Message
What comes to mind when you look at these pictures?
(Show a series of photos which would cause people to make some sort of judgement)
Ok, keep whatever thoughts you have in mind and let’s read our Scripture passage.
Read Matthew 7:1-12
That’s a crunch-time passage isn’t it.
Do not judge ... yet how many of us just made some sort of visual judgement?
Perhaps it is fair to say we find it difficult not to judge. Which make this text really important.
As we look at its importance we have to first start off by making sure we understand what this passage is talking about.
When Jesus says, Do not judge, He is not saying, “Just be gullible”, or “Accept everything and don’t be discerning”. How do we know He isn’t saying that? Well later on He says Do not give to dogs what is sacred; do not thrown your pearls to pigs. At the very least you will have to judge who is a dog and a pig ... don’t you.
When Jesus says, Do not judge, He has a specific context in mind. Earlier in the sermon Jesus says, your righteousness needs to surpass that of the Pharisees. The Pharisees loved to point and look down their long noses over their glasses and say “tut-tut” to anyone outside their group.
Look at their sinful lives.
See how hateful and wicked they are.
What filthy habits they have.
It was the Pharisee way. First you show everyone how holy you are. Then, because you are holy you have to keep away from others.
Keep away from them – this is the attitude Jesus dealing with.
Keep away from them they’re ... promiscuous.
Keep away from them they’re ... party goers.
Keep away from them they’re ... homosexuals.
Keep away from them they’re ... drug addicted.
Keep away from them they’re ... filthy rich.
Keep away from them they’re ... questionable.
Keep away from them they’re ... not like us.
The Pharisees and the Pharisaical attitude says we have judged you … you are not like us … so we Keep Away.
You are not like us. You are outside the group.
Jesus is challenging this attitude. So that is the big question in these verses.
How do we relate to those outside our group?
Jesus makes four points to help us to answer this question.
Don’t be a bad optometrist.
Have you noticed how easy it is to have 20-20 vision when it comes to everyone else’s faults ... but when it comes to our own faults we are as blind as a bat.
I am just being firm in my views ... but you are being pig-headed.
I have reconsidered my position ... but you have gone back on your word.
I have trouble controlling my emotions ... but you have anger issues.
My character sometimes gets the better of me ... you are just plain evil.
We are like eagles aren’t we. We see the smallest movements and dive down to point them out. At the same time we have a truck-load of faults that we pretend don’t exist.
That is what it means to have a plank in your own eye, while trying to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Now that doesn’t mean you can’t help people with the specks in their eyes – when you have a speck in your eye it hurts. People come up to you holding their eyes open, “I’ve got a speck can you see it?”
“Not really”.
“It is right there it feels like a boulder”.
“Yea there it is. Let me help you”.
“Thanks ... now how about we do something about the plank in your eye”.
It’s at this moment you can choose to be the hypocrite ... seeing specks but ignoring planks.
Well that is the theory – let’s focus on a few practical examples.
We fall into this plank trap when we will not forgive someone who has done something to us.
When you point your finger at others and say things like:-
You’re a liar and a cheat.
You have hurt and abused.
You broke my heart and took advantage of me.
You went back on your promises.
When you point the finger – isn’t it true that three fingers are coming back to you. Isn’t it true that in a different circumstance you have done the same to others? If you can’t offer forgiveness do you have a right to forgive yourself? Take out the plank.
We fall into this plank trap when we are not kind to others.
I hate shopping queues – in fact I hate queues in general. When I get into a queue I always compare myself to the queue next to me. You know you match yourself with the person next to you and see who gets served first. It is a mind game.
You move forward ... you feel good.
You move forward again ... you have this in the bag.
Then all of the sudden your line stops – because the trainee has come back from morning tea. The other queue is flying past. So you need to take out your frustration.
She’s putting the peas through upside down, “Stupid girl”.
She has to keep calling the manager, “Stupid girl”.
She is so slow, “Stupid girl”.
She is still learning the job and is probably trying her best, “Stup... ...”.
Weren’t you once a trainee? Didn’t you have to learn? Didn’t you need encouragement instead of judgement? Take out the plank.
We fall into this plank trap when we gossip.
Gossiping means talking about the faults of others behind their back. The only possible outcome of such an activity is to highlight the shortcomings of others in order to make ourselves feel better.
We are not trying to help them.
We are not trying to right and wrongs.
All we do is condemn – and they aren’t even in the room to defend themselves. Take out the plank.
Stop and think for a moment – we’ve all be planking at some point. And it isn’t just some crazy internet fad … for some of us it is a way of life.
Do you want to relate in a Jesus-manner to people?
Don’t be a bad optometrist.
Let’s move to the next one.
Don’t be a dog and pig feeder.
We should not be judgemental, but we should also be discerning. Because there are times when people act like dogs and pigs.
Now when Jesus says dogs and pigs don’t think of Lassie and Babe. The dogs of Jesus’ day were wild, feeding on garbage and road kill. Pigs were considered unclean, and the ancient Jews were forbidden to eat them. Dogs and pigs were not easy to associate with. You can give them something valuable but they just don’t appreciate it.
Oysters cost about $40.00 a dozen. I know one person who looks at a plate of oysters and says, “They look like snot-balls and taste worse”. That is putting pearls before pigs – I just really don’t appreciate the finer things in life ... do I.
Sometimes people can be like that. When I was 15 the church I was in built their own building. Sometimes tradesman would need to be hired to help. This one guy was a grader operator who was helping with the carpark. At lunch time we sat in the church to have lunch.
His first comment was, “I hope the building doesn’t fall in me when I walk in”.
The pastor at the time tried to steer the conversation to religious issues.
He just wasn’t interested.
To keep on pushing at that moment would have been fruitless, and maybe even counter-productive.
So what Jesus is saying here is this:- If all people are doing is pouring scorn and contempt on God and Jesus. Stop. The value of the Gospel is just being trampled on.
Still keep the relationship.
Still be non-judgemental.
But be discerning.
Jesus might bring a different day when they will be ready. If you keep on pushing all you will end up doing is breaking a relationship that will never be repaired.
Which is hard to do sometimes. Because we want to see people in God’s family don’t we. So Jesus brings us to the next step of relating to people outside our group.
Do be a door-banging seeker
Jesus says, Ask ... Seek ... Knock ... and things happen.
Sadly these verses have constantly been ripped out of their context to mean, “If you keep on asking and seeking and knocking long enough you will get what you want – your prayers will be answered. But what about the context?
Matthew 6:7 says, When you pray do not keep babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. You can’t nag God into submission.
And haven’t we been just talking about dogs and pigs – about relationships. And later in verse 12 Jesus will say, Do to others as you would have them do to you, so He is still talking about relationships.
Jesus isn’t giving us a Heaven Gift-Card and we just ask what we want and get it. What He is doing is giving us a plan of attack to deal with the dogs and pigs.
We don’t want to stop telling them about the source of real hope ... do we?
We know that God’s grace can change anyone ... don’t we?
We can’t turn our back on those who are in such spiritual need ... can we?
So what do we do?
You come to the only One who can make a difference.
You ask. Ask that God will soften hard hearts.
You seek. Seeking the wisdom to have the right words and to see the right time.
You knock. That the door of grace will be flung wide open.
You keep doing this because ... above everything else ... it gives you the right attitude.
A few years ago during a children’s talk I was doing in church we were talking about items children use to give them comfort. A toy bear. A special doll. A blanket. At that moment one of the children said, “I have something”. It was a rag.
It smelt.
It was frayed and faded.
It had been sucked on far too many times.
But there is no way the family could get it off him. That child didn’t see a dirty rag, he saw something that had become precious.
When you keep praying for people ... the people described as dogs and pigs ... what happens is that you stop seeing dogs and pigs. You see people in need. You see people who are lonely. You see people who have been hurt. You see ... what God sees. When you are a door-banger your relationship to people outside the group goes to a whole new level.
But is there anything else you can do besides pray?
Yes there is.
Do be a Bible summary
In everything you do, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
You can be a walking talking summary of the Bible – by doing for others as you would have them do to you. Which brings us back to the beginning of the section doesn’t it. The whole thing about us taking the plank out of our eye. Right from the beginning Jesus has been setting us up to be good Bible summaries. Jesus does this because He knows the power of a visual example.
About 10 years ago there was a missionary in Russia. He was captured by the Russian army who were not very sympathetic to Christians. In order to humiliate the man the soldiers made him lay on the ground and then they urinated all over him. When it was finished the missionary stood up and said, “Because Jesus forgive you so do I”. That night when he was locked in his outdoor prison a soldier came to him and spoke with him in the dark. “Tell me about this Jesus who enables you to treat all people with dignity.” Through that conversation another believer was added to the kingdom.
Those who are outside our group might not like what we do, and they are very suspicious of us, and they may even hate us. But they are watching.
They are watching how we will act.
They are watching how we will respond.
They are watching how we deal with our wives and husbands and children and each other.
They are watching how we deal with life and hardships and pain and failure.
Constantly they are asking the questions. Are those Christians treating other people the same way that they want to be treated? The real question they are asking, even though they don’t know it is this one:-
Does having Jesus as their Lord and Saviour make a difference in their lives?
You can be a walking Bible summary. Having Jesus in our lives makes all the difference.
How do we relate to those outside our group?
That is the big question being asked here.
Are we judgemental, or are we discerning?
Are we praying hard to God, or don’t we really care?
Are we walking the talk, or are we just frauds?
What are we willing to do to see God’s family grow?
Prayer
