Week 20 - Speck Inspectors

Matthew 7

Speck Inspectors

Do you ever stop and consider what your world would look like if you would but give the benefit of the doubt to those you relate to daily? If you did that, would your world look any different? Would your home look any different? Would your church look any different? And when it comes to those relationships, wouldn’t it be great if you had someone to put such an attitude and practice into perspective and told you what to do and how to do it? That is exactly what Jesus does in this text.

To understand the point Jesus is making, one must keep in mind the point of this sermon. This sermon is a contrast in God’s view and the religious leaders’ view of personal righteousness (5:20). That point must not be lost in dealing with this text. For too many, this text is used to prove what they already want to believe, and that is, no one under any circumstances has any right to judge another. The idea is, “You live your lifestyle and I will live mine. Do not tell me how to live and do not try to impose your standards of morality on me.” That is not the message of this text. This text is simply a warning to avoid the extremes of judgment that most seem to gravitate to. While condemning the harsh, holier than thou, judgmental spirit of the Pharisees (vs. 1-5), Jesus acknowledges the need for making judgments and in doing so safeguards an extreme interpretation of this subject (vs. 6). In these few words about judging Jesus states the personal consequence (you will be judged in the same manner in which you judge), the potential conundrum (the greatest dilemma one faces when he judges another is that he never looks at himself with the same scrutiny), and the necessity of practical critiques (there must be discernment concerning people and their behavior when it comes to how it affects their Christian life).

Two men entered a rather stately church, one noticeably untidy, the other well dressed. Both were ushered to different sections of the auditorium. Following the service, the well-dressed visitor was invited to dinner at the home of the preacher. As the food was passed the visitor helped himself to the food and then did a rather odd thing. He began scooping the food into his coat pockets. Unable to keep silent, the preacher asked why he was doing this odd thing. To which the visitor replied, “Judging from where you seated the other visitor this morning, I assumed you invited my suit to lunch. So I’m feeding it.”

—David Swanger