This is a common verb used approximately 114 times in the Greek New Testament. The term means literally, "to separate, distinguish, discriminate;"F1 hence, "to judge." Meyer affirms: "'krinein' means nothing more than to judge."F2 It is a general legal term and is used multiple ways in scripture. It is used in the sense of being brought before a court (Acts 26:6), to rendering legal decisions (John 18:31), and to condemning and punishing defendants on the basis of such decisions (John 7:51). It is often used to describe God's actions in judging humanity (John 5:30) and in describing judgments people customarily pass on others (Matthew 7:1,2). It is also found in reference to the mental process of a determination (Acts 15:19), estimation (Romans 14:5), or an evaluation (1 Corinthians 10:15).F3 Following the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and immediately after His descent from the mount of temptation it is stated: "And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23). As the multitudes followed His every step, the context shows He immediately began to teach them the doctrine of the gospel of the kingdom in what is commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. This begins at Matthew chapter five and continues till the end of chapter seven. At the conclusion of His sermon, it was declared that: "he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" (Matthew 7:29). Thus, Jesus, as God in the flesh, was Himself the new lawgiver, while the scribes taught only as interpreters of law (Nehemiah 8:1-12). Throughout this discourse the hypocrisy of the Pharisees had been the object of Christ's censure. The criticism of the fifth and sixth chapters of this sermon relate to the display of the Pharisees in the performance of their good works, whereas the seventh chapter deals with the judgments that these same Pharisees passed on others in comparison with their own self-righteous estimation of themselves. Our study will be from Jesus use of the term κρινω (Strong's #2919), when He warned against all forms of censoriousness while teaching the multitudes the principles of God's kingdom. At the beginning of chapter seven the Lord proclaimed: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5; cp. Luke 6:37-42).
In the passage before us, Jesus called the censorious Pharisees hypocrites, and said that they were worse than the people they criticized because they lacked a loving and forgiving spirit and falsely discriminated among themselves. The Pharisaical attitude was that judgment for sin with some would be forgiven while remaining with others. They believed the immunity from being judged depended not on the merits of judgment but on a basis of discrimination. But against this discriminatory mindset, Jesus taught that all are sinners before God and none can pass a judicial sentence on others. The Pharisees were ignoring the fact that they were themselves the subjects of judgment by the same measuring stick. They were blind because they were judging the faults of their neighbors, but had no eyes for their own virtues, neither seeing nor desiring to see their own far greater imperfections. Thus, they possessed an officious and self-righteous behavior, which is the opposite of the "spirit of gentleness" children of God, should have (Galatians 6:1-5). The application is that those who act the part of judges or arbiters in deeds and words of others will draw upon themselves the same judicial sentence that they obnoxiously judged upon others. Jesus revealed that the correct attitude is to possess a cherishing and forgiving spirit (verses 7-12; Matthew 6:14,15). We should remember that man cannot assess judgment which is inherent in the law that has been violated. The reason is because no matter the jurisdiction, the correct standard of appraisal must proceed from the laws of God, not from man. It is not within the realm of humanity to establish rules by which to justify ourselves or to condemn others. God's law was not setup by man, nor does man have the inherent power to condemn or pass judicial sentence because the law of God carries its own judgment!
Our passage under study is frequently misapplied to insist that Christians are not to judge any action or conduct of others. However, Jesus was referring to hypocritical judgments (verses 3-5), the habit of censoriousness, and sharp, unjust criticism. A hypocritical judgment is a discriminatory judgment of others for something of which you are also guilty and that is what Jesus is cautioning against in our text. In fact, our English word "critic" comes from the Greek word 'krino' we are studying today. These statements of Jesus have no reference to judging in the sense of discerning wrongful teaching or actions by others, or to determining error in any form. Judgment as a serious and solemn act is not forbidden by Christ. Often Christian's must judge and severely condemn things which the world never thinks of judging (verse 2, Matthew 18:15; Luke 12:57; 17:3; 1 Corinthians 5:12; 2 Timothy 4:2). An example of the correct type of judgment we should exercise is found in the context of John chapter seven. Jesus admonished the Jews to "judge righteous judgment." The Jews had misjudged Jesus according to the law of the Sabbath in an effort to convict Him of a violation of this law. Christ answered them saying: "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). In other words, render the judgment which the law of God itself dictates, not a judgment of their own decisions based on appearances, or what seemed right to them. There are many ways that seem right to man, but when he walks his own path, the end thereof is always the way of death (Proverbs 16:25). James warned that many appear religious but bridle not their tongue by God's word and therefore their religion is vain (James 1:26). Even Peter admonished: "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God" (1 Peter 4:11). Human judging is based on what seems to be the proper standard, but "righteous judgment" is judging by what the word of God decrees and dictates. It is by this standard that the mouth of the righteous speak wisely and judge righteously (Psalms 37:30; Proverbs 31:9). The Psalmist affirmed: "Let my tongue sing of thy word; For all thy commandments are righteousness" (Psalms 119:172). Thus, the judging we are to embrace is that which looks to the actions and conduct of others and compares them to the truth of God's law. If they are found in violation, then to speak out against such sin is not what Jesus condemned in Matthew chapter seven, for God has already judged such conduct through the righteous ordinances of His word (John 12:48). It is only by God's standard that "we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6). And, it is only by so judging that the command to convict the gainsayers by sound doctrine can be obeyed (Titus 1:9). A "gainsayer" is one who conducts himself or speaks against the truth. Thus, to speak out and convict such a one is judging by the truth of the word of God itself, and therefore, the judgment is of God and not from man.
FOOTNOTES:
F1: Archibald Thomas Robertson, A.M., D.D., LL.D., Litt.D., Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), pg. 60.
F2: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, TH.D., Critical and Exegetical Handbook To The Epistle To The Romans, vol. 1 (Peabody, Massachusetts, 1983 reprint of 6th edition of 1884), pg. 162.
F3: Arthur L. Farstad, Zane C. Hodges, C. Michael Moss, Robert E. Picirilli, Wilbur N. Pickering, The Greek English Interlinear New Testament (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994), pg. 21, 22.
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Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 41 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course.
He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.