"Judge not, that ye be not judged ... And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" ~ Matthew 7:1,3
Have you ever thought of the occasional seeming exaggeration in speech which Jesus used when he was teaching on earth? Now and then He seems to stab us with such an extreme analogy or simile that we just have to notice it! The camel going through the eye of the needle is, to me, not as sharp an illustration of this teaching pattern as the verses quoted at the top of this page. It is as though Jesus stopped at nothing to impress upon us the seriousness of the sin of judging others. I have heard it said that we cannot sit in the judges seat and the witness box at the same time. Jesus made a fantastic statement to capture our attention in these verses
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Some of the current translations use the word "plank" instead of "beam". No matter. It is evident that Jesus was trying to shock us into attention. Because whoever heard of anyone having an eye big enough to contain a plank or a beam? But Jesus didn't stop with this strong warning about condemnation. He went on to the Cross to prove that in His heart was no condemnation. He hung there asking for forgiveness for those who were enjoying His death! He used this striking expression to show God's loathing of condemnation, and then did what He did on Calvary to illustrate His point.
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
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