Do Not Judge

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, 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. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

SUMMARY: Do not judge so that you will not be judged; as you judge, so you will be judged. Judge rightly. Do not show favoritism when you correct people for sins. The meaning is not that we should never point out sin; it is not that we should agree with people who act wickedly. We do not judge ahead of time when the Lord is the one who will be the judge. For with whatever judgment you judge, it is right that you will be judged the same way. This passage announces payback that matches what people deserve. Both Irenaeus and Hippolytus taught that the heretics were hypocrites with the beam in the eye. The phrase "give not that which is holy to the dogs" is applied in a special way to the Eucharist in the Didache. The dogs and swine were untrained hearers, the heathen, the foolish, the lost, or those who are given up to ungodliness and pleasures. Clement of Rome: Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us be humble in our thinking. Let us put aside all arrogance, pride, foolishness, and angry feelings. Let us act according to what is written. For the Holy Spirit says, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glories glory in the Lord, indulgently seeking him and doing judgment and righteousness." Let us be especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus that he spoke, teaching us meekness and patience. For he spoke, "Be merciful, that you may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven to you. As you do, so shall it be done to you; as you judge, so shall you be judged; as you are kind, so shall kindness be shown to you; with what measure you measure, with the same it shall be measured to you." By this command and by these rules, let us make ourselves firm so that we walk with all humility in obedience to his holy words. For the holy word says, "On whom shall I look? But on him that is meek and peaceable, and that trembles at my words."

THE DIDACHE: judge fairly. Do not show favoritism when you correct people for their sins.

POLYCARP: Remember what the Lord said in His teaching: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged; forgive, and it will be forgiven to you. Be merciful so that you may receive mercy." With the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you again.

POLYCARP: And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all. They should bring back those who wander. They should visit all the sick. They should not neglect the widow, the orphan, or the poor. Instead, they should always be providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and man. They should abstain from all wrath, favoritism, and unjust judgment. They should keep far away from all greed. They should not quickly believe an evil report against anyone. They should not be harsh in judgment, knowing that we are all under a debt of sin.

TATIAN: For those who want to learn our philosophy, we do not test them by how they look. We do not judge those who come to us by their outward appearance. We argue that anyone can have strength of mind, even if they are weak in body.

TATIAN: Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. Do not condemn, so that you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Release, and you will be released. Give, so that you may be given to. With a good measure, abundant and full, they will pour it into your bosom. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you. See to it what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and you will be given more. I say to those who hear, the one who has will be given to, and the one who does not have, even what he thinks is his will be taken from him. And he spoke to them a parable: Can a blind man perhaps guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a hollow? A disciple is not better than his master. Every perfect man will be like his master. Why do you look at the speck that is in the eye of your brother, but do not consider the column that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, I will take out the speck from your eye, when you do not see the column that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take out the column from your eye. Then you will be able to see to take the speck out from the eye of your brother. Do not give what is holy to the dogs. Do not throw your pearls before the swine, or they may trample them with their feet, and then turn back and wound you.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: As you do, so it will be done to you; as you give, so it will be given to you; as you judge, so you will be judged; as you show kindness, so kindness will be shown to you; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you again.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: How, then, does a person give these things? For I will give not only to friends, but also to the friends of friends. And who is the friend of God? Do not judge who is worthy or who is unworthy. It is possible that you may be mistaken in your opinion. When you do not know for sure, it is better to do good to those who seem undeserving, for the sake of those who are deserving. That is better than trying to guard yourself against people who are less good and then failing to help the good. Even if you are careful and try to test who will receive in a worthy way and who will not, it is possible for you to neglect some people who are loved by God. The penalty for that is the punishment of eternal fire. But if you offer help, one by one, to all who are in need, then you will, of necessity, in every way, find someone among them who has influence with God to save. Do not judge, then, so that you are not judged. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you again. Good measure, pressed and shaken, and running over, will be given to you. Open your compassion to all who are enrolled as the disciples of God. Do not look down on someone because of personal appearance. Do not be careless toward any stage of life.

TERTULLIAN: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down and running over, people will give in to your bosom, for with the same measure that you measure, it will be measured to you again. As it seems to me, this passage announces a payback that matches what people deserve.

TERTULLIAN: Why then do we believe he is a judge if he is not also an avenger? He promises that he will be this for us in return. He says, "Vengeance belongs to me and I will avenge." That is, "Leave patience to me and I will reward patience." For when he says, "Judge not, lest you be judged," does he not require patience? For who will hold back from judging another person, except the one who is patient enough not to take revenge for himself?

ANONYMOUS: you, Novatian, judge and declare that those who have lapsed have no hope of peace and mercy. You also do not listen to the Apostle's warning when he says, "Who are you, who judges another man's servant?" To his own master he stands or falls. Yes, he shall stand; God is mighty to establish him. The Holy Spirit, speaking through those same lapsed people, rebukes you when he says, "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy, because if I have fallen, I shall also rise again; and if I shall walk in darkness, the Lord is my light. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he justify my cause and execute judgment and justice and bring me forth to the light. I shall see his righteousness, and she that is my enemy shall see me and shall cover herself with confusion." I beg you, have you not read? Do not boast, and do not speak loftily, and do not let arrogance proceed out of your mouth. For the Lord lifts the poor from the earth; he raises up the beggar from the dunghill and makes him to sit with the mighty ones of the people. Have you not read that the Lord resists the proud and gives grace to the humble? Have you not read, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled"? Have you not read that God destroys the remembrance of the proud and does not forsake the memory of the lowly? Have you not read that "With what judgment a man shall judge, he must be judged"?

CYPRIAN: Also, we do not decide ahead of time, since the Lord is the Judge. But if He finds that the sinner's repentance is complete and genuine, then He will approve what we have decided here. If, however, someone fools us with a false claim of repentance, God is not mocked; He looks into a person's heart. He will judge the things we have not seen clearly, and the Lord will correct the decision of His servants. Still, dearest brother, we should remember what is written: "A brother that helps a brother shall be exalted." And the Apostle also has said, "Let all of you individually have regard to yourselves, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Also, when He rebukes the proud and breaks down their arrogance, He says in His letter, "Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." And in another place He says, "Who are you that judges another man's servant? To his own master he stands or falls." Yes, he shall stand, for God is able to make him stand.

CYPRIAN: we must not judge one another too quickly. In the Gospel according to Luke, "Judge not that you shall not be judged; condemn not that you shall not be condemned." On this same subject, to the Romans, "Who are you that judges another man's servant? To his own master he stands or falls; but he shall stand, for God is able to make him stand." And again, "Therefore you are without excuse, O every man that judges; for in that in which you judge another you condemn yourself; for you do the same things which you judge. But do you hope, who judges those who do evil, and you do the same, that you shall escape the judgment of God?" Also in the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, "And let him that thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." And again, "If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows not yet in what manner he ought to know."

ORIGEN: God knows what he will suffer, the one who at first did not listen but demanded witnesses, or even refused to listen to them but was brought to the church. We do not announce it following the command, "Judge not, that you be not judged," and "Until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts." But about the seeming harshness in the case of those who have committed fewer sins, someone might say this: it is not possible for the person who has not listened twice in a row to listen the third time, and because of that he would no longer be treated as a Gentile or a publican. He would also no longer need the disapproval in front of the whole church. For we must remember this: "So it is not the will of my Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." For if we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad, then let each one, with all his power, do what he can so that he may not receive punishment for more evil things done in the body. This is true even if he is going to receive back for all the wrongs he has done. But it should be our ambition to gain the reward for a greater number of good deeds, since "With what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us," and "According to the works of our own hands shall it happen to us."

TERTULLIAN: The Lord Himself shows how He warns people who judge. He says, "For with what judgment you judge, judgment shall be given on you." So He did not forbid judging; instead, He taught how to judge. Because of this, the Apostle also judges. He even judges in a case of sexual sin. He says that "such a man must be surrendered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." He also corrects them because "brothers and sisters were not judged at the bar of the saints." Then He goes on and says, "To what purpose is it for Me to judge those who are without?"

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Even now I am afraid, as it is said, to cast the pearls before swine, or they will trample them underfoot and turn and tear us. Because of this, it is hard to share the truly pure and clear words about the true light with hearers who are like swine and who are untrained. Almost nothing they could hear would seem more ridiculous to the crowd than these words. But on the other hand, no subjects are more admirable or more inspiring to people of noble character.

TERTULLIAN: I must not leave out a report about the behavior of the heretics also. It is foolish, worldly, and only human. It has no seriousness, no authority, and no discipline, just as fits their creed. To begin with, it is unclear who is a catecumen and who is a believer. They all have the same access. They listen the same way. They pray the same way, even pagans, if any, happen to come among them. That which is holy they will cast to the dogs, and their pearls, although to be sure they are not real ones, they will fling to the swine. All of them are puffed up. All of them offer you knowledge. Their catecumens are considered perfect before they are fully taught. Even the women of these heretics, how shameless they are. They are bold enough to teach, to argue, to perform exorcisms, to attempt cures, and maybe even to baptize. Their ordinations are handled carelessly. They are unpredictable and always changing. At one time, they put beginners into office. At another time, they put in men who are tied to some secular job. At another time, they put in people who have turned away from us, to hold them by empty pride, since they cannot hold them by the truth. Nowhere is promotion easier than in the camp of rebels, where the simple fact of being there counts as the greatest service. So it happens that today one man is their bishop, and tomorrow another. Today he is a deacon, and tomorrow he is a reader. Today he is a presbyter, and tomorrow he is a layman. For they even place the duties of the priesthood on laymen.

TERTULLIAN: but those whose duty it is know that baptism should not be given carelessly. "Give to everyone who begs you" has its own meaning; it especially applies to giving to the poor. On the other hand, this command should be considered carefully: "Do not give the holy thing to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine," and "Do not lay hands quickly on anyone, do not share other men's sins." If Philip quickly baptized the chamberlain, we should think about this: clear and obvious proof had come first that the Lord considered him worthy. The Spirit had told Philip to go to that road. The eunuch also was not sitting around doing nothing. He was not someone who was suddenly grabbed by a strong desire to be baptized. Instead, after going up to the temple to pray, he was deeply focused on the divine Scripture. In this way, he was found at the right time: God had sent an apostle to him without being asked. Then the Spirit told that apostle to join himself to the chamberlain's chariot. The Scripture the eunuch was reading fit perfectly with his faith. Philip was asked to help, and he sat beside him. The Lord was shown to him. Faith did not delay. Water did not need to be waited for. The act was completed, and the apostle was taken away. But Paul too was, in fact, quickly baptized, because Simon, his host, quickly recognized him as "an appointed vessel of election." If anyone understands how serious baptism is, they will fear receiving it more than delaying it. True faith is sure of salvation.

ORIGEN: the savior, knowing the difference between pearls, said that some pearls are truly beautiful and others are worthless. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls. If none of the pearls were worthless, it would not have said, 'A man seeking goodly pearls.'" Now, among words of all kinds that claim to announce truth, and among the people who report those words, he seeks pearls. Let the prophets be, so to speak, like mussels. They take in the dew of heaven. They become, in a way, pregnant with the word of truth from heaven. From them come the beautiful pearls. These are the goodly pearls that, according to the word set out here, the merchant seeks. The chief pearl is the one that, when you find it, you find the rest along with it. This is the very costly pearl, the Christ of God. He is the word. He is greater than the precious letters and thoughts in the law and the prophets. When you find him, all the rest are also easily taken. The savior speaks with all the disciples as merchant men. They are not only seeking the goodly pearls, but have found them and possess them. He speaks to them when he says, "Do not cast your pearls before swine." It is clear that these things were said to the disciples. We know this from what comes before his words. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain. And when he had sat down, his disciples came to him. In the course of those words, he said, "Do not give that which is holy to the dogs. Neither cast your pearls before the swine." Perhaps, then, a person is not a disciple of Christ if he does not possess pearls, or the very costly pearl. I mean the pearls that are goodly, not the cloudy ones, and not the darkened ones. Those are like the words of the heterodox. They are brought forth not at the sunrise, but at the sunset, or in the north. This comparison may be needed because we found a difference in pearls that are produced in different places. And perhaps the muddy words and the heresies that are tied up with works of the flesh are the darkened pearls. They are like pearls produced in marshes, not goodly pearls.

CYPRIAN: Demetrianus. I had often treated your insults and loud shouting with contempt. You spoke with a sacrilegious mouth and with impious words against the one true God. I thought it was more modest and better to silently scorn the ignorance of a man who is mistaken than to speak and stir up the rage of a senseless man. I did not do this without the authority of divine teaching, for it is written: "Do not speak in the ears of a fool, lest when he hears you he should despise the wisdom of your words." And again: "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him." Also, we are commanded to keep what is holy within our own knowledge and not expose it to be trampled by swine and dogs. The Lord speaks and says: "Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; neither cast your pearls before swine, in case they trample them under their feet and turn again and tear you." For when you often used to come to me, you came with a desire to contradict rather than with a wish to learn. You shamelessly preferred to insist on your own views. You shouted them with loud words instead of patiently listening to mine. So it seemed foolish to me to argue with you. It would be easier and a smaller thing to hold back the angry waves of a stormy sea by shouting than to stop your madness by arguments. Truly, it would be a useless and ineffective effort to offer light to a blind man, speech to a deaf man, or wisdom to a brute. A brute cannot understand. A blind man cannot receive the light. A deaf man cannot hear.

CYPRIAN: In Solomon. In the Proverbs. Do not say anything in the ears of a foolish man; if he hears it, he may mock your wise words. Also, in the Gospel according to Matthew. Do not give what is holy to dogs. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs; if you do, they might trample them under their feet and then turn back and crush you.

ARCHELAUS: But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden in those who are lost. You see that it is hidden in those who are lost? For it is not proper to give the holy things to dogs. And also, is it only the God of the Old Testament who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe? No. Has not Jesus himself also said, "Therefore I speak to them in parables, that seeing they may not see"? Is it then because he hated them that he wanted them not to see, or is it because of their unworthiness since they closed their own eyes? For wherever wickedness is something people choose for themselves, there too grace is absent. For to him that has shall be given, but from him that does not have shall be taken away even that which he seems to have.

METHODIUS: They insult the commandments. They carry out the will of evil spirits. They throw holy things to dogs and pearls before pigs. They do this in the same way as those the prophet speaks about with anger, saying, "They read the law to those outside." For the Jews were not supposed to read the law when they went out of the gates of Jerusalem or when they went out of their houses. Because of this, the prophet blames them strongly. He cries out that they deserved condemnation. This was because, while they were breaking the commandments and acting in an ungodly way toward God, they were proudly reading the law. They acted as if they were faithfully obeying its commands, but they did not accept it in their souls. They did not hold it firmly with faith. Instead, they rejected it. They denied it by what they did.

METHODIUS: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs." If we must understand pearls to mean the glorious and divine teachings, and pigs to mean people who have given themselves over to ungodliness and pleasures, then the apostles' teachings should be held back and hidden from them. These teachings stir people up to godliness and faith in Christ. But then look at what you are saying. You are saying that no Christians can be converted from their ungodliness by the teachings of the apostles, for the apostles would never throw the mysteries of Christ to those who, because they lack faith, are like pigs. So one of two things must be true: either these things were thrown in front of all the Greeks and other unbelievers, and were preached by the disciples of Christ, and they were converted from ungodliness to faith in Christ, as we believers certainly confess. If that is true, then the words "Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs" can no longer mean what has been said. Or if the words do mean that, then we must say that faith in Christ and rescue from ungodliness have been given to none of the unbelievers, whom we compare to pigs, by the apostolic instructions that light up their souls like pearls. But this is blasphemous. Therefore, in this place, the pearls are not to be taken to mean the deepest doctrines, and the pigs are not to be taken to mean the ungodly. We are not to understand the words "Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs" as forbidding us to set the deep and holy doctrines of faith in Christ before the ungodly and unbelieving. Instead, we must take the pearls to mean virtues. The soul is decorated with these virtues like it is decorated with precious pearls. And "Do not throw them in front of pigs" means that we must not throw these virtues, such as chastity, self-control, righteousness, and truth, to impure pleasures. These pleasures are like pigs. If we do, they will run away from the virtues and cause the soul to live a pig-like and sinful life.