Chapter 7
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount—He
commands, Judge not; ask of God; beware of false prophets—He promises salvation
to those who do the will of the Father.
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall
be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
This teaching of
Jesus has been construed to mean we should never judge. This is not what He is
telling us. JST Matthew 7:1-2 gives us clarification – “Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they
should say unto the people. Judge not unrighteously,
that ye be not judged; but judge
righteous judgment.”
He makes it clear that,
when we judge, we are to use righteous judgment. However, we judge, we will be
judged.
“Men are prone to
judge their fellows and to praise or censure without due consideration of fact
or circumstance. On prejudiced or unsupported judgment, the Master set His
disapproval.”[1]
“We live in a world
in which many situations require us to make judgments that are often difficult.
Yet the Savior gave the commandment to “judge not” our fellowman. How can we do
this and still exercise good judgment in a world full of deception and
corruption? We must judge well when making critical decisions in each phase of
our life, such as choosing friends, finding an eternal companion, or choosing
an occupation that will allow us to care for our family and serve the Lord.
Although the Savior asked us not to judge others, He still expects us to use
excellent judgment.”[2]
3 And why beholdest thou the mote [GR speck,
chip, or splinter] that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam [The
Greek word refers to a wooden beam used in constructing houses] that is in
thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me
pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of
thy brother’s eye.
It’s easy
to find fault in others; it’s harder, and not very pleasant, to look at
ourselves and identify our weaknesses. We must “cast the beam” from out own lives.
“The man who is always ready to correct his
brother’s faults, to remove the mote from his neighbor’s eye so that that
neighbor may see things as the interested and interfering friend would have him
see, was denounced as a hypocrite. What was the speck in his neighbor’s vision
to the obscuring beam in his own eye?”[3]
“This business of beams and motes seems to be
closely related to our inability to see ourselves clearly. I’m not sure why we
are able to diagnose and recommend remedies for other people’s ills so well,
while we often have difficulty seeing our own.”[4]
The JST helps us to
better understand what Jesus is teaching us.
9 Go ye into the world, saying unto all,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come nigh unto you.
10 And the mysteries of the kingdom ye shall
keep within yourselves; for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your
pearls unto swine, lest they trample
them under their feet.
11 For the world cannot receive that which ye,
yourselves, are not able to bear; wherefore ye shall not give your pearls unto
them, lest they turn again and rend you” (JST Matthew 7:9-11).
We hold temple
ordinances sacred and holy. This is why we don’t discuss them outside of the
temple. Critics of the Church frequently use this is an attack on the Church. I
have been told only the devil keeps things secret.
As we have seen, there
are those who have no problem with sharing our sacred things, mocking them and
making light of these extremely sacred things. This is why
Whenever I heard
this, I respond with two sets of scriptures.
The first is when Jesus
asked the twelve who do men say He is. They answered Him, saying, “Some say
that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of
the prophets” (Matthew 7:14). Then He asked, “whom say ye I am? And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew
7:15-16). After responding to Peter, Jesus “charged his disciples that they
should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ” (Matthew 7:20).
Why did He give them
this charge? “The time for a general proclamation of their testimony had not
arrived, however; nor did it come until after Christ had emerged from the tomb
a resurrected, immortalized Personage.”[5]
The second was on
the Mount of Transfiguration. After witnessing the events on the Mount, Jesus
charged them, “And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them,
saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the
dead” (Matthew 17:9).
There are things
which are so sacred, they are not to be discussed freely. We have all had
spiritual experiences which were so meaningful to us, we do not share them
freely. This is why we “[g]ive not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither
cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and
turn again and rend you.”
[1] Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage, Chapter 17.
[2] Developing
Good Judgment and Not Judging Others, Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer, April 2010
General Conference.
[3] Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage, Chapter 17.
[4] “Lord,
Is It I?”, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2014 General Conference.
[5] Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage, Chapter 22.
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