Read John 7:20-24. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
20 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. 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.”
Digging Deeper
Wait a moment. Put our thoughts on reverse for a moment. Let’s ask, “Who is Jesus speaking to in the previous verses?” Is Jesus speaking to the crowd or is He speaking to the Jewish leaders? Were the crowds angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath or were the Jewish leaders angry that Jesus violated the Sabbath Law?
Jesus’ words were a sharp rebuke to the Jewish leaders for their callous heart and legalistic thinking. It was acceptable to circumcise a person on the Sabbath, but it was not acceptable to heal a person on the Sabbath. Their thinking was that a lame person should come back the next day to be healed instead of being healed on the Sabbath. I wondered would they break the Sabbath Law if they had a critically ill who needed a physician or if they would wait the next day before sending for the physician. What would you do?
When we hear a loud commotion by our children in the house, how do we assess who gets the blame? Is it the last person who reacted that gets the scolding? Do we blame the oldest child for not keeping order between the younger siblings since they should know better? Our tendency is to judge based on the immediate circumstances without fully considering the cause or reason for what happened. We quickly judge by impressions and first appearances.
The words of Jesus, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” have more relevancy than you and I can imagine. Don’t just react. Don’t just see with your eyes. Don’t believe the first person who speaks and assume that the other person is wrong. There may be more to the “truth” that meets our ears and eyes. Take the time to judge correctly. Your children, your spouse, your friends and coworkers will acknowledge that you are not just fair or reacting “normally”, but that you are just, that your judgment is righteous.
So next time, you land into a difficult situation, ask the Spirit of God to give you discernment and patience to listen and to judge correctly, not impulsively so that you can make the right call for yourself and those needing your help.
-Kingston