hese words (John 7:51) were recorded by John but spoken by Nicodemus. It was on the last day, the great day of the feast, that Jesus created quite a stir among the people. He spoke of “living water”, a newly-coined phrase, and the influence of the Spirit upon believers. Some wanted to lay hands on Him, but no one dared (v. 44). The desire to judge simply “gets the best” of some folks; they are seemingly unable to resist censorship. Why? Well, in some cases, those who want to judge want to make sure that the people who are being judged get what is coming to them. These “judges” are self-appointed of course, and they forget to remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Rom. 12:19). Paul, late in his life, remembered what Alexander the coppersmith had done to him, but “the Lord reward him according to his works” was the apostle’s reaction (2 Tim. 4:14). The desire to “judge”, “sentence”, and “execute”, before the facts are known, is not uncommon these days, but of course such is quite unbiblical and less than Christian, but this matters not to the ignorant and unlearned (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16).

It has been said that “[N]one should come under the sentence of the law, till they have first undergone the scrutiny of it.” It is imperative that people be judged, not by what is said of them, but by what they do. In reality, the scales of justice must be used before the sword of justice. This fact, unfortunately, is reversed time after time. Our problem is that we are inclined to before we are “convinced”.