24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
24 Do not judge according to appearance,
The religious leaders understood the Bible superficially. They took bribes and showed partiality but kept the formal aspect of the law. They were blinded by self-seeking glory (Jn 5:44). They kept the letter of the law but did not understand what it truly communicated.
The Jews judged by appearance by condemning Christ. They had a faulty judgment about who Jesus was.
but judge with righteous judgment.”
People use superficial judgment of Scripture to come to their conclusions. Jesus asked that the people listening to Him judge with simple fairness. If a person was to judge, they should judge without partiality or favoritism (Jn 5:30).
PRINCIPLE:
It is not proper to make judgments about others from external appearance.
APPLICATION:
Many Christians major on minors when it comes to biblical doctrine. They get caught up in the letter of the law rather than its spirit. They judge others by appearance rather than by the truth of the situation. The biblical principle is to understand God’s will as He knows it and not by prejudice. We need to find our true motives in our relationship with others.
