“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
These words of Jesus are well known, but they are also easily misunderstood.
Does Jesus mean that we should never recognize another person’s wrongdoing? Does Christian love mean that we should never correct anyone?
When we read through verse 5, the meaning becomes clearer.
Jesus does not say that there is no speck in our brother’s eye. The speck is really there. In fact, Jesus eventually tells us to help remove it.
The problem is the condition of the person who is trying to remove it.
Jesus asks:
“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
We can be remarkably sensitive to the failures of others while being surprisingly patient with our own.
When someone else becomes angry, we may say, “That person has a bad attitude.”
When we become angry, we say, “I was under a lot of pressure.”
When someone else makes a mistake, we may call them irresponsible.
When we make the same mistake, we explain that we had a good reason.
We often judge the actions of others while explaining our own.
Jesus exposes this double standard.
Therefore, “Do not judge” does not mean “Never discern between right and wrong.” Jesus is warning us not to place ourselves in God’s seat and condemn others with self-righteousness while ignoring our own sin.
Jesus then gives an almost humorous picture.
How can a person with a huge plank in his own eye say to his brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”?
Even our desire to correct someone can become an expression of pride.
“I know better than you.”
“I am right and you are wrong.”
“Let me fix you.”
That is why Jesus gives us an important order:
“First take the plank out of your own eye.”
The word “first” matters.
Before asking what is wrong with another person, we should stand before God and ask what He wants to deal with in us.
Is there pride in my heart?
Am I speaking out of anger?
Has my hurt distorted the way I see this person?
Do I truly want this person to be restored, or do I simply want to prove that I am right?
But Jesus does not stop there.
He does not say, “Deal with yourself and then ignore your brother.”
He says that after removing the plank, “then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Christian love does not pretend that sin does not exist.
Love does not call wrong right.
If there is a speck in our brother’s eye, love desires to help remove it.
But the way we approach our brother changes after we have first examined ourselves.
A person who has seen his own sin cannot easily stand above another person in pride. He knows that he also lives by the grace of God.
The biblical order, therefore, is:
Self-examination → repentance → humility → discernment → loving restoration.
The gospel does not make us careless about sin. It makes us serious about sin while making us humble toward sinners.
At the cross, we discover that we too are sinners who desperately need mercy.
The cross turns the finger that points at others back toward ourselves.
Then, after receiving grace, we can reach out to our brother—not to condemn him, but to help restore him.
So when we see someone’s failure, perhaps we should first ask:
“Do I want this person to be restored, or do I simply want to prove that I am right?”
Before looking at your brother’s speck, look at your own plank.
Stand before God first.
Then, as someone who has received grace, help your brother with both truth and love.
Jesus is not calling us to an undiscerning silence. He is calling us to humility that examines itself first and love that seeks the restoration of others.
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