One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is the story of the woman brought before Jesus accused of adultery. In John 8:2-11 it reads:
"And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
It has been postulated that perhaps what Jesus wrote on the ground were the names and individual sins of each of the accusers. Recognizing their own sins and Jesus' knowledge of them, they were "convicted by their own conscience" and left.
I love the way Jesus handled both the accusers and the woman accused. In every instance, he exemplified that which he had taught in Luke 6:41-42:
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
"Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."
Who were these accusers? The Bible Dictionary describes the Pharisees as a religious party among the Jews. "They prided themselves on their strict observance of the law and on the care with which they avoided contact with things gentile...The tendency of their teaching was to reduce religion to the observance of a multiplicity of ceremonial rules and to encourage self-sufficiency and spiritual pride. They were a major obstacle to the reception of Christ and the gospel by the Jewish people."
The Pharisees thought they were better than others because of their strict observance of the law. But their focus solely on observing the rules and the law, as well as their spiritual pride, blinded them to the higher law that Christ desired to give them. What was this higher law? In Luke 6:37-38 Christ teaches:
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again..."
There is only one who can judge, because His judgement is perfect. His judgement comes from knowing us perfectly. He has suffered everything we will ever suffer. He has felt everything we will ever feel. Only He can truly know our hearts and the circumstances that may have led us to sin or to fall short. Only He can know of our true desires and intentions. Only He can know of our true repentance.
That is why we can not judge others. We usually know nothing of their struggles, their intentions, their circumstances. We don't know anything of their private personal relationship with their God. We only know what we see and that perception is often clouded by our own weaknesses and false beliefs or assumptions. It is usually far from the true picture that God sees.
I love the phrase "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over." When one measures something, more can fit into the container when it is pressed down or shaken. The way we deal with our fellow man will determine how we are dealt with. Do we try to give them the least amount we have to, or do we press down, shake it together and even let it run over? I believe this scripture is not only referring to the charity we give, but also to the mercy we give. The justice we mete out is the same we will receive.
Christ gives His mercy so freely to those who are humble before Him and have faith. In fact, many times in the scriptures He proclaims, "Thy faith hath made thee whole." Often this refers to a physical healing that person received, but I believe He uses this phrase to also allude to their spiritual healing. He often proclaimed that their sins were forgiven them when they were healed of a physical ailment. What heals us both physically and spiritually? Our faith in Christ. It is Christ who heals and makes us whole. His mercy is running over. May we extend such mercy to our fellowman and seek to extend our love and forgiveness rather than our condemnation and judgement.