What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, "judge Not, That You Be Not Judged"?
1) Direct Answer
Jesus forbade a harsh, condemning, hypocritical spirit that sets oneself up as the final judge. He called us to judge ourselves first, then help our brother in meekness by the Word. He did not forbid righteous judgment; He forbade self-righteous condemnation.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Matthew 7:1-5: “Judge not… for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” Then He says, “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.” Now notice, He didn’t say leave the mote there; He said get yourself right first, then you can see clearly to help.
- Luke 6:37-38: “Judge not… condemn not… forgive… for with the same measure… it shall be measured to you again.” The issue is the measure and the spirit.
- John 7:24: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” You see, Jesus Himself commands judgment—righteous judgment—according to truth, not appearances.
- Matthew 7:15-20: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Recognizing fruit requires discernment.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-13: Open sin in the church must be judged inside, not ignored. “Do not ye judge them that are within?” The Word is the standard, and the goal is purity and restoration.
- Galatians 6:1: “If a man be overtaken in a fault… restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself.” That’s judgment with mercy and humility.
- Romans 14:4,13: Don’t set yourself as judge over doubtful matters; don’t put stumbling blocks. God is the Master of His servant.
- James 4:11-12: There is one Lawgiver and Judge. We don’t usurp God’s throne.
- 1 Corinthians 11:31: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” Self-judgment comes first.
- Matthew 18:15-17: Private correction, then witnesses, then the church. That is righteous, ordered judgment for the purpose of winning a brother.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If “judge not” meant never make any judgment, you could not obey “by their fruits ye shall know them,” nor protect the flock, nor correct error. So Jesus is not banning discernment; He is banning hypocrisy and condemnation.
- The standard we use will be used on us. If we deal in mercy and truth, we will meet mercy and truth. If we deal in hard, fleshly criticism, we invite the same on ourselves.
- We never pronounce the final sentence on a soul—that belongs to God. But we do discern doctrine, conduct, and fruit by the Scripture for restoration and protection.
- Start at the mirror. Clean the beam out first. Then, with meekness, help remove the mote. The Word is the measure; love is the motive; restoration is the aim.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Judge yourself by the Word, walk in mercy and truth, and when judgment is required, let it be righteous—Scripture-based, Spirit-led, humble, and aimed at redemption, not destruction.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Desperations
63-0901E §122
And now, may you meditate now. Remember, Israel eat it in desperation, and through the journey there wasn't a feeble one among them in the end of forty years. This is divine healing also. Lord bless you, Brother Neville. [Brother Neville reads I Corinthians 11:23-32.] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: thi...
Have faith in God
54-0900 §12
Now, how much do you judge the Word of God? Jesus judged it. Whatever the Father told Him, He did it. He believed it. But us today... The Father can show us something and we stumble over it. I wonder if we could correctly be the children of Abraham, then, who were strong and lingered on for the twenty-five years for the promise to be fulfilled; instead of getting weaker, he grew stronger. We grow weaker in one night's time. He grew stronger for twenty-five years, and brought to pass what God had promised. You see w...
But it wasn't so from the beginning
61-0411 §97
Do you believe we have prophets? There is a gift of prophecy, and then there is a prophet. How many knows there's a difference in that? That's where you precious Latter Rain people got mixed up, see. A prophet is born a prophet. Always has "thus saith the Lord," never wrong. The gift of prophecy would be on one, and then another. That would have to be judged by three judges, then told to the church, and then see if it comes to pass. Jeremiah was a prophet. God said, "Before you was even formed in your mother's womb...
The Seal of Antichrist
55-0311 §42
Notice, when the jubilee sounded, the man could drop his hoe and go home if he wished to. But, what if he didn't want to? Now, what happened? Then they must take him down to the judges; and the judges taken him to the post. They pulled out his ear; put it up against the post, and bored it through with an awl. And from that time on, never no more, it was a sign that he could never hear that jubilee no more. It was finished. No matter how many jubilees he lived through, he would never be able to do it again, because...
God doesn't call man to judgement without warning
63-0724 §55
The prophet's only looking off and seeing something. He's talking about what he's looking at. He ain't thinking about here and what you look like now, he's looking what you're going to be. And when he speaks that, if it's in the Word of the Lord, it's already been spoke and there's nothing in the world can stop it (you see, that's right,) only God Himself. Notice, now we find that when... He speaks his vision, the prophet does. Now, sometimes he speaks good things, he speaks of your healing. All right, you might th...