Labels: Judgment or Testimony?

Matthew 7:1–5; John 8:12–20

Labels are a part of modern life. If I purchase something in a bottle or can, I want to know what is inside. A label tells me what it is, how much volume or weight is contained, and what the ingredients are.  If I buy a piece of clothing, the label gives me information about the size, the fabric, how to care for it, and where it comes from.

Labels can also move rapidly from information to value. Does a can contain simply “tomato soup” or is it a gourmet variety like “creamy tomato with basil”? Is the fabric of my shirt 100% cotton, a synthetic, merino wool, or some kind of a blend? Am I getting something ordinary or does it have a “designer label” and a premium price?

Labels give us information, but they can also indicate value. Labels on products may be mostly informational, but labels on people rapidly become problematic. Being a parent as well as an advocate for persons labeled “disabled” or “impaired” (or something far worse), I learned the power of labels to define a person’s life whether that label was brain damaged or gifted, brilliant or slow, mildly mentally handicapped or learning disabled, Down syndrome or autism.

It is easy to start out thinking that we are simply providing information and then discover we have slipped into evaluation—placing value on persons according to the label we assign to them. It brings up some hard questions: Are labels ever accurate? Can a label describe the whole person? Aren’t we all far more complex than our labels?

In religion and politics, we also have ready labels for people. From my own context as a pastor in the Christian church, I am all too familiar with labels.

• This person is conservative.  He’s a fundamentalist. She is orthodox.
• That person is a liberal. Or a progressive. 
• This preacher is an evangelical.  That teacher is a heretic.
• Those people over there are radicals.
• Here’s a Baptist or a Pentecostal or a Charismatic Catholic or a Messianic believer.
• There is an Anabaptist, a Christian Nationalist or a Christian Anarchist.

Labels become the quick means of judging other people, of putting them into boxes so we can assign value to their ideas, to their politics, to their theology, to their race or language or culture, even to their core personal identity. Labels thus become the basis for conflict. They become the means of divisions. Those divisions harden as we assign values wherein our labeled group is right and good and the other labeled group is wrong and bad.

Into this mess comes Jesus with a clear and simple word in Matthew 7:1-2 (NRSVue). “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. That seems simple enough, but there is more. Why does Jesus tell his disciples not to judge? The answer is that judgment produces conflict.  ² For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. When I judge you, the natural response is that you will judge me in return. If someone measures out judgment to another, he or she can expect to receive at least equal measure from in return. That is conflict.

Jesus shows how ridiculous judgment is with illustration in verses 3-5: ³ Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?  ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. Jesus knows that when we start judging others, we do so from an underlying need to deal with our own issues. Those issues are usually even greater. “Take the gigantic log out of your own eye!” says Jesus.  Then you may be able to clearly see the tiny speck in your neighbor’s eye.

Someone might respond, “What does it mean to judge someone? And exactly why does Jesus say, “Don’t judge”? The answer in part is in understanding the original Greek word used in this passage which is κρίνω (krinō). This is the same word that comes into our English language in the words critic, critical, and criticism.

The root definition of krino is the idea of separating. The critic separates the good from the bad in a movie or a musical performance. The logical outcome of criticism is the separation of good and bad, right and wrong. Who can make such a separation? The overwhelming use of krinō in the New Testament makes it clear that krinō, judgment, or criticism, is something God does, not we humans.

Luke’s gospel takes this same teaching of Jesus and amplifies and extends the message. Luke 6 reports that Jesus used even more words to explain judgment.
³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; [κρίνω (krinō)]
do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. [καταδικάζω (katadikazō)]
Judging is the separation between good and evil. Condemning goes beyond separation and focuses on the evil itself. Condemning is declaring someone guilty and pronouncing punishment. Another definition of condemning is “to put someone down in vengeance.” Jesus is telling the disciples to avoid putting down another person or declaring they are guilty (and thus implying that I am innocent).

In Luke, Jesus also goes beyond the negative “do not” to look at the positive side of dealing with perceived evil.  Luke 6:37-28 (NRSVue)
Forgive, and you will be forgiven; [ ἀπολύω (apoluō)]
³⁸ give, and it will be given to you. [δίδωμι (didōmi)]
Instead of judging, Jesus calls us to forgive, to release or set free. Instead of the condemnation of putting someone down, Jesus says to give, even to give lavishly…A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, [which will then] be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”  

Jesus also gives two other word pictures related to the speck and the log that illustrate why his disciples shouldn’t judge. In Luke, he precedes the speck and log example by likening a human judge to a blind person.  ³⁹ He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?  (Luke 6:36 NRSVue)

A person with a log in their eye is effectively blind and cannot see.  How can such a person pretend to be a judge over another person?  In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus calls the person with the log in their eye a “hypocrite.” What is a “hypocrite”? The word hypocrite in the original language (ὑποκριτής hupokritēs) comes from ὑπό hypo meaning “under” and κρινω krinō the same word we saw before that means to judge.

In Jesus’s time, the word came from the Greek stage; a hypocrite is an actor, one who pretends to be another person. Jesus is essentially saying that when we judge, we are just pretending. A hypocrite is one who judges from under, who pretends to be the judge even though he or she is too spiritually blind to actually be a judge. The implication is that God is the true judge who clearly sees the whole picture from above.  A hypocrite is the “under judge,” one who takes on the role of God and who is self-righteous instead of reflecting the righteousness of God.  That’s why people who judge will be judged in return. They are just as much under God, the true judge, as the person they are trying to label as bad.

If Jesus tells his disciples not to judge, what are we to do instead? What is the alternative to judging? For the answer to this question, we turn to the Gospel of John.

Here we see Jesus confronting religious leaders who are not at all inclined to accept Jesus’s teachings on judgment. In fact, in John 7, it gets downright personal. The Jerusalem religious leaders are already judging Jesus himself. In fact, they are trying to arrest him and kill him. While the disciples are trying to promote Jesus at the upcoming festival, Jesus lags behind them and comes to the festival in secret. When he starts teaching, he makes clear that he is not coming as a judge on his own. Instead, he proclaims the message of God the Father in heaven.

Then, there comes an extraordinary scene in which Jesus illustrates his own words about judgment when a woman caught in the act of adultery is brought to him. The religious leaders want to judge her and want Jesus to judge her. Or at least they want to judge Jesus for not strictly following the law. But when Jesus’s words reveal their hypocritical judgmental attitude, the log in the eyes of the male leaders, they slink away.

Then Jesus says to the woman, …“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” John 8:10–11 (NRSVue)  Here we have forms of the same word for judging, krinō. Literally, Jesus says, “Has no one judged against you, has no one put you down?… Neither do I judge you.”

This combination of Jesus’s teaching, and the action he takes illustrating his teaching, leads to further discussion with those leaders in John 8:12-20. The leaders start understanding that Jesus is not judging, is not condemning. They rightly perceive that instead of judging, Jesus is testifying, is witnessing. So they try another tactic to trap him in his own words, his own terminology.

To understand this exchange more fully, we need to understand the background of this terminology. What is the difference between judging and testifying? Or another way of saying it is to look at roles: What is the difference between a judge and a witness?

Both terms come from the courtroom. In a courtroom trial, there is, first of all, the accuser and the accused. This sets up a conflict; the question is…Who is right? Who is wrong? Who is guilty? Who is not guilty? In this setting, judges and witnesses function very differently from each other. A witness would be foolish to pretend to be a judge.

A witness essentially tells the court what he or she has seen or heard. The testimony is limited to what someone has personally experienced. Although the witness may have an opinion on whether someone is guilty or innocent, it is not up to the witness to proclaim. In fact, there may be other witnesses whose testimony might either corroborate or contradict what any witness may say.  So the duty of the witnesses is not to judge; it is merely to give testimony of their own experiences.

A judge, on the other hand, is supposed to know the law, apply the law, and judge among all of the testimony given in court to come to the truth and deliver a verdict. In many court systems today, there is also a role for other people, a “jury.” The jury also hears the testimony of the witnesses. Different courts give the jury more or less power to decide the verdict. Yet, in any case, it is the judge who makes it official by announcing the verdict.

Courts also operate under certain rules about the validity of the testimony given. In the Old Testament Law, God was very clear that judgments are not to be made simply on the basis of one witness, lest that witness come with a personal vested interest. I cannot simply go to a judge with a complaint, be my own witness, and expect a judgment in my favor.

Just because I think you are guilty and accuse you of something, I don’t get the privilege of judging you guilty based on my own testimony. Such a scenario essentially turns a witness into a judge. There needs to be corroborating testimony from multiple witnesses. An individual witness doesn’t have the power of the judge.

A judge has power over the persons in conflict. In some cases, the judge is able not only to declare you guilty but sentence you to death. On the other hand, the New Testament word for “witness” is the word from which we get our word “martyr,” a word that indicates that in giving testimony, we submit ourselves to God’s loving purposes even unto death.

With all of this in mind, we turn back to the conversation of Jesus with the Pharisees, the religious leaders who want to judge Jesus. We have seen two things happening.

1. Jesus refuses to judge the woman caught in adultery.
2. At the same time he has exposed the hypocrisy and the judgmentalism of the religious leaders themselves.

Jesus exposes hypocrisy by a testimony: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NRSVue) In other words, Jesus doesn’t have to bring judgment upon these leaders. His very presence brings the God’s light upon the world and each situation. The light is an uncomfortable judgment in itself to anyone walking in darkness. It exposes the huge log in the eyes of the male leaders, probably forcing them to admit that they have been unfaithful in their own marriages. It’s no wonder they would not pick up the first stone to deal with the “speck in the eye” of an essentially powerless woman.

Thus, the religious leaders for the moment accept Jesus’s claim that he is testifying, witnessing, or giving testimony. Yet, rather than listen to his testimony, they return to judging. They judge his testimony as invalid.  ¹³ Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” (John 8:13 NRSVue) In effect, they cite Deuteronomy 19:15 ¹⁵ A single witness shall not suffice to convict a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection with any offense that may be committed. Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained. (NRSVue) And they have a point.

In return, Jesus does not directly judge or even dispute their scriptural testimony. He takes off from their own claims: ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.  (John 8:14 NRSVue)

Jesus goes back to source of his testimony, the Heavenly Father, the real judge. He does not march to the front of the court and insist “This is my judgment; you have to accept that this is right.” Instead, he contrasts his testimony with their judgment: ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid, for it is not I alone who judge but I and the Father who sent me. (John 8:15-16 NRSVue) In summary, he says, ¹⁷ In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. ¹⁸ I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” (John 8:17 NRSVue)

In other words, it comes back to testimony. The testimony of God the Father matches the testimony of the man, Jesus. In effect, Jesus says, “There are your two witnesses.” Even though Jesus is entitled to judge based on God’s judgment, he simply witnesses or gives testimony to what God has already said. Jesus follows his own teaching of not judging but simply giving testimony. So, if the religious leaders feel judged it is because they are in the presence of the light of the world. God’s light itself is the final judgment.

In one sense, Jesus’s testimony is to convince this “jury” of religious leaders. Yet, any human jury at its best comes to a judgment based on human testimony. It can be wrong; no human judgment is a final judgment; it is just a testimony. God’s light prevails; God is the final and ultimate judge.  

So, we do well to take Jesus’s basic teachings very seriously. “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. ² For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. (Matthew 7:1-2 NRSVue) All people are more than their labels. When we judge, we do not see the whole picture. We will be judged in return. This is not an isolated teaching. We see it not only in Matthew 7. We see it in Luke 6:37.  ³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. (NRSVue) We see it in John 8:15. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I judge no one.

We also see it in the rest of the New Testament.

• The Apostle Paul says in Romans 14:10, ¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. (NRSVue)
• James says this in James 4:11–12 ¹¹ Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor? (NRSVue)
• Paul comes across even stronger in Romans 2:1-5: ¹ Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.  ² We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” ³ Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience?  Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

In the end, Jesus says plainly to the Pharisee, Nicodemus, in John 3 that he himself did not come to be a judge. ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ¹⁷ “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.  John 3:16–17 (NRSVue)

The word “condemn” is that same Greek word for “judge,” krino. Jesus goes on to say that there is judgment, but that judgment only comes in the light of God: ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:18-19 NRSVue)

Jesus concludes his earthly ministry as he gives his disciples their basic task: Be witnesses, not judges. Just before he ascends into heaven, the disciples are still asking for the judgment in an earthly kingdom. ⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words, where is this Kingly judgment we have been promised? ⁷ He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8 NRSVue)

That is still our task today. God is the Judge; we are the witnesses. Will we convince the jury of this world by the testimony of our lives that God came to love the world and save the world? Or will we become hypocrites, pretend judges, who are rightly judged ourselves?