Texts: Exodus 18:13-26; Matthew 7:1-14

Moses chose able men from all Israel and appointed them as heads over the people, as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And they judged the people at all times… 

Exodus 18v26

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 

Matthew 7v1

I spend an unhealthy amount of time wondering why those in charge of the lectionary combine certain passages. Last week I preached on just one passage because the link seemed non-existent…but not today.

Matthew 7v1 is certainly one of the most well known of Jesus’s sayings. It’s easy to remember, it’s a quick fire response, and it has a way of shutting down conversation. You’ll often hear it when Christians speak out on an issue in public, but perhaps you’re even more likely to hear it whenever you disagree with a friend or family member. The implication is often, “you have no right to tell me I’m wrong.”

So it’s interesting those choosing the lectionary verses have paired it with the reading from Exodus. We meet Moses dealing with a community who have many disagreements, and he’s exhausted. Moses needs judges, and he needs them to help resolve disputes, to make known the statutes and instructions of God. And of course there are other passages too. Paul speaks time and again of the need to distinguish between right and wrong for the benefit of the church community. But James, almost as though he is quoting Jesus, warns against judging our neighbour. Even more complicated, is that Jesus himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us plenty of teaching on what to do and what not to do. That would require some sort of judgement, especially in a church. It seems that Jesus’s words don’t preclude discerning right from wrong…so what is he saying?

I am constantly amazed, the older I get, at my ability to listen to a talk or sermon in church, and immediately think, “ah…I know someone who needs to hear this. If only they were here now.” Instead of sitting with the discomfort of a particular passage, or message, I want others to be hearing it, I want others to repent. Are we all like that?

This is, I think, in part, what Jesus is addressing. Already in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has addressed the hypocrisy of religious leaders, and now he zooms in, on the hypocrisy we’re all capable of. “Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” Judging others for sins we have not come to terms with ourself is particularly problematic. It’s not just a Christian problem, it’s a profoundly human one. 

The Bible also has clear warnings against self-righteous, superficial, and harsh judgement, to name just a few. Because we are called to be like our Father in heaven, we are called to judge with honesty and integrity. But also like our Father in heaven, we are called to have mercy and grace.

Jesus’s words certainly don’t give us a pass to do whatever we wish. The second half of this bit of advice is important. “Take the log out of your own eye,” he says, “and then you’ll see to take the speck out of your neighbours eye.” He calls us to look honestly at ourselves, to bring ourselves before our Father in heaven, who is slow to anger and abounding in love, for only then are we able to treat others, with the grace and mercy we ourselves have received. Then we can join together as we live to honour him in all we do.