The Lutheran Hour

"Judging"

#77-35
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on May 9, 2010
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: John 5:1-9

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. This Mother’s Day the Lord comes to our homes with His saving truth. By the power of the Holy Spirit may our hearts be opened and we be granted the ability to hold fast to the truth of the Savior who alone is the truth. God grant this faith to us all. Amen.

Judging. Today’s Mother’s Day message is about Christians judging things. There, now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll wait for your reaction. (Humming) I know there’s going to be a reaction because almost everybody in The Lutheran Hour listening audience is pretty sure we’re not supposed to judge anything or anybody. Why, right now some of you are saying, “Doesn’t the Bible say, “judge not lest ye be judged?” Well, yes, it does. That passage is in Matthew 7 and we’ll talk more about that passage later.

This sermon is about judging and I know that topic is going to upset some folks who have been brought into the philosophy of non-judging-open-mindedness. Some of you have used that Native American expression about not judging any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins. Shakespeare said, “Forebear to judge, for we are sinners all.”

You see, man’s wisdom and political correctness say we’re not supposed to judge. In spite of all this evidence, today’s Lutheran Hour message is going to swim against the current. Here, let me tell you a story about judging. The story begins pleasantly enough with a beautiful young lady who, as the month of her senior prom approached, was dealing with a problem. She was pretty sure two boys were going to ask her to the festivities. There was one young man whom she had liked for quite a while: handsome, popular, an athlete. The other one had recently shown up in her life. He was not as handsome, not so much the athlete, and since he didn’t attend her school, she couldn’t judge his popularity. Two guys, one very good, the other… just OK.

You don’t need a crystal ball to know which one called first. Yes, it was the OK one… not the heart-throb. He asked her to the prom and she had to judge; she had to decide. If she said, “Yes, I’ll go with you”, she would have a date for the dance but she would lose the hunk. If she said “No, I won’t go with you”, she ran the risk of losing the new guy and if the hunk never called, she could spend prom night at home watching reruns of I Love Lucy. After a week, she told the newcomer, “I’d love to go to the prom with you.” Less than six hours later her phone rang. It was THE hunk… and he asked, “Would you like to go to the prom?” She asked for 24 hours to give him an answer.

The young lady ended up going to her mother for advice about whether or not she should jilt the new guy. She began, “Mom, I’ve got a problem. I need some advice…” Mom listened patiently as her daughter poured out the painful particulars. Then, when she had heard the entire explanation, mom quietly spoke: “Did you say “Yes”, to the first boy?” “I did”, said the pretty girl, “but….” That single word ‘but’ was the only part of her daughter’s rationale the mother heard. She interrupted and said, “Honey, if you said ‘yes’ to the first boy, I think the matter is settled… and the only advice you need from me is about the color of your dress.” With just a few words, mom preached a sermon about judging. I wish my sermons had such immediate results. The daughter did go to the prom with the OK boy, and although I didn’t hear the whole story until much later, that year I got to take Pammie to the prom.

My future mother-in-law understood something which has been forgotten by many mothers. She believed there were such things as right and wrong. She believed that it was her job to teach her children everything they needed, everything they REALLY needed, including how to make good judgments. She believed if she didn’t teach her children how to make good decisions, somebody else would teach them how to make bad decisions… decisions she wouldn’t like… decisions God wouldn’t like.

Now you should know that Christian mothers, in many ways, are like regular moms. Like other mothers, Christian mothers try to make sure their children are well educated. They underscore their child’s need to be proficient in readin’, writin’, and ‘rithamtic; but Christian mothers go further. Along with knowing their children have a body and a mind, these Christian mothers believe the Bible when it says God has given their little ones a spiritual element, a soul. Knowing that, Christian mothers have decided their children, from infancy, will know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make them wise in the faith of Jesus Christ.

Christian mothers, in many ways, are like regular moms. They, like most mothers, wipe away tears, bandage scrapes, whisper encouragements, silence fears, praise their children’s minor heroics, and make a beautiful mountain range from the smallest and seemingly most inconsequential of their children’s triumphs. But Christian mothers believe there is more to their job than being the proud possessor of these wonderful, maternal virtues. Christian mothers have a Savior. They have a Savior who has come into this world to seek and save the lost; they have a Savior who gave His life so all who believe on Him might live forever. Christian mothers know the importance of forgiveness because, as sinners, they themselves have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Motivated by this Savior, Christian mothers care enough to take the time to teach their children how to cope, in a Christian way, with the cruel tauntings of classmates; how to deflect unkind, unearned, and undeserved criticism. Christian mothers teach their children how to use Christian compassion to combat the loneliness of being left out and how to extend Christ-like kindness and care to those inevitable kids and classmates who are always somewhere on the sidelines looking and longing to be accepted. In large ways and small Christian mothers do their best to reflect into the lives of their little ones the goodness, the greatness, the graciousness of their Redeemer.

Christian mothers, in many ways, are like regular moms. But, you should know, there are differences. You have heard me refer to some… now let me touch upon one more: Christian mothers teach their children how to judge. Yes, you heard me rightly. Christian mothers teach their children how to judge. “But”, I hear 100,000 voices say in unison, “but, I thought Christians are supposed to be non-judgmental. You’re supposed to be open-minded; you’re supposed to be accepting. You’re supposed to follow Jesus, and Jesus never judged anyone.”

If you believe Jesus never judged, then you believe wrongly. Really, you do. Jesus never told people not to judge… not the way those words are understood by most folks. To say, ‘Jesus told us not to judge’ is to rip the text apart and twist the intention of what the Savior was teaching. What Jesus DID say was this: we are to judge other people by the standard we want for ourselves. We should not judge others with one set of rules and ourselves with a second set. The criteria you use to judge others is the criteria others can use to judge you. Judge not? In truth, Christian mothers, Christian parents, Christian pulpits have a high obligation to teach their children how to judge.

“But”, I hear you object again, “But Jesus never judged.” If you really believe that, let’s take a look at the Gospel designated to be read in Lutheran churches this Mother’s Day. The story, from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, speaks of an invalid who had stationed himself near Jerusalem’s pool of Bethesda. The location was not selected because it was a great spot from which he could beg charity from the affluent folks who passed by. No, this beggar had his headquarters near the Bethesda pool because, every once in a while, the Lord would send an angel to stir up the waters. When the waters were rippled by an angelic hand, the first person who made it into the pool would be healed of his affliction. That picture of the halt, the lame, the blind all struggling, scrambling, striving to be first into the water, that picture overflows with incredible hope and overwhelming despair. It’s not hard to imagine how the joyful shouts of one person who had been healed would be countered by the groans and sadness of the many who had run a close second or a distant last.

The Sabbath day Jesus walked by the Bethesda pool His heart went out to a man who had, for thirty-eight years, been an also ran. Seeing the man with his infirmity, Jesus stopped and asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” The question was so basic, the answer so understood, the man didn’t offer a direct answer to Jesus’ inquiry. Instead, the invalid gave a sad explanation as to why he had, in all these years, never been first to get into the pool. He shared, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”

Years ago, when I first heard that story, a strange thought occurred to me. It seemed to
me that that man must not have had a mother. Every mother I have ever known would
have moved heaven and earth to get her child into that water. If she couldn’t do the job
herself, she would hire some big lugs to rush her boy into the pool.

While that man may or may not have had a mother, he most definitely had a Savior; and I hope you’ll forgive me for saying this: a Savior like Jesus is just as good, in fact, it’s better than having a mom. I say that because Jesus loved that invalid more than his birth mother ever could. And while a mother must have other interests, other duties, other obligations, Jesus’ entire life, from beginning to end, was dedicated to saving that man and the rest of humanity. Long before that man had ever been born, the Lord had decided, judged He would sacrifice His perfect Son so a lost and condemned world might be saved. God’s judgment was one we would never have made. None of us would voluntarily sacrifice our son, our daughter to save someone else, especially a sad, sorry, sinful someone else. You wouldn’t do it, but that is the judgment God made and it is the decision by which He saves us from ourselves, from our sin, from Satan, and from death.

That judgment, God’s commitment to save us, was fulfilled in the Person of Jesus. Born true Man and true God, throughout His life the Savior fulfilled the laws we have broken; He resisted the sinful temptations which we found irresistible; He carried the sins we have committed. Jesus carried those sins and took them with Him to His cross. There on the cruel crossbars of Calvary He died the death we deserved. If humanity was to be saved, if that invalid at the pool of Bethesda was going to have eternal life, the Father decreed His Son’s life would be offered up as our Substitute, as our Sacrifice. This was the judgment of God which resulted in the redemption and .salvation of all who believe.

But back to the story. Standing near Bethesda’s invalid beggar, Jesus made His own judgment call. Jesus decided that along with forgiving the man’s sins and trying to save his soul, He would also heal the invalid’s earthly infirmities. Even though it was the Sabbath day, the designated day of worship and rest, Jesus decided healing the man was more important than letting him suffer. In less time than it takes to tell, Jesus commanded the invalid to get up, pick up his bed and walk. Without hesitation, without
physical or occupational therapy, without years of remedial exercises in the hospital, the man got up and walked down the street with his light little bed tucked under his arm. Well, actually, I don’t know if it was a light, little bed. I do know he carried it and when some of the super religious types saw what this ex-invalid was doing, they went ballistic.

People say, “Jesus never judged.” If that’s what they believe, they need to take a good look at this story. Jesus made a judgment when He singled this man out for healing. Jesus made a judgment when He decided to heal the man on a Sabbath and not wait 24 hours. Jesus made a judgment when He told the man to carry his bed, an action which was sure to have repercussions. When people complained to Jesus about what He had done, Jesus decided to tell them that He had to do such things because He was God’s Son.

If you think Jesus never judged, you need to take a serious look at His story in the four Gospels. Jesus picked twelve men to be His closest disciples; that was a judgment. He used a whip to cleanse the temple; both the whip and the cleansing were judgments He made. He judged the disciples were wrong when they tried to keep mothers and children away from Him. When He allowed Himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He made a judgment not to defend Himself. When He was on trial for His life, He made a judgment not to strike down the people who were so set on killing Him. He made a judgment not to get down off His cross. He made a judgment to give His life as a ransom for the world. He made a judgment when He appeared to certain people after the resurrection. Jesus’ entire life was filled with judgments.

If you think Jesus never judged, you need to read Matthew 23. In that chapter Jesus
gives a tongue lashing to the stuffy, law-making religious elite of His day. In that chapter Jesus says things, uses words that I have never, ever heard any preacher, pastor, or
priest use when they addressed the most sinful and hard-hearted of audiences. Jesus
says ‘Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.” He says “woe to you” a lot of times. Then Jesus goes further, a lot further. In quick succession He calls these men: ‘hypocrites; serpents, brood of vipers, blind guides, blind fools, blind men, blind Pharisees.’

Don’t say Jesus never judged and don’t say He told us to be accepting of everything, anything, and everybody. Jesus told us to judge. He told us to judge the difference
between right and wrong; He told us to judge between the one Good Shepherd, Himself, and the other shepherds, the false shepherds. Jesus told us to distinguish between the broad way of Satan when leads to hell and the narrow path of repentance, forgiveness,
and salvation which takes saved souls to heaven. A week after Jesus first rose from the dead, a risen Christ stood before a disciple who had been doubting and told Him to
touch the wounds in His hands and side and be convinced that the resurrection was
reality. That night Jesus told Thomas to make a judgment.

Jesus wants us to judge and He wants us to teach our children to judge. He wants Christian mothers and fathers and churches to teach their children how to judge that which is real and valuable from that which is temporary and transient. He wants us to teach them to distinguish the truth which comes from God-fearing, Bible-believing pulpits and the subtle lies spoken by a false prophet. He wants us to teach them about integrity, and honor, and faithfulness, and truth, and how to reject that which is insubstantial, inconsequential, insignificant, and unimportant. He wants us to judge and He wants us to teach those judgment skills to our children. He wants us to teach them to judge by using God’s commandments and not any person’s subjective, personal preferences and prejudices, God wants us to teach our little ones how to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, proper from immoral, a real Savior from a false pretender. Jesus wants us to judge and He wants us to teach that skill to our children.

It was an important court case and a small boy was sitting on the witness stand. The prosecutor was examining the lad when he realized the boy had been coached. Thinking he could deliver a crushing blow to the boy’s testimony, the attorney asked, “Your mother told you how to testify, didn’t she?” “Yes,” the lad replied without hesitation. “Now,” said the lawyer, “please tell us how your mother told you to testify.” “Well,” the boy said quietly, “Mother told me the lawyers would try to confuse me, but if I was careful to hang on to the truth, I would be all right.”

Mothers, that’s it. Fathers, that’s the ticket. Teach them to hang on to God’s truth and they will be all right. To that end, if we can help, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
May 9, 2010
Topic: Mother’s Day

Announcer: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions about mothers and Mother’s Day. I’m Mark Eischer.

Klaus: And before we go any further, Mark, I think it’s only proper that we offer thanks to God for several special ladies, including your wife, Debbie, and my wife, Pam.

Announcer: And my mother, Lois, and my wife’s mother, who is also named Lois. As our regular listeners know, your mother, Jeanette, was taken home to be with the Lord earlier this year.

Klaus: And is celebrating everlasting life with her mother and so many of our family who have already gone on to that heavenly celebration. So, Mark … what’s before us today?

Announcer: Well, as we’ve already said, this is Mother’s Day and we’ve got a Mother’s Day question.

Klaus: And, let’s hear what our listeners have to say. Announcer: All right, our listener says, “I’m old fashioned. Some people don’t think that’s good, but I’m happy being old-fashioned.”

Klaus: No problem with that so far.

Announcer: And he continues: “From myoid-fashioned point of view I have, over the years, become disappointed at what I’ve seen happening to the family, No longer do people take seriously their vows to stay together in “sickness or in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do them part,” The result is that a lot of kids are not being raised, nowadays, by their real mother or father.”

Klaus: Yeah, There’s no question that the traditional family has fallen upon some hard
times, Part of that, I imagine, is the misguided, belief that God wants us to be happy all
the time, and if we’re not, well, many people take that as their cue to bail on their
marriage before they give it a real decent chance to work things out At any rate, I don’t
suppose our listener is looking for reasons why the family has undergone those
changes,

Announcer: Well, he continues, “The last couple of years, I’ve noticed a change in my pastor’s preaching, On Mother’s Day, for example, he doesn’t talk so much about mothers, He speaks in general terms about all kinds of women, good women to be sure, but not mothers, He doesn’t condemn those situations where the home has broken up or is at risk, he just takes it as a fact of life, Shouldn’t Mother’s Day be kept special for
moms?”

Klaus: Oh, goodness, Well, let’s try to keep first things first The first thing that needs to be said is this: Mother’s Day is not a Bible-based holiday, Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christian churches need to remember mothers on the second Sunday in May,

Announcer: It’s something that’s left to the realm of Christian liberty-it’s neither commanded nor forbidden?

Klaus: Absolutely,

Announcer: And the second thing?

Klaus: The second thing is, I have no authority to tell a pastor what he should preach or
not preach, A good pastor, he pretty much knows what the Lord wants His people to
hear on any given Sunday and in this the local pastor has a far beUer insight than I will,

Announcer: Well, what do you think the real answer is to the question? Is Mother’s Day a festival to be reserved only for biological moms?

Klaus: Well, that’s the heart of the matter and I can only answer for me and what I personally would do,

Announcer: Fair enough,

Klaus: I, like our listener, am deeply disturbed by what has happened to the traditional family, Further, I believe a pastor can speak to those tragedies, He can offer encouragement; he can inspire, and when necessary, he can condemn all that is sinful.

Announcer: And, what about trying to make Mother’s Day more inclusive?

Klaus: Being a Christian mother is more than having made it through the biological act of childbirth, For example, there are adoptive mothers, moms whose hearts are big enough to encompass the child of someone else and make that child her own, I think such a woman ought to be honored,

Then there are step-mothers, I have seen some step into a child’s life and love another woman’s child in a way far beUer, far purer, far more consistently than the biological mother could or would have, That is not always the case, but it does happen, and I would honor such women,

We could also mention grandmothers, aunts, and others who have stepped in when a mother could not or would not do what the Lord might have wished,
Then there are the women who have no official connection, but who minister and reach out and support, and listen and show what real love is to the children of others, I would honor them,

Is Mother’s Day for mothers? Absolutely, But it is also a day to honor all those women who have reflected the light and love of Jesus into the lives of the little ones entrusted to their care.

Announcer: Thank you Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selection for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavttt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

“My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission.

“For All the Faithful Women” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia
Publishing House)

“How Clear Is Our Vocation (Prelude on Repton)” arr. John Behnke. From For All Seasons, vol. 2 by John Behnke (© 2001 John Behnke) Concordia Publishing House