Is Jesus a Judge? - Part 2: Very Funny, Jesus!

In the first article discussing Jesus as a judge, I contrasted Christian dogma and Jesus’s words about his role as a judge. I also showed how Jesus’s words on the topic are very contradictory as they are currently translated. In this article, I look one verse on judging in more detail. In John 8:15, Jesus seemingly denies judging entirely, saying,“You judge by the flesh; I judge no one.” However, in the very next verse, John 8:16, he says, “But if I judge, my judgment is true.”

This contradiction, found in all English translations, is obvious to anyone. If Jesus judges no one, then there is no time when his judgment can be true, unless he is judging potted plants instead of people. These types of contradictions are an easy target for anti-and non-Christians. Some might say such conflicts make Christianity seem like a religion for simpletons. These sloppy translations destroy people’s trust in the Bible.

However, if we look at what Jesus really said and the context within which he said it, this contradiction vanishes in a poof! But for this to work, we must accept that Jesus had a sense of humor and played with these opponents’ minds with his words. This is something that most Christian preachers, teachers, and translators are uncomfortable considering.

The Context

First, we have to understand that Jesus’s statements regarding his judging arise in debates with his opponents, most of them at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:16-John 8:29). There, he came into conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees who challenged him. The resulting debate is filled with references to judging, witnesses, and the truth, mostly from his attackers judging him and challenging his honesty.

This exchange starts with his challengers questioning where he could have learned anything. Like much of his teaching, he starts his answer with a simple contradiction saying, “My own learning is not my own” ((John 7:16). Like his “fortunate these beggars,” line that starts the Sermon on the Mount, this is an intentional surprise. His challengers deny that he has any learning, and, in his own way, he agrees with them. He then explains this contradiction by saying his “learning,” a word he uses only twice, belongs to “the one sending me.”

Defending himself against a specific charge, curing a man on the Sabbath, he tells his accusers that they shouldn’t judge by appearances (John 7:24). The Greek word for “appearances” means physical vision and even “eyes.” He reemphasizes this point in John 8:15, saying that his accusers judge “by the flesh.” "The flesh" is sarx, (σὰρξ), which means "flesh," "the body," "meat," and, most importantly here, "the physical” as opposed to the spiritual or supernatural. This idea is also a bit of a tease because, according to Jewish law, witnesses can only testify to what they have seen with their own eyes, that is, the physical.

However, the wordplay in this simple phrase “by the flesh” is much deeper and more entertaining. The word translated as “by” or “according to” primarily means “down” and “against.” With the Greek word for “judge,” krino, it has a special meaning. Kata-krino (κατακρινο) means to “judge down” or “judge against,” always translated as either “condemn” or “dam” in the KJV. So this simple phrase means “by the flesh,” “against the flesh,” “by the physical,” and “against the physical.” He says this only three verses after refusing to “condemn,” using the same word, katakrino, the adulteress (John 8:11). So his references to “judging against the flesh” would have been easily understood as digs against both seeing things only skin deep and about condemning people’s sex lives.

About His Judging

Then Jesus goes on to say what is translated as (KJV) “I judge no man” or (NIV) “I pass judgment on no one.” Sounds boring, except that he almost instantly seems to contradict it this n the next verse. Luckily, that isn’t what he actually says.

What he says means literally, “I myself don’t judge nothing,” (ἐγὼ οὐ κρίνω οὐδένα). The pronoun "I" is used here explicitly (ego, ἐγὼ). Since the subject is part of the verb, this is like saying "I myself" in English. Then comes the negative used for facts (ou, οὐ). This negates the verb, “I judge” (krino, κρίνω). Of course, this could mean a lot of other things because of the slippery nature of krino, but let’s go with “I judge” to keep it simple. Then the sentence ends with what Jesus doesn’t judge, “nothing” (oudeis, οὐδένα). The Greek word means"nothing," “no one,” and other negative nouns.

This double negative isn’t bad grammar in Greek, as it is in English, but it isn’t common, at least not for Jesus. Nor do two negatives make this a positive statement as some idiots teaching English may try to tell us. Two negatives in Greek are more negative than one. However, this is a crude or, at least, exaggerated, way of talking, just like it is in English. And it can be humorous like it is in English. Jesus only uses this construction a few other times. Another “I judge” verse, John 5:30, happens to be one of them. Simplifying that verse, Jesus starts by saying, “I don't have the power to do nothing.” I simplify this because, in the literal Greek, Jesus uses “myself” to the degree that it can be only heard as an extreme exaggeration and quite funny.

The Nothing

However, we should also note what “nothing” refers to here. Its form is either the singular, masculine or feminine, or the plural, neuter. Though it is often used as a negative noun, it is technically an adjective, modifying a noun. So, what noun does it refer to? The only noun in the sentence is the “flesh," sarx, (σὰρξ), a singular feminine word in the same form as “nothing.” So, is Jesus saying that the flesh is “nothing?” Is that a radical suggestion?

Jesus comes close to saying this in another verse, John 6:63, translated as (NIV) “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.” Coincidentally, if you believe in coincidences instead of the Divine, this is another double negative phrase. The literal translation is “The flesh doesn't help nothing.” This is also pretty funny in its context, which is Jesus explaining his statement about his flesh being the bread of life.

Conclusions

If the “nothing here” refers to the flesh, there is no need to resolve any contradiction with the following John 8:16 phrase, “But when I judge, my judgment is true.” Jesus is saying that he doesn’t judge the flesh, appearance, or the physical as others do. Nor does judge for or against it, as they might do. He just doesn’t judge it at all. So he still does judge. So there are times that he judges, but he judges by something else. He judgest by something he calls “truth.” What could that be, I wonder?

There is another very entertaining verse about Jesus and his judging (a Part 3).

Or I could write next about what Jesus means by “truth.”

Which would you like? Tell me in the comments.

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