A Right Judgment

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

A RIGHT JUDGMENT

John 8:13-18

13 The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid." 14 Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." 

NIV

If there was any question that about where Jesus was before he was here, he puts that question to rest with his own words. It is one thing for a another person to tell someone that Jesus is one of the Godhead, that he was there in the beginning, that though him all things were created, but it is entirely a different thing when Jesus says it about himself. Yet there will always be people who will make some excuse about his testimony of who he is. These Pharisees knew the Law that required the testimony of two men in order to pass judgment about a case and that was they reasoning for rebutting what Jesus had just told them about himself. But they were making a wrong judgment, in fact Jesus tells them so and that even to make that judgment is wrong for he does not judge anyone. This dialog between Jesus and the Pharisees is just part of a much longer one, but the truth here is enough to ponder on for now. If Jesus does not pass judgment on anyone, although if he did, his decisions are right, then we certainly should not pass judgment on one anyone. Jesus makes it clear that people make judgments on human standards. Of course it is appropriate for us to judge people accused of murder, stealing, or some other crime against humanity, but that is not the type of judgment Jesus is talking about. He is referring to the judgment people make about him. When people make a judgment about whom Jesus is by human standards they will always be wrong. It may well be impossible for people to understand who Jesus really is, unless they understand in their spirit. Human religion is just that, human, but God is Spirit. We have already heard Jesus tell the Samaritans they must worship God in spirit and in truth. Whenever we attempt to understand God, to understand Jesus in our human intellectual capacity we make a human, a wrong judgment. Sometimes some people put their faith in the human statements of those believed to be scholars just because they possess the title, scholar or theologian without knowing if those scholars or theologian are in the spirit or in the flesh. God has seen it fit to make sure every single one of his creation has the ability to see him in the spirit, for he has created all of us in his image, which includes a spirit with which to worship and understand him in. We really cannot think in human terms when it comes to God, or Jesus. Whenever we attempt to explain who he is in human terms we fail miserably, we make a wrong judgment. That is why is it so important that we must be born again, that our spirits must be reborn alive in Christ, so that within our spirit we know God, we know Jesus. We must be in the spirit in order to make a right judgment, as Jesus would if he did. In fact we should not judge at all, but being in the spirit, worship him.