tian society of individuals who judge others in properly constituted forms. But I saw that this view was also inadmissible. When he prayed, Jesus besought all men, without exception, to forgive others, that their own trespasses might be forgiven. This thought he often expresses. He who brings his gift to the altar with prayer must first grant forgiveness. How, then, could a man judge and condemn when his religion commanded him to forgive all trespasses, without limit? So I saw that according to the doctrine of Jesus no Christian judge could pass sentence of condemnation.
But might not the relation between the words “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged” and the preceding or subsequent passages permit us to conclude that Jesus, in saying “Judge not,” had no reference whatever to judicial institutions? No; this could not be so; on the contrary, it is clear from the relation of the phrases that in saying “Judge not,” Jesus did actually speak of judicial institutions. According to Matthew and Luke, before saying “Judge not, condemn not,” his command was to resist not evil. And prior to this, as Matthew tells us, he repeated the ancient criminal law of the Jews, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Then, after this reference to the old criminal law, he added, “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil”; and, after that, “Judge not.” Jesus did, then, refer directly to human criminal law, and reproved it in the words, “Judge not.” Moreover, according to Luke, he not only said, “Judge not,”
