NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Have you ever…

…called someone an “idiot” (or worse) for cutting in front of you in traffic?

…thought (in your head) that your spouse was ignorant, weak, or insane because they refused to see a matter your way?

…clucked your tongue at a frazzled mom who couldn’t control her kids in the department store?

…grimaced to yourself because a sister showed up to church with holes in her jeans?

Yes? Me, too. And this verse is for us today:

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6.37–38

Jesus spoke symmetrically and poetically to bring us this wonderful truth. Two do nots (judge not and condemn not) followed by two dos (forgive and give) strike quite the contrast.

Make sure you give more than expected. How will you fill the cup with flour? Press it down. Shake it. Let it spill over. Give more than you owe, more than they expect, more than you must.

But wait—Jesus said the extravagant measure will be put in your lap. You will you get that overflowing gift, when you use that measure for others. Likewise, if you skimp with others, don’t be surprised when you get back the same.

Jesus had just finished teaching the crowds to love their enemies (Luke 6.27) by blessing them and doing good to them. He told them to lend them money, expecting nothing in return (Luke 6.35), and to be merciful to them (Luke 6.36).

This is the context in which He taught, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.”

Jesus does not mean it is wrong to apply God’s law and judge a matter to be right or wrong. In John 7.24, Jesus also instructed to “judge with righteous judgement.” Interestingly, He told that to Jews who were condemning their brothers (including Jesus!) in their hearts. We should learn to judge righteously, but that’s not the same kind of judgment He condemns in Luke 6.

Jesus is telling us not to condemn a brother in our hearts. On the one hand, you love your brother when you tell him he is living in sin and needs to repent. On the other hand, you hate your brother when you despise him in your heart. The opposite of judging and condemning is forgiving and giving. And remember, we should give even to our enemies, not expecting anything in return. How then should we give to our brothers?

The underlying golden rule instructs us to ask, “How would I like to be treated?” and then treat my brother that way. Would I want my brother to set himself up as my judge? Would I want him to judge me because of my family situation or the color of my skin or the financial troubles I find myself in?

Don’t we tend to judge people based on these things? Perhaps my neighbor is in bad financial straights because he sinned with his money. More likely I just don’t know his story and I would probably be in his position had I gone through what he has.

Steven Covey tells the story of when he was on the subway one day and a man sat near him who was letting his little children run wild on the car. Steven finally had enough and chastised the man for it. The man, in a sort of daze, apologized and told him their mother had just died and he hadn’t figured out how to handle it yet.

Yes, there are plenty of bad actors out there, and we can judge their actions as evil. But when we are simply irritated at someone, we show a pathetic lack of love. Most people would probably say, “Why don’t you get to know my situation before you judge?” Isn’t that what we would want from others?

How would I like you to think about me? Then I’ll try to think of you that way.

How would I like you to treat me? Then I’ll try to treat you that way.

Love you, my brother.

About 600 years before Christ was born, while Jehoiakim was king of Judah, Jeremiah dictated words from God to Baruch the scribe, who wrote them on a scroll.

“I am banned from going to the house of YHWH,” Jeremiah told Baruch, “so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in YHWH’s house you shall read the words of YHWH from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before YHWH, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that YHWH has pronounced against this people.”

Baruch followed Jeremiah’s instructions. All the people of Judah proclaimed a fast and came to Jerusalem, and Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll in the house of YHWH.

A fellow named Micaiah heard Baruch’s reading and slipped away to tell the officials in the king’s house that someone was in the temple reading words against the people of Judah. The officials sent for Baruch to bring his scroll so he could read it to them.

They told Baruch, “Sit down and read it.”

After he finished, the officials looked around at each other with fear in their eyes. “We must report these words to the king,” they decided. Turning to Baruch, they said, “How did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”

Baruch answered, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.”

The officials then said, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” They knew there could be serious blowback from the king because the words were harsh towards his kingdom.

They brought the scroll to Jehoiakim, and the king had his man Jehudi read it to him in the presence of all the officials. In the fire pot before them, they had a hot fire going because it was winter, and Jehoiakim began taking the parts of the scroll that Jehudi had finished reading, cutting them off, and throwing them into the fire. Three of his men—Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah—urged the king not to burn the words, but he wouldn’t listen to them. Jehudi finally finished reading, and the king threw the last scrap of paper into the fire.

There was no fear in the king or any of his servants who had just heard the words. They had just burned the word of YHWH—it was gone. They didn’t believe it would come to pass.

The king ordered that Baruch and Jeremiah be seized, but YHWH made sure they were hidden from the king’s designs.

Do you think that was the end of the story? Can men just burn and ban the word of God and remove His hand from upon them? Can we simply set God’s word aside with no consequence? Does burning the Bible make God vanish away?

The word of YHWH came to Jeremiah again: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. And concerning Jehoiakim you shall say, ‘Thus says YHWH, you have burned this scroll, saying “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says YHWH concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

The first word was a warning; the second word was a promise of judgment. The first word was a hand of mercy extended and an opportunity for repentance; the second word was a firm expectation of God’s wrath.

You can attempt to ban God’s word. You can try to cast off His restraints. You can plan your own life and do it all your way. But God’s word will come upon you in the end. He will do what He intends.

We must not ban God’s word personally. He is my God and your God, and we are subject to His direction in every aspect of life. He formed me in my mother’s womb.

We must not ban God’s word as a family. He is our God. He formed and designed the family and set a purpose for father, mother, and children.

We must not ban God’s word in the marketplace. He demands honest scales.

We must not ban God’s word in the town square. He demands justice and will punish those who accept bribes and who judge with partiality.

We must not ban God’s word in the country’s capitol. The kings of the earth are subject to YHWH. God gives kings a mandate to punish wrongdoers and protect the innocent.

Burning the word of the Lord today is just as bad as it was for Jehoiakim, and those who do rightly fall under the judgment of God almighty. Help us, Lord, to bow our knee to King Jesus, love His word, and do it all the days of our lives.

(See Jeremiah 36 for the events recounted above.)