Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

 Yesterday we began reading chapter 7 of John's Gospel, in which Jesus has chosen to walk in Galilee after confrontations with the religious leaders; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because they sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."   When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true and no unrighteousness is in Him."   Let us notice once again Jesus' emphasis on the love of God -- and particularly the honor that comes from God, as opposed to worldly glory.  My study bible comments here that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness, it says, comes from an unwillingness to know God or to recognize the authority of God.  Here is the way that St. John Chrysostom paraphrased the words of Christ in this passage:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God."  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."  

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus is referring to His healing of the paralytic, which took place at a previous religious festival (the Feast of Weeks, commemorating the giving of the Law by Moses); see this reading, and Christ's dispute with the religious leaders which followed (here and here).   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gave examples from the Old Testament of blameless violations of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3-5), and here He refers to circumcision on the Sabbath.  His point is regarding healing and wholeness.  To judge with righteous judgment would mean considering the true purpose of the Sabbath, and Christ's aim to heal and to restore.  See also Mark 2:27.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  My study bible comments that these crowds are mistaken, both in an earthly sense and in a divine sense, when they say, "We know where this Man is from."  In human terms, they think of Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they aren't aware that His birth was actually in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:1-7).   Moreover, they can't understand that He has come from the Father in Heaven, and is eternally begotten before all ages -- and so His divine origin also remains unknown to them.  

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   His hour is the time of His suffering and death.  My study bible comments that Christ is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone.  He comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plotting of human beings (see also John 8:20, 10:39).  

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  Here Jesus refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  But as is a common theme in John's Gospel, Jesus uses everyday language to describe events of great mystical significance, which will later be expounded in the Gospel.  The religious leaders do not understand His meaning and are perplexed.  To go among the Greeks means among the Gentiles, as Greek was the international language of the time.  This unwitting prophecy, according to my study bible, points to the time after Christ's Ascension when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

When John's Gospel describes the reactions of the people we can see the unfolding popularity of Christ's ministry, and how that plays into this drama of the increasing hostility of the leadership, as well as Christ's preaching.  In yesterday's reading (see above), we were told that there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  That is, the term "the Jews" here represents the religious leadership, and is used as a political term.  All the people in the Gospel, except where noted, are Jews, and that includes the author of this Gospel, and Jesus Himself.   John notes for us the conflicts and stirrings among the people around Jesus.  Some say He is good; others say He deceives the people.  And all are afraid of the religious leaders who seek to seize Jesus, and so will not speak openly.  In today's reading, taking place in the middle of the feast, we're told that some people from Jerusalem say, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."   After Jesus responds to this, we're told that the religious leaders sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   So by this time, in the middle of this eight-day Feast of Tabernacles, many of the people have come to believe in Him.  And we can clearly see the response of the religious leaders:  the Pharisees seek to arrest Him and send their officers to take Him.  It's almost a picture of the growing and emerging chaos around Jesus in the conflict His ministry stirs among the people as all respond to Him in their own way.  And Jesus is the center of that storm, the One who remains firmly committed to His mission, asserting the truths which He is given to tell to the people, and placing all of His own faith in His communion with the Father.  As the actions continue to swirl about Him, Jesus goes deeper, digging in and revealing new truths about His ministry and hinting at His Passion, death, and Resurrection to come.  Where He goes, they cannot follow, He says, warning them that He will be with them only a little while, and when they seek Him then, they will not be able to find Him.  Jesus emphasizes that He is true to the One who sent Him, whose glory He alone seeks -- and that the One who sent Him is true.  But they do not know Him; their love is not for God, but for the glory they derive from one another, from other human beings.  "Do not judge according to appearance," He says, "but judge with righteous judgment."   And this is really the key to His Gospel, the gist of His warnings that there will come a time when they will seek Him and they won't be able to find Him, because ultimately He Himself will be the Judge.  If they have no love for the One who sent Him, they cannot have love nor understanding of the doctrine He teaches, the compassion to heal on the Sabbath, the good judgment He asks them to prefer above their own valuation of rules and honor.  But in these statements, Jesus doesn't simply speak to the people of His time or the religious leaders of His time.  He speaks to all of us for all of our times.  He speaks to us about times we follow social rules and customs that are nominally meant for good but in fact do harm.  He speaks to all of us when we're asked to judge according to appearances, instead of using good judgment which would be pleasing to God.  He stirs the crowds with His teaching but His real mission is far more urgent than anything that they can imagine, because it is really about life and death, what we care about, and what we ignore.  Jesus links our tendency to judge by appearance, to want the glory that comes from the world -- as opposed to God -- to the ultimate judgment to come, and we have already been told that He is the Judge (see John 5:22-23).  If we are encouraged to judge by appearance, then we are being asked to blind ourselves to the truths Christ taught, for He judges according to the heart and intention, and asks us to do the same.