Jesus' Kingdom Message Rom 2:1-4,16/Matthew 7:1-6, 12
“LOGS, DOGS & HOGS!”
It's good to be here with you again! There's something refreshing about getting away, focusing on family and enjoying the outdoors..., but there's also the wonderful feeling of being back home. And we are, Claudia and I, so very much at home with all of you.
And now, here we are, three chapters deep into Jesus' sermon on the mount, Matthew's epic full length sermon, in which Jesus articulates the Kingdom of Heaven way of life in detail. Having taught on things like generous giving, prayer and fasting, investing in heavenly treasure and worry free living he now turns to the real crux of the matter by addressing....., Logs, Dogs and Hogs?! What...?!
Nice title, don't you think? I can just imagine the conversations in people's cars as they drove past the church this week. “Oh, look dear! They're talking about logs, dogs and hogs this week! Isn't that nice? It's about time too. Those poor things are so underappreciated....!”
Maybe even you walked in here this morning, wondering, 'What do logs, dogs and hogs have in common - or with anything spiritual or edifying, for that matter?'
Well, now you know. They're all mentioned in Jesus' sermon on the mount, specifically here in Matthew 7:1-6. They're also all hyperbolic references Jesus uses to comment, convict or otherwise communicate with his disciples. They're provocative metaphors used to drive home his point.
It's an interesting thing. Of all scripture, our opening verse has become the most quoted. It's true. As I did some of my exegetical work online I discovered multiple voices stating that Matthew 7:1 is now quoted more often in our secular culture than any other Bible verse, even John 3:16.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) Rarely, though, when someone references that verse do they use it in the way Jesus meant it. There's even a posting on Facebook of Inogo Montoya, the sword weaving hero from the Princess Bride, saying, “You keep citing Matthew 7:1 – 'Do not judge!' - I do not think it-a means what you-a think it-a means.”
The problem with it's current use, or mis-application, is that folks tend to misinterpret it as a prohibition against making any kind of judgment. One problem there is that we all make judgments about each other every day. We size one another up based on appearance, ethnicity, gender, age, occupation, and so forth. The problem Jesus addresses is when we, in turn, pass judgment and con-demn the person in question. It brings to mind a moment in the old Veggie tale series....
A young brusselsprout is being told by his mother to remember that when they get to church that he's to speak in his quiet voice, not to chew bubble gum and that it's rude to stare. They enter in and there's a buzz of activity until a Hot Pepper walks in sporting a big colorful tatoo, and instantly the church goes quiet, and every head turns.... So much for not staring and judging.
The sad truth is that we Christians are viewed, and experienced, by many outside the church as judgmental. We need to change that. We need to change and be more like Jesus....
How do we get there? What was Jesus driving at in his teaching on not judging? As always, in considering the context that we gain important insights to help us move forward.
-2-
Put in the context of the whole sermon, and Jesus' preaching beyond, we can see that hypcrisy was a big concern for Jesus. He clearly puts his teaching on judging in that context, reminding his followers that “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”
(Matthew 7:2)
I remember kids in school exchanging insults and a popular comeback was to chant the lyric: “I'm rubber, you're glue, everything you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.” If nothing else, that childhood comeback reflects how messy and unproductive being hypercritical can be.
Here Jesus warns against operating with double-standards, the premise by which many begin wearing masks, pretending to be better or more godly, than they really are, and becoming so convinced that they are they begin to look down on others, finding fault here & there, and becoming hypercritical.
Jesus made it clear. This is precisely where their religious leaders have lost their way and so here in his sermon, Jesus makes it clear that his clan are to be different. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the pharisees and the religious teachers you'll never enter the kingdom.”
(Matthew 5:20)
Jesus wants his followers to distinguish themselves from their religious leaders who are quick to correct everyone else but themselves. The followers of Jesus are to stand out in that crowd, unsparingly judging themselves and resisting the pressure to proove themselves. His words are poignant for us who claim to believe in him and follow him as his disciples today. Knowing that Jesus spoke these words to his followers as a challenge to be more godly, more compassionate and less condemning than their leaders, we'd do well to separate ourselves from any judgmental stance of our leaders as well.
The Greek word translated, to judge in English, is the word, krino, which can be translated to mean: “to analyze, to discern, to render a verdict, to condemn or treat harsly”. It is a word that suggests a position of superiority, self-righteousness and even vindictiveness.
Pastor Marlon Seifert addresses Jesus' concern in his reflections on this text. Marlon writes:
“The problem with all the human-made regulations is that they cause love to die out of our hearts. We love God less and our love for those around us also grows cold. A human system full of little rules leads us to judge each other based on our prescribed human standards. This attitude foments selfish-ness and criticism, it stifles generosity and causes us to become self-centered spies and judges.
Does this sound familiar? This is how the Pharisees behaved when Jesus walked the earth. Their religious services never made them experience humility or a sense of their own weakness, rather it made them proud of the privileges God had given them. Their religion became focused on them, their knowledge, their accomplishments. From their position of authority they criticized others.
Today we are in danger of behaving in similar fashion. If we are not careful we infringe on matters of conscience, judging others in affairs that belong between the soul and God. When we judge we assume the motives of others. We judge their behavior without understanding the full context of their life experience and current struggles, or the conditions of their heart. We do not know their intentions, so we guess, and judge, and in the process we become a stumbling block to them.”
(Pastor Marlon Seifert)
That's what the famous log metaphor is all about. Jesus levels it with a question: “Why do you focus on the splinter in your brother's eye but fail to notice the two by four in your own eye?”
(My translation) (Matthew 7:3)
-3-
It brings to mind a classic Calvin and Hobbes sketch, one which graced my door this summer...
Calvin: If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently.
Hobbes: How so?
Calvin: Well, when you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things
than what people do all day.
Hobbes: We spent our day looking under rocks in the creek.
Calvin: I mean other people.
There's something about the way that we operate as humans that it is far easier for us to see the fault in others than in ourselves. Jesus here is calling us out on this. But he doesn't leave it there, he urges us to “First take the huge log out of your eye and then you'll see clearly enough to be able to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:5)
So we are allowed help others overcome the unconfessed sin in their lives but only after we've worked on our own. We are called to judge, but it should be directed at ourselves, not to condemn ourselves, but in order to get real and be set free from the masks we ourselves are wearing.
Making good judgments is actually what the reference to pigs and dogs is all about. As those of us who did the Philippian course together learned, dogs in Jesus' day were not pets. No one paid a thousand dollars for one. They were more like possums or raccoons, but not in a cute, cuddly way, but in terms of being wild animals who were often a public nuisance, spreading trash and disease, nipping at peoples ankles in the streets and otherwise interferring with the common good.
Pigs were no better. They ate and slept in slop. They were even worse than dogs in that they were seen as spiritually unclean. To touch one meant one had to go through the exhaustive process of getting spiritually uncontaminated. It invokes images of the monster in Monsters Inc who is found contaminated with a piece of human clothing. Any pearls dropped in a pig pen were as good as gone!
Dogs and hogs don't represent a certain class, ethnic group or religion as some have suggested. Rather they represent those who have no appreciation for the things of God and work to undermine the biblical narrative and worldview. Later, in his training of the twelve and then the seventy-two, Jesus echoes this teaching by instructing his followers to shake the dust from their sandles when witnessing to such closed off and openly hostile people. If someone responds in such a way, we're to move on.
I attended an Alpha Conference once in which Nicky Gumbel was the main speaker. He told us of speaking at an event where a certain man kept interupting with objections and pointed questions. Finally Nicky paused, after being interupted again, and asked the man, “If I could answer all of your questions and resolve your objections, do you think you'd be open to the gospel of Jesus Christ?”
Without hesitation the man fired back, “Absolutely not, you moron!”
Nicky then turned to the crowd, and asked, “So does anyone else have any questions?”
Bottom line: judging is God's job. Leave that to him. Instead, look out for the logs and don't waste time on the dogs and the hogs. Buy one at the ballpark instead! Be humble, be holy, be wise.
In summarizing this section, Jesus refers them to the golden rule: “Do to others what you'd like them to do for you. This is the essence of the law and the prophets...which I came to fulfill!”
(Matthew 7:12/5:20)