Devotion: John 8:15

John 8:15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 

We are a very judgemental society, a people who often pass judgement on others without looking at the whole picture. We are told not to judge a book by its cover, yet all too often we DO judge based on human standards. It comes naturally for us to do this, making determination of things in our heads based upon our perspective and experiences.

Jesus, on the other hand, said He did passed judgement on no one. He pointed out that the Pharisees were judging based on appearances, using their human standards and experiences to do so. But He did not come to judge. He came for a much greater purpose. He came to save us.

This passage comes from a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. They were looking for any excuse to have Him killed at this point of His ministry, and they were openly challenging His authority, seeking to condemn Him based on appearances and their own rigid interpretations of the Law.

We see a stark contrast between their fleshly response with their judgemental beliefs compared to Jesus, Who was not passing judgement and offering something more. A few passages before today’s verse we saw that He did not judge the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Instead, He forgave her and sent her on her way – NOT the response the Pharisees were wanting to see. But it is a perfect example of what He came to do.

Today we need to remember that though He has every right to judge, He did not come for that purpose the first time. He came to show love and forgiveness, to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins as He paid the price required by the Law. For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, and His blood was shed for each one of us.

We also need to remember that we are in no position to judge. We are not given that authority and shouldn’t fall victim to our flesh and pass judgement. As we learned on the first day of our month on judgement, we are not the Judge or Lawgiver – there is only One, and it is not us. Let Jesus be the example for your response. He chose not to judge and we are called to love people, not condemn or judge them.

Prayer: Lord, Help me to set aside my judgemental attitude. I don’t have the right to judge and I need to take those thoughts captive and give them to You, letting You alone be the Judge.  Amen 

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