Judge not!

Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives to pray as in Luke 22:39-44. This was a place He often visited, either to pray or teach. It must have been a special place that Jesus liked going to. That was where He ran to just before going to the cross, when all was just so much for Him to bear. Jesus ran there to pray. He advised Peter and the others to pray also. He fell to the ground at Mount Olives and wept. He was in profound sorrow, such that an angel was sent to Him at Mount Olives to strengthen Him. Think about it, the Bible says Jesus‘ sweat was like blood falling to the ground of Mount Olives.

That same Mount Olives in John 8 is where the pharisees came to accuse and stone a woman they had labelled an adulteress. They were angry with her, they said they had caught her in the act of adultery and the law of Moses instructs them to stone her. They knew the law.

What did Jesus say? “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And then one after the other they dropped their stones and walked away.

I want to draw on two things here. The first is this: the very place that was a sanctuary to Jesus, they were ready to violate. This is similar to many believers. The church, the sanctuary, the gathering place, where we meet God – we are very well prepared to deface it with our anger and strife. We bear such intense grievances that we are ready to tear down the place that was set up for peace. We do not care when those raw feelings start to flow. We are ready to throw rocks and stones in the place of worship.

Second, they all turned and left. Why? Because they knew that they were not as holy. They knew that they were not as righteous. Maybe even filthier than the woman they had accused and wanted to stone. They had a lot of stuff in their hidden lives; hidden cupboards that no one knew of. And so the easiest to do was walk away!

Jesus said in Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. People who judge others think they will get away with this sin. But they will not! They will get the same and more. The word of God will see to that. In fact judging others is like cursing oneself. Because in the end, it will all turn back on the one who has judged. Only repentance before those whom were judged can erase the yoke of this sin.

And for you who have been judged by others take heart with what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

People will judge you. But take Paul’s approach. He said he pays no attention to them. He does not judge himself, because his conscience is clear. When you follow God with a clear and faithful heart, no one can judge you and be ever successful at it. Even if you have fallen short, it is not their role to judge you; and know that God will not put you into their hands.

When people go around judging others, you must wonder what is going on in their personal lives. And so do not take their judgement to heart.

If you are the one doing the judging, I encourage you to ask for forgiveness today.

Linda Faith

Linda faith is the Editor in Chief of Jewels Magazine. She co-pastors along with her husband Revival Worship Church, Tampa. She is a prolific writer and powerful speaker, inspiring many women to be all God has called them to be. She is the founder of Joy Women’s conference which reaches out to empower, inspire and motivate women in their faith walk. She was a software developer before she started writing.

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