{"id":296,"date":"2005-09-26T17:02:54","date_gmt":"2005-09-26T22:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/?p=296"},"modified":"2005-11-12T14:04:12","modified_gmt":"2005-11-12T21:04:12","slug":"did-jesus-judge-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2005\/did-jesus-judge-or-not.html","title":{"rendered":"Did Jesus judge or not??"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got another good Bible question by email, so I thought I’d share the answer with you.  The basic question was, why is it that Jesus says in John 8:15 that He doesn’t judge anyone, when all through the Gospels He seems to be doing a lot of judging?  Here’s my answer, see what you<\/i> think (note<\/b> – you may need to click a link to see the rest of the answer.  It’s a long one, so I’m using the blog’s extended text feature<\/i>):<\/p>\n

Great question!  There has been a great deal of confusion over the concept of “judging” in the Bible, since there are a number of passages dealing with it.  And it’s actually a very important concept.<\/p>\n

There is I think a very good answer to your question, but let’s make things even more complicated by adding two more passages.  You quoted from the KVJ, so I’ll do the same:<\/p>\n

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son<\/i> (John 5:22)<\/p>\n

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.<\/i> (John 9:39)<\/p>\n

Now of course we really<\/i> have a problem, because these verses clearly make it sound like Jesus is a judge.<\/p>\n

For it to all make sense, we must understand that there are different meanings for the word “judge”.  In fact, there are times when different words are used in the Greek (the original language of the New Testament).  Here are some possible meanings of the words, then we’ll come back to our passages.  We’ll do this by contrasting different types of judging:<\/font>
\n<\/p>\n


Judge – when?<\/b>  Are we talking about judging now, or God’s judgment at the end of time?
Judge – who?<\/b>  Are we judging believers or unbelievers?
Judge – what?<\/b>  Is this judgment according to outward appearance, or inward motives?
Judge – why?<\/b>  Is this a judgment meant to correct, or to punish?
Judge – how?<\/b>  By our personal opinion, or by God’s standards?<\/p>\n

The Bible differentiates these different kinds of judging.  Look for example at your original passage, John 15.  Apparently Jesus is saying He doesn’t judge, and yet He is also “judging” the Pharisees by accusing them of “judging according to the flesh”.  Either the author of the Gospel was completely confused when he wrote this down, or else we’re talking about two different kinds of judging.<\/p>\n

The judgment of the Pharisees was by outward appearance.  They wanted to condemn Jesus then and there as a false prophet.  In the original Greek, these two things are contrasted.  Jesus could be saying,”You judge by outward appearance, I do not.”  He’s not saying He doesn’t judge in any sense of the word, just that He doesn’t judge as the Pharisees do.<\/p>\n

In fact, this makes the most sense because He goes on to say,”And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.  It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.  I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.”<\/p>\n

Jesus is continuing the contrast.  The Pharisees were judging according to appearance, Jesus was not.  The Pharisees judged according to their opinion and traditions, Jesus’ judgment was in line with God’s.<\/p>\n

But, as you point out, isn’t it wrong to judge?<\/b>  That doesn’t sound very Christian!  And you’re right, depending on what kind of judging you’re talking about.  If my son tries to stick his finger in an electrical socket, I’m going to judge really fast that this is a bad idea, and I’m going to let him know.  That kind of judging is good.<\/p>\n

You’re probably thinking of the negative, snobby moralizing judgment that people sometimes indulge in.  This is usually an opinionated, condemning judgment, and that is clearly wrong.  So let’s end off with a quick survey of Scripture, and we’ll see what kind of judgment we’re primarily talking about:<\/p>\n

John 5:22-30<\/a>
It’s clear from this passage that we’re talking about the end of time.  At that point, Jesus will judge, knowing perfectly people’s hearts and motives.  He’ll be a just judge, who can’t make a mistake, and who will never let the criminal get away or the innocent be wrongly convicted.  And He will judge by God’s perfect standard, not some biased opinion.  But this is later, not now (see 2Co 5:10<\/a>).  God would not be good if He didn’t bother with justice.  But He waits out of love, giving everyone the chance to choose good or evil (2Pe 3:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n

John 8:15<\/a>
Opinionated, superficial judgment.  Jesus doesn’t do it.<\/p>\n

John 9:39<\/a>
This is a different Greek word for judgment than we’ve seen in the other passages.  In a sense, Jesus’ very presence in the world demonstrated what people were really like (judged them).  They would either accept or reject Him.  Those who appeared to be wise would be shown for what they really were.  And those who came to Jesus for help would be helped.  This is not the instant permanent judgment that will take place at the end of time.  In fact, in the context it doesn’t even sound like Jesus is actively judging at all (in spite of the way some translations make it sound).  His perfect life and teaching is simply showing people the truth.<\/p>\n

John 12:47-48<\/a>
Current condemnation (punishment, sentencing) of the wicked.  Jesus doesn’t do that.  However, He will judge them at the end of time.<\/p>\n

So Jesus will judge at the end of time, but not now.  However, He did<\/i> judge in the sense of warning people (to help, not to condemn).  You mentioned Mark 16:16<\/a>.  It is talking about judgment, but when?  At the end of time, not now.  No one is supposed to be walking around saying,”Bad, she should go to [you-know-where].  Bad, he should go to [you-know-where].”  But if there’s someone I know who claims he believes the Bible, and he’s being a jerk, of course a friend should talk to him, in hopes that he’ll stop being so hypocritical.  Warning people is love.  Condemning them is not my job, especially if they don’t make any claim to be followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Also, my judgment is always softened by the fact that I don’t know the heart.  Jesus could get away with saying things I never could, because He knew exactly what people were thinking.  I don’t, and so this condemning judgment is something you and I should never do.  But if my friend is about to walk over a cliff, I’m going to let them know.  It’s the Christian thing to do.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got another good Bible question by email, so I thought I’d share the answer with you.  The basic question was, why is it that Jesus says in John 8:15 that He doesn’t judge anyone, when all through the Gospels He seems to be doing a lot of judging?  Here’s my answer, see what you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional-and-bible","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\nDid Jesus judge or not?? - Finding direction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2005\/did-jesus-judge-or-not.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did Jesus judge or not?? 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