John 3:16-17, 5:21-29

In our Scripture readings this morning we have two well known sayings of Jesus. In the first, along with John 12:47, Jesus says He came into the world not to judge. In the second He says that the Father has given not only judgment to the Son, but the authority to execute or carry out that judgment in justice! So which is it? Is Jesus confused? Is Jesus judge or isn’t He? Does He execute judgment or doesn’t He?

If we’re honest we may admit we experience conflict in our own thoughts and feelings about this. In fact, the pastoral disposition and doctrinal teachings of whole denominations follow the side of: Jesus did not come to condemn, He does not judge, and so neither should we and is summarized in, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”. And in making that choice they emphasize in their ministries certain passages and de-emphasize others. Others seem to greatly, even over-emphasize the fearful judgment of Christ. Furthermore in our own thoughts about Jesus we may be personally conflicted in this vital area. One might hear a Christian say, “Well, I prefer to think of Jesus as having unconditional love and mercy.” While another lives in fear and trepidation of Jesus’ judgment. Which one is right? Or are they both wrong, or both right and wrong in different ways? Is Jesus hopelessly conflicted? Think carefully here, Christian!

To help us in our thinking, let’s start with the following premise and approach the Scriptures with humility and a sense of fairness in reading it: God Himself and so His own Word which is His self-revelation and the sole authoritative expression of His will, is incapable of breaking His own logical law of non-contradiction. A claim cannot be both true and false at the same time, in the same location, in the same way or sense. This is a key aspect of the divine revelation that God cannot lie (Num 23:19, Titus 1:2, Heb 6:18).

So with God’s help, shall we at least start to sort this out?