John 7:21-27: a reflection

21Jesus answered them, “I did one work and you all marvel because of it. 22Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy. 23If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath? 24Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” 25Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill? 26Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ? 27However, we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

When people judge Jesus harshly for healing on the Sabbath, judging by the surface of the matter, he calls them to a deeper standard: do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. Don't judge according to appearance, Jesus says, but judge righteous judgment. The people had judged him by the surface: he had healed on the Sabbath, so, judging by the outward appearance of a rule broken, they condemned him, without looking deeper at what he had actually done, a man made whole, a good work done. Jesus calls them beyond such surface-judging: not to judge by mere appearance, but to judge rightly, looking beyond the surface to the truth of the matter. This shows the call not to judge by appearances, but to judge rightly. Do not judge by appearances, but judge rightly, looking beyond the surface. Surface-judging condemns wrongly; right judgment looks deeper. Look beyond the outward appearance to the truth of a matter. Judge with right judgment, not by how things appear on the surface.

Notice the standard of judgment Jesus calls for. The people had judged him by appearances, by the surface of the matter: he had healed on the Sabbath, and, seeing only the outward appearance of a rule broken, they condemned him. They did not look deeper, to what he had actually done, a suffering man made whole, a work of mercy and good. Judging by the surface, they judged wrongly. And Jesus calls them, and us, to a better standard: do not judge by appearance, but judge righteous judgment; look beyond the surface to the truth of the matter, and judge rightly. This holds wisdom for how we judge things and people. It is easy to judge by appearances, by the surface: to see the outward look of a thing or person and form our judgment on that, without looking deeper. But surface-judging often judges wrongly, condemning what is actually good or approving what is actually bad, because it stops at appearances. Right judgment looks beyond the surface, to the truth of the matter, to what is actually there, and judges accordingly. We are called not to judge by appearances, forming quick verdicts from the surface, but to judge rightly, looking deeper, considering the truth of things and people before we judge. We do well not to judge by appearances, but to look beyond the surface and judge rightly. Do not judge by appearances; look beyond the surface to the truth. Surface-judging often condemns wrongly; right judgment looks deeper. Consider the truth of a matter or person before you judge. Judge with right judgment, not by how things appear at first.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called not to judge by appearances but to judge rightly, looking beyond the surface, as Jesus called those who judged him by the surface. We can judge by appearances, forming quick verdicts from the surface of things; but Jesus calls us not to judge by appearance but to judge righteous judgment. Look deeper. Do not judge by appearances, condemning from the surface; look beyond it to the truth of the matter, and judge rightly, as Jesus taught. Do not judge by appearances, forming quick verdicts from the surface, but look beyond it to the truth of a matter or person and judge rightly, as when people judged Jesus harshly for healing on the Sabbath, judging by the surface of the matter, he called them to a deeper standard, not to judge according to appearance but to judge righteous judgment; for the people had judged him by the surface, that he had healed on the Sabbath, and judging by the outward appearance of a rule broken they condemned him without looking deeper at what he had actually done, a man made whole and a good work done, so that Jesus called them beyond such surface-judging, not to judge by mere appearance but to judge rightly, looking beyond the surface to the truth of the matter, which holds wisdom for how we judge things and people, since it is easy to judge by appearances and form our judgment on the outward look of a thing or person without looking deeper, but surface-judging often judges wrongly, condemning what is actually good or approving what is actually bad because it stops at appearances, while right judgment looks beyond the surface to the truth of the matter and judges accordingly, so that we are called not to judge by appearances and form quick verdicts from the surface but to judge rightly, looking deeper and considering the truth of things and people before we judge, and we do well not to judge by appearances but to look beyond the surface and judge rightly.

Lord Jesus, when people judge you harshly for healing on the Sabbath, judging by the surface of the matter, you call them to a deeper standard: do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. Don't judge according to appearance, you say, but judge righteous judgment. The people had judged you by the surface: you had healed on the Sabbath, so, judging by the outward appearance of a rule broken, they condemned you, without looking deeper at what you had actually done, a man made whole, a good work done. You call them beyond such surface-judging: not to judge by mere appearance, but to judge rightly, looking beyond the surface to the truth of the matter. Show me the standard of judgment you call for. The people had judged you by appearances, by the surface: you had healed on the Sabbath, and, seeing only the outward appearance of a rule broken, they condemned you. They did not look deeper, to what you had actually done, a suffering man made whole, a work of mercy. Judging by the surface, they judged wrongly. And you call them, and me, to a better standard: do not judge by appearance, but judge righteous judgment. This holds wisdom for how I judge things and people. It is easy to judge by appearances, by the surface: to see the outward look of a thing or person and form my judgment on that, without looking deeper. But surface-judging often judges wrongly, condemning what is actually good or approving what is actually bad, because it stops at appearances. Right judgment looks beyond the surface, to the truth of the matter. Take that to my heart. Keep me from judging by appearances, forming quick verdicts from the surface; help me look beyond the surface, Lord, to the truth of a matter or person, and judge rightly, considering what is actually there rather than how things appear at first.