with you that actually give the same thing as what Jesus is
teaching here. I suspect that almost all of you
will have heard you're the pot calling the kettle black.
So that's simply, hey, you're accusing that person of such and
such and you're just as black as he is.
Or another one is people who live in glass houses shouldn't
throw stones. So the accuser is just as
vulnerable as one the person he accuses.
Or a third proverb, Those who protest the loudest have the
most to hide, simply saying that the accuser is just as imperfect
as the one to whom he points the finger.
There was a pastor in California by the name of Ray Steadman, and
he was a pastor over many, many years.
And and he has written in one of his books the following.
Well, first of all, I'll just mention in that book he talks
about how we are often blind to our own imperfections or even to
our misdeeds and so on. And when we do something that
isn't right and we even know that it's not right, but over
time, that thought sort of fades away.
That memory fades away and we just keep on living like we
always have. And then I'll quote a little bit
what he what he writes in his book.
There he says other people lie and cheat.
We simply stretch the truth a little.
Others betray. We simply are protecting our
rights. Others steal, we borrow, others
have prejudices, we have convictions.
Others murder and kill. We exploit and ruin, sort of
diminishing what? Diminishing our own faults and
holding the light up to other people's faults.
He closes that section there with Jesus, says he that is
without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.
Yes, we are all guilty of the same things we accuse others of
doing. As followers of Christ, we must
treat others as we want others to treat us.
What does God's Word tell us about ourselves?
Back to the book of Romans. In chapter 2, verse one, we read
this verse. You therefore have no excuse,
you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever
point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you
who pass judgement do the same things.
That's what Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 14, which I
made reference to before. There's another verse and let's
listen to this carefully. He says, who are you to judge
the servant of another to his own master?
He stands or falls and he will stand, for the Lord is able to
make him stand. Now this is in the context of
that weak Christian and that strong Christian, that new
Christian and that mature Christian that I will answer to
God and my neighbor will answer to God.
He does not. Answer to me, there's no right
for me to judge him. God will know what to do with
him. And he says God is able to make
him stand. Paul is talking about believers,
believers who are citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, and God
is able to make him the person that he can welcome into the
into the Kingdom. A.
Few years ago. When we had COVID, our.
Pastor. Always had the habit of going to
church quite early on Sunday morning.
And I think what he did is he reviewed his sermon once more
and so on and so forth. While he was there by himself in
the church, he got a phone call, total stranger.
And so the first question that Stranger asked was, are you
following the government rules? For.
For church at that time, the church was supposed to be empty
enough that families could feet sit 6 feet apart and those kinds
of things. And so his response was, yes, we
do that. Oh, you're a servant of Satan.
And he just tore a strip off of our pastor.
Our pastor was almost a bit shaken that morning.
Then there were those. Who got vaccinated, followed
government rules and. Very often we disdain.
Those who denied vaccines and that kind of thing, judging from
both sides. It's not for us to.
Judge God will. Judge, we need to treat.
Others as we ourselves want to be treated.
So the man I told you about in. The beginning Brent, his
reaction, what he. Wanted to do.
When that man yelled at him was to yell back.
But at that. Moment.
The thought went through his. Head I have a choice to make
here. And so he walked.
Up to the man and in basically one sentence explained the
situation that his six year old daughter was on her way to her
7th chemotherapy session. She had a tumor.
In her brain. She was unable.
To walk without a Walker, that's.
Why he was carrying? His daughter, apparently, the
way this I read the article. At that point, both men started
to cry. We can.
Misread another person's situation so badly.
We don't have any. Clue what that other person is
going through. Jesus says do.
Not judge. So then we.
Have verses 13 and 14 enter the narrow gate, for the gate is
wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many
are those who enter by it for the gate.
Is small. And the way is narrow, that
leads to life, and few are those who find it.
We need to set a direction. In our lives.
Do we want to go through that? Small gate.
Or the wide gate. I'll admit, those 17 years that
I drove to Mexico, I avoided 2 lane highways.
I liked the freeways. Because.
I made more time. You know that a colleague of
mine, he always tried to drive the very shortest distance.
He drove 500 kilometers less than I did.
And I drove. Five hours less than he did.
But in life? Jesus says the gate that we
should be looking for is a small one, and we'll find that at the
end of the narrow Rd. Forget the wide.
One that's leading to the wrong place.
We need to treat. Our neighbor as we want to be
treated ourselves. Let's pray, our Father, we thank
you. That you are a.
Merciful and gracious God, and we need your mercy.
We need your grace. But Lord, we also.
Ask that you would help us to not be a judge mental person.
But rather. To look after our own life.
And to live in. A way that pleases you and that
shows the world how you want us to live.
Give us. The grace to do.
That to your honor and glory, in Jesus name, Amen.