Title: I will not be a judge of such things|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in my bones

Date: May 24, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 2
“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law — settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.” (Acts 18:14-17NIV)

Why did Gallio refuse to judge the matter between Paul and the Jews that had brought him to his court? It was because he did not have enough light on it. It was a religious matter that they brought before him, a matter involving Christianity and Judaism. But this man was neither a Christian nor a Jew. So, there was no way he could judge the case without being bias or unjust. 

But you know that it is one thing to know that you are not fit to handle something; it is another thing to admit that you are not fit to handle it. Gallio admitted to himself that he was not knowledgeable enough to judge Paul’s case with the Jews, even though he was a proconsul, a governor, at the time. So, he told Paul’s accusers in plain terms, “I will not be a judge of such things – go and handle this matter yourselves.” And even though they protested and began to beat the ruler of their synagogue, Gallio didn’t give a damn. He simply had all of them ejected from his court. What a man!

Now compare Gallio to Pontus Pilate who judged the case of Jesus. First, Jesus was not under his jurisdiction but under Herod’s jurisdiction. So, it was Herod that was supposed to judge His case. But Herod lost interest in judging the matter, when Jesus was not answering any of his questions, questions that were evidently irrelevant to the matter at hand. So, he sent Him back to Pilate. (Cf. Luke 23:1-12)

In any case, even though the Lord was sent back to him in that manner, he still did not have enough light to judge His case. Why? Like Gallio of Paul’s time, he too was neither a Jew nor a believer in Christ Jesus. So, he should have told the people plainly that he would not be a judge of such things. But he did not do that. Instead, he sat in judgment over Jesus and committed the greatest act of injustice of all times. He sentenced the author of life, the only man that ever lived without any sin in His life, to death and became partakers of the crime of His accusers. 

Why? He wanted to please the crowd (Mark 15:15).What is the point of all this? It is that you should learn to excuse yourself from matters that are beyond your knowledge to judge or comment on. It is normal for people to want to drag us into matters that do not concern us. Sometimes, it may be out of respect for us or because they believe we are in a position to attend to such matters.

 But regardless of what position we are holding in life or how knowledgeable we may be, there are matters that we have no business attending to and matters that are just too high for us. For example, David, even though he was God’s anointed king, once wrote in a psalm of his, “I do not concern myself with matters too high for me or subjects that I do not understand.” Why? He knew it is only arrogant people that get involved in judging cases they do not understand. And such people can only end up becoming evil judges and partakers of the sins and punishments of others. (Cf. Ps 131:1-2)

What about our Lord Jesus Himself? He also once refused to judge a family case brought to Him by a man. The man had asked Him to command his brother to divide the inheritance with him. And how did the Lord respond to that? He simply said, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” In other words, the Lord was saying, “Look, it is not in my place to judge matters like this.” (Cf. Luke 12:13-14)

Now since there were cases the Lord Jesus did not see Himself as in a position to justly judge when He was here on earth, then, we also should know that it is not every case we are fit to judge. Unfortunately, even many that we call men and women of God today do not understand this. So, they want to judge, comment on and even pray about every matter people bring to them or every current issue in their society. Why? They want to become popular among men, just like Pilate.

 But because they do these things without asking themselves whether they have enough information or are in the right positions to handle them or not, they end up lying or becoming associated with the sins of certain wicked people. And that is how many of them have lost their respect, even among those who once cherished them. 

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and saying, “It is not every matter that you are fit to judge or comment on.” And to say the fact, it will take wisdom for us to recognise such matters and strength of character to refuse to judge them. My prayer, then, is that you will always have sufficient wisdom to know matters that are not your business and sufficient strength of character to steer clear of them. Amen.

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