Post by M.R. Hagerty on Jul 17, 2023 17:13:02 GMT -7
Luke 6:37-42, Matthew 7:6
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." 39 And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 "Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:37-42)
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
(Matthew 7:6)
_____________________________________________________________
Commentary
Luke 6:37
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”
Other versions have, “lest you be judged.” The idea is that of avoiding judgment of oneself by purposing not to judge. Judging and condemning are cautioned because they are the reserve of God Himself, who judges with perfect wisdom, a complete knowledge of the facts, and with justice.
This is among the most misused verses of the Bible and is ready at hand in the mouth of the unbeliever to fend off evangelistic attempts to convert him – “who are you to judge me?” But evangelism infers a necessary judgment – the unbeliever is without Christ, without salvation, condemned, so despite our desire to avoid the appearance of judgment, there is always one in play by default. Hence, the unbeliever quotes this verse to avert having to account for himself before God, but especially before Christians. And often it is just a ruse to preserve their way of life.
The key to this teaching is ”and you will not be judged.” If God has given wisdom and foreknowledge to judge, then what fear has the believer in proclaiming it? The judgment to be avoided is that of God, and if we judge with God’s insight, He is the one to whom we will answer. And if it was according to His bidding there will be no judgment to fear.
The sting comes in when we take to ourselves the role of judge without warrant. Assessing other people’s state, worthiness or place before God purely on our own. This is delicate because we can easily deceive ourselves that our assessment is God’s own.
Another related failing is our propensity in general human affairs to draw conclusions in haste. We hear just enough to arouse suspicions and then proceed to make a complete case without hearing all the facts. Then when more of the facts are made known, we cover our embarrassment by contorting the interpretation of the facts so that our initial judgment can stand without retraction. All of that sort of thing is of evil and selfishness. Hence Jesus says there is judgment waiting in the wings for us.
Condemnation is in the same context because so much of judging is condemnatory. To condemn is God’s prerogative. It is His Kingdom, not ours. He sets the rules as to who gets in. Condemnation is more serious than judging in that it is more final, more teleological (matters concerning the final outcome of things) and no man can say he knows such things. So while a person is certainly acting outside the righteousness of God and openly curses God, his ultimate end cannot be known, whether he will be saved or not.
Someone could have looked at Paul while he still breathed threats against Christians and made a “final” assessment of his life and would of course have been dead wrong.
A positive exhortation is recommended - ”pardon and you will be pardoned.” It is akin to showing mercy if we wish mercy to be shown to us. The principle is not a formula for how to get into God’s good graces. Salvation is still the requirement, but it is meant to show that we can’t practice mercy and pardon opposite to God’s will in these things and then expect mercy to be shown to us.
Luke 6:38
38 "Give, and it will be given to you.”
This can be seen the wrong way – if you want to have things given to you, give. That shouldn’t be our reason. Rather, it is a way of explaining why we may not be receiving. We don’t possess a giving attitude in disposition or deed.
There are some folks who always see themselves as being on the receiving end of other people’s charity, but never as the giver. They want always to get but not often to give, or if so, begrudgingly. The truer spirit is to give without expectation of reward or return in kind. It is taking joy of one’s life that others are blessed that is the preferred attitude. And if we take the opposite, Jesus is saying that when we begin to ask why we are not receiving, we have our answer.
“They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”
When we give with the right spirit, we will find that our Lord is not slack in blessing us back. This is the measure of His goodness. We ought to be fully satisfied that others are blessed. Yet He loves us so much He cannot withhold a return of blessing. It is not something He owes us. It is something He simply wishes to give back in His love for us and our obedience.
‘They’ means the agencies of His blessing back to us. God very seldom acts personally in the world, but always through his creation. He “arranges” the persons and affairs that will minister the blessings.
“pressed down, shaken together, running over” are customary terms from the times. When measuring out quantities, especially things like grain, the seller could easily get away selling less quantity for the same price by simply filling the bushel and collecting the cash.
The conscientious seller would pour in a portion, shake the grain to get rid of pockets of air, then press it down. Then add more, doing the same until the bushel represented true value for the money paid. That is what characterizes the blessing of God. Not given stingily or miserly, but of the truest value, with generosity.
“For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
If you are cheap and miserly, your rewards will be the same. God is simply saying that we cannot have double-standards between others and ourselves.
Luke 6:39-41
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
The train of thought is still about judgment but the emphasis is now about humility as the basis for not judging. It is a matter of knowing our place among other men.
The guide and the one guided are at different places. The one who is blind cannot think of himself more highly than his circumstances. He is dependent on those who can see, so he must face his dependency as it is. He must accept his place and the fact that there are those with sight while he has none.
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." 39 And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 "Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:37-42)
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
(Matthew 7:6)
_____________________________________________________________
Commentary
Luke 6:37
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.”
Other versions have, “lest you be judged.” The idea is that of avoiding judgment of oneself by purposing not to judge. Judging and condemning are cautioned because they are the reserve of God Himself, who judges with perfect wisdom, a complete knowledge of the facts, and with justice.
This is among the most misused verses of the Bible and is ready at hand in the mouth of the unbeliever to fend off evangelistic attempts to convert him – “who are you to judge me?” But evangelism infers a necessary judgment – the unbeliever is without Christ, without salvation, condemned, so despite our desire to avoid the appearance of judgment, there is always one in play by default. Hence, the unbeliever quotes this verse to avert having to account for himself before God, but especially before Christians. And often it is just a ruse to preserve their way of life.
The key to this teaching is ”and you will not be judged.” If God has given wisdom and foreknowledge to judge, then what fear has the believer in proclaiming it? The judgment to be avoided is that of God, and if we judge with God’s insight, He is the one to whom we will answer. And if it was according to His bidding there will be no judgment to fear.
The sting comes in when we take to ourselves the role of judge without warrant. Assessing other people’s state, worthiness or place before God purely on our own. This is delicate because we can easily deceive ourselves that our assessment is God’s own.
Another related failing is our propensity in general human affairs to draw conclusions in haste. We hear just enough to arouse suspicions and then proceed to make a complete case without hearing all the facts. Then when more of the facts are made known, we cover our embarrassment by contorting the interpretation of the facts so that our initial judgment can stand without retraction. All of that sort of thing is of evil and selfishness. Hence Jesus says there is judgment waiting in the wings for us.
Condemnation is in the same context because so much of judging is condemnatory. To condemn is God’s prerogative. It is His Kingdom, not ours. He sets the rules as to who gets in. Condemnation is more serious than judging in that it is more final, more teleological (matters concerning the final outcome of things) and no man can say he knows such things. So while a person is certainly acting outside the righteousness of God and openly curses God, his ultimate end cannot be known, whether he will be saved or not.
Someone could have looked at Paul while he still breathed threats against Christians and made a “final” assessment of his life and would of course have been dead wrong.
A positive exhortation is recommended - ”pardon and you will be pardoned.” It is akin to showing mercy if we wish mercy to be shown to us. The principle is not a formula for how to get into God’s good graces. Salvation is still the requirement, but it is meant to show that we can’t practice mercy and pardon opposite to God’s will in these things and then expect mercy to be shown to us.
Luke 6:38
38 "Give, and it will be given to you.”
This can be seen the wrong way – if you want to have things given to you, give. That shouldn’t be our reason. Rather, it is a way of explaining why we may not be receiving. We don’t possess a giving attitude in disposition or deed.
There are some folks who always see themselves as being on the receiving end of other people’s charity, but never as the giver. They want always to get but not often to give, or if so, begrudgingly. The truer spirit is to give without expectation of reward or return in kind. It is taking joy of one’s life that others are blessed that is the preferred attitude. And if we take the opposite, Jesus is saying that when we begin to ask why we are not receiving, we have our answer.
“They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”
When we give with the right spirit, we will find that our Lord is not slack in blessing us back. This is the measure of His goodness. We ought to be fully satisfied that others are blessed. Yet He loves us so much He cannot withhold a return of blessing. It is not something He owes us. It is something He simply wishes to give back in His love for us and our obedience.
‘They’ means the agencies of His blessing back to us. God very seldom acts personally in the world, but always through his creation. He “arranges” the persons and affairs that will minister the blessings.
“pressed down, shaken together, running over” are customary terms from the times. When measuring out quantities, especially things like grain, the seller could easily get away selling less quantity for the same price by simply filling the bushel and collecting the cash.
The conscientious seller would pour in a portion, shake the grain to get rid of pockets of air, then press it down. Then add more, doing the same until the bushel represented true value for the money paid. That is what characterizes the blessing of God. Not given stingily or miserly, but of the truest value, with generosity.
“For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
If you are cheap and miserly, your rewards will be the same. God is simply saying that we cannot have double-standards between others and ourselves.
Luke 6:39-41
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
The train of thought is still about judgment but the emphasis is now about humility as the basis for not judging. It is a matter of knowing our place among other men.
The guide and the one guided are at different places. The one who is blind cannot think of himself more highly than his circumstances. He is dependent on those who can see, so he must face his dependency as it is. He must accept his place and the fact that there are those with sight while he has none.