John 7:45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. 47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? 49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. 50 Nicodemus saith unto them".... 51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? 53 And every man went unto his own house.
This passage of scripture teaches us that we should never indulge the practice of judging others before the facts in any matter are disclosed and confirmed, because it is often the case that we may proscribe innocent individuals in the process, as was the case here with Christ. The scribes and pharisees were always on His heels, looking to distort any of His sayings and teachings to suit their own perverted ends, and because of this, they had cultivated the satanic trait of judging and accusing before the evidence was presented, and thus it was by this means that many innocent people had previously been put to death.
In this instance, spies were sent out to entrap Christ in His words, and the accompanying officers were given instruction to arrest Him, and thus bring Him before the authorities to answer for His "Crime" of preaching the good news. But when the officers arrived on the scene, they found Christ in the middle of a soul-stirring sermon, and they were almost moved to surrender their lives to Him there and then. Thus when they returned empty-handed, the authorities were enraged and confused, for they saw their own agents greatly agitated and excited about the teachings of Christ. The ensuing rants from Caiaphas and others is what now drew the response from Nicodemus, "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him and know what he doeth?"
When I was much younger, I was accosted on several occasions, and accused of smoking cigarettes, because I had cultivated the bad habit of biting my lips throughout the day, and because of this they always looked chafed and red, just like if I had been smoking. And although I swore that I had never smoked once in my life, yet the issue continued to arise over and over again, and no explanation or denial was deemed sufficient to dismiss the charge.
In our interaction with others, it is very important for us not to judge, especially if we do not have confirmed evidences in the matter, because it is often the case that when the real facts are revealed, an entirely different picture can the emerge, thus causing us vain regrets for rushing to conclusions, and saying things that ought not to be said. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to be swift to hear, but very slow to speak, because we can thus avoid many of the unnecessary, unpleasant experiences of life, which often cause misunderstandings and heartache. Let's read:
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
May the Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!