Luke 6:37-38 37And judge not, and you will not be judged; and condemn not, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
The next paragraph shows how we should respond in mercy towards others as God has extended mercy to us (verse 36). Verse 37 is echoed in Matthew 7:1. This verse is widely known and often used to stop people from saying anything negative about others. The context is important to remember. There are three forms of judgment mentioned in the Bible. One is the legitimate use of judgment in a court of law in order to uphold justice. Justice must be kept for all in order for a society to function well. The Old Testament gives many examples of this type of judgment. Some of these examples are timeless and apply directly to all situations, while others were meant for the situations in ancient Israel. All of these types of judgments should be put through the filter of Jesus as the fulfillment of the law. A second form of judgment is the discrimination necessary to discern between good and bad. The laws and commands in the Bible help us make wise choices. Obviously, this type of judgment is necessary in order to obey God.
Jesus is referring to a third type of judgment where people find fault in others and criticize them in some way. This type of judgment puts value on people. In order to elevate one’s self, one puts another person down by judging him or her. Our tendency in self defense and competition is to find faults in others because we think that will somehow make us look better. If we can make others look bad, that will make us look good. Jesus indicates that not judging others in this way will mean we will not be judged. The verbs in this verse are passive with God as the assumed actor. God is the one who will not judge, condemn, and will forgive us.
Jesus gives two other parallel statements that extend the idea of judgment. The negative outcome of judgment is condemnation for being found guilty. When people hate, curse, or abuse us (verse 28), the natural response for those who are righteous is to condemn the sins these people are perpetrating towards us. We know what they are doing is wrong, and so we assume the position of God and condemn them as a form of revenge. The positive outcome is forgiveness. Forgiveness is possible because of the change in our hearts God has made. God replaces our selfishness with love. Loving others, in particular, our enemies, should lead us to forgive people who hurt us.
Verse 38 connects our actions to how God treats us. If we are God’s children, now part of his kingdom, we should act in the same way as God acts towards us, which is mercy (verse 36). The way we treat others is how God will treat us. This verse restates the “golden rule” of verse 31 and extends the ideas found in verse 37. The image is one of buying a commodity, like flour. Shacking a product will fill in all the empty spots and give more in the measure. When a cereal box is shaken, it usually shows that the box is half full, “sold by weight and not contents.” Every spot in the measuring reciprocal is filled in, and then the product is even overflowing. We will get even more grain in the market because we have such a generous merchant. The meaning of the proverb is made clear in the last statement. How we treat others is the way God will treat us. If we are merciful, gracious, and forgiving to others when they hurt us in some way, God will extend his mercy, grace, and forgiveness to us.
Several grammatical points are significant in these verses. One is that all verbs are present tense, indicating that this is the expected lifestyle of disciples. We are to do these actions all the time, continually. In addition, each of the commands is followed by how God will respond to us when we do thee actions. By obeying, we will experience more of God’s grace in our own lives. We will be changed more to become more in God’s image when we practice and do these things on a regular basis. These verses are exceedingly difficult to live out in our modern culture, but it was no easier for the disciples when Jesus spoke these words. With God’s love flowing in and through us, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can grow step by step, day by day, into this likeness.
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