Mourning Instead of Judging

Mourning Instead of Judging

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

The verse above is explained by Matthew 7:1-6 (below). For more on the outline of the Sermon on the Mount, see the very first post of this blog, entitled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on Sept. 26, 2014.

“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.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:1-6)

            At first glance, it would seem that the verses above, about not judging people, have nothing to do with mourning, which is the corresponding Beatitude according to my outline (see the very first post of this blog, entitled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on Sept. 26, 2014).

            However, if you go a little deeper and think about it, they have everything to do with one another. They are opposite reactions to people with obvious sin in their lives. On the one hand, we can wag our finger and shake our head, judging and even condemning the person caught in sin. Or, on the other hand, we can come alongside the sinner, mourning with them over their sin and the damage it has inflicted on them and their loved ones.

            Which of the above do you think Jesus would do? Which approach should we take? Should we judge the sinner with our harsh words, dragging them through the court of public opinion with our gossip? Should we try to shame them into changing their behavior? How about beating them over the head with our Bible, telling them how good we are and how bad they are, would that help? If we do things like this, we had better be careful or they might trample on our truth and then turn and tear us to pieces.

            No, says Jesus, don’t judge people or they will judge you in the same way you judge them. Instead of standing in judgment of them, mourn with them over the condition of their soul and the circumstances of their life. For if you approach them with judgment and condemnation, with the arrogant attitude of one who is superior helping one who is inferior, then the help will not be received as you both stand their arguing and judging one another. However, if you are mourning over their sin rather than judging them, if you can come alongside of them with a humble attitude – an attitude of “we are both sinners saved by grace” – then you can put an arm around them and love them and lead them into the forgiveness, grace, and restoration that Jesus offers.

            So don’t judge and condemn the sinner; instead mourn over their sin and help them find forgiveness and restoration. That is all Jesus is saying here. He is not saying we should never exercise moral judgment. He is not saying Christians shouldn’t be judges or sit in a jury box. He’s not saying we shouldn’t use good judgment nor is he saying we shouldn’t speak out in judgment of sinful behavior patterns in our culture. He’s not saying any of those things, although most of us have probably heard these verses used in some of these ways. All Jesus is saying is that we ought to mourn over sinners rather than judging and condemning them.

            Jesus gave us great examples of this when he walked the earth. You might remember the woman caught in adultery, who was condemned by men but mourned over and forgiven by Jesus. Or perhaps you might recall the crooked tax collector Zacchaeus or the woman of ill repute whose tears wet the feet of Jesus. These are but a few of the sinners with whom Jesus spent time – hanging out with them, mourning with them over their sin, rejoicing with them when they found forgiveness and restoration, loving them through whatever circumstances they found themselves.

            Let’s start being like Jesus – being authentic, being real, humbly mourning with people who are sinners just as we once were. Let’s quit play-acting; let’s quit being hypocrites who appear to have it all together while criticizing and standing in judgment of everyone else. When we do, we can then be of real help to someone. We will have removed the plank from our own eye so that we can clearly see to help remove the little speck from our brother’s or sister’s eye.

As we do so, we will find great joy. For as Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are you, happy are you when you are mourning over people’s sin rather than judging them and condemning them for it, for you will be comforted by seeing God working in their lives to bring them to salvation.

            These two approaches to sinners – mourning or judging – are complete opposites. One brings life and one brings death! Let's mourn over sinners, even over our own sin, and let’s speak words that bring life!

  

Pray with me:

            Lord, I confess that I have often judged people rather than mourning for them. I have condemned them rather than grieved for them. Help me to have your attitude, an attitude of mourning over their sin while offering the forgiveness and restoration that comes through You. I also confess that I haven’t always mourned over my own sin as I should. Sometimes I allow things in my life that shouldn’t be there. At times I have even embraced sin or pursued it instead of mourning over it and turning away from it. I confess these sins to you now and repent and turn away from them in order to turn more fully towards you…continue praying as you feel led…

For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:

John 8:1-11 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 

"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." NIV

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."  NIV

Luke 7:36-48 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner."

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me, teacher," he said.

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  NIV

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