McGarvey points out that “If the act of Christ in healing a man were judged as a mere act, it might be considered a breach of the Sabbath. But if the nature of the act be taken into account and all the laws relative to it be considered—in short, if it be judged righteously in all bearings—it would be amply justified.” (TFG 446)

Man’s usual basis of judgment is upon outward appearances. God never judges on outward appearances, but He looks at our hearts. (1 Sam 16:7)

1 Sam 16:7  But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

That is the basis of judgment from which Jesus commands us to judge. We must never judge people or matters based on outward appearances. The Jews were falsely analyzing the actions of Jesus because of their interpretation of the scriptures. Have you ever made conclusions about other Christians based upon your interpretation of God’s Word? We must be very careful to not force our doctrine on others when it is not explicitly stated in scripture.

Judging by “mere appearances” is judging by human standards and methods (John 8:15). Jesus strongly warns us not to do so. Our judging of others actually puts stumbling blocks in their way (Rom 14:13). You can cause fellow Christians to fall away from God by falsely judging their actions or motives.

John 8:15  You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no-one.

Rom 14:13  Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling-block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

One problem with us judging others is that we have two sets of scales with which to judge — one for our own faults and one for those of others (Mt 7:1-5). We see the faults of others through a microscope, but our own through the wrong end of a telescope. We magnify the specks of dust in their eyes, but are in danger of knocking them out with the two by fours we are swinging around that protrude from our own eyes.

Mt 7:1-5 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

It doesn’t matter how long you have been a Christian or how mature you are in the faith, you are still susceptible to this temptation — even if you are a “man after God’s own heart.” In (2 Sam 12:1-9) David is confronted by Nathan and passes judgment upon a man who steals a neighbor’s sheep, only to find he had done the same thing and had not repented of his own sin.

2 Sam 12:1-9  The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,  but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveller who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.  Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

But judging by human methods or by mere appearances doesn’t just apply to us passing judgment upon other people. It also speaks of the decisions we make as to what is the right thing to do or the wrong. How often have we made the wrong decisions because we have made them based upon mere appearances, instead of the heart of the matter? The only way we can make the right decisions is to get our flesh out of the way and listen to God. He is the only One Who knows what is in a man’s heart and thus knows exactly what we should do in any given circumstance.

“Stop judging … make a right judgment” = the people had to make a decision. If Jesus was the Prophet that God promised through Moses that He would raise up, then the people must listen to everything He says and obey it or face the unpleasant consequences. (Deut 18:18-19) However, if Jesus was a false prophet and was not speaking the words of God, then He must be put to death and the crowd must refuse to listen to what He says. (Deut 18:20, 13:1-5)

Deut 18:18-20  I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.  If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”

We are faced with the same decision every time we hear Jesus speak to us, whether through His Word, by another person, in our hearts, or whatever means He wishes to use. We, like the crowd, must decide whether to accept what He says and thus act upon it, or reject what He says and suffer the consequences.

Are you going to make your future decisions based upon “mere appearances” or will you determine right now to listen to our Lord and do what is really “right”?