October 14, 2025 -Judge Correctly

JOHN 7:1-9

LUKE 9:51-56

MATTHEW 8:18-22

LUKE 9:57-62

JOHN 7:10-8:20

Chronological Bible Readings

John 7:23 Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? 24 Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

When I read this it seems so simple to me. As I have written about a lot lately it is all about the heart. It is not about what we know or what we do. The heart is where faith comes from but the heart is also where the motivation for our actions comes from. If we are acting out of motivation to look good, to "do what is right" that is all about appearances. It is all surface. Many people judge people and things by the way they look on the surface without considering the heart. Jesus is saying here you do things because you think it will look good and you have interpreted my law to meet your own self-interest but that is not correct judgement. They are judging Jesus actions because He does not fit into their interpretation of the law. They are not considering all the times that the Old Testament had told them that God looks at the heart. Jesus is doing a good (God) thing by healing someone on the Sabbath without concern about how it looks to the leaders and teachers of the law.

This also reminds me of a conversation last night about how people sometimes say things that upset us or affect us in some way because of how we interpret their words or intent. Often times when someone says or does something that we judge based on how it makes us feel or what we think their intention are, we are often wrong. It could be because our past influences our interpretation or because the persons personality, tone of voice or body language is different than we would use. We were talking about forgiveness. I think that we can avoid a lot of hurt and need for forgiveness in our lives if we are willing to understand that we often judge incorrectly. A common hurt response is to withdrawal or avoid the person or conversation. I have found that if you can calmly speak to the person that you are feeling hurt by and kindly and honestly share what you are thinking and feeling you may find out that their intentions were not what you feel, and they will often apologize because they did not want anyone to feel bad. In these situations we can only judge correctly is we have all the information and communicate.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

13The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

The Pharisees are judging Jesus over and over. He is speaking good news and Godly truth. They use the rules against Him because they don't want to believe in Him and they don't want anyone else to.

John 8:14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

And Jesus has the best answer for what they use against Him. It is Jesus using something that they meant to harm for good. He uses their own word to speak even more truth. The truth that He and the Father are one.