Luke 10:12-16

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Our text today doesn’t appear to most people to be outrageous or inflammatory when we first read it, but I trust by the time we finish unpacking it, I trust you will see the words that Jesus spoke in our text today had the effect of pouring gasoline onto a fire.  You will understand why the Jews were all the more determined to put Jesus to death… you will understand why they never forgave Jesus for saying such “blasphemous” things.

Luke 6:35-45

I want to spend just a few minutes giving you the big picture before we camp out in the details of the text this morning. In verse 35 the Lord Jesus gave us this command:

Love your enemies.

This is not natural… it is supernatural. No unsaved person can love his enemies… it is impossible (notice I didn’t say it was hard)… it is impossible for a person to love his enemies unless he has the Holy Spirit living within him. Now remember Biblical love is not first and foremost a feeling… it is a verb… it is action. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, etc. 1 Cor.13.

Luke 6:37

Luke 6:37: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

I think Judge not, and you shall not be judged are some of the most familiar words in the Bible.  I also think these words are some of the most misunderstood words in the Bible.  Perhaps you have been taught that Jesus is teaching us that all judging is wrong all of the time… many people think this is the point of the text.  Let’s compare Scripture with Scripture… we find a fuller explanation in Matthew’s account.