Names of Jesus: Judge

Table of Contents

Jesus Christ has many names and many roles over creation. God gives Jesus the name and role of Judge, and it is important for us to know and understand just what this teaches us about Him, as well as what it means for us. We should not only know and understand, but we should apply this knowledge to ourselves in the ways God instructs us to.

What is a Judge?

Jesus Christ is the Judge of all of Creation. He is the Kritēs (G2923), which means He passes judgment over everything He has created. He takes this responsibility on Himself, and it is given Him by God. As Judge, He determines what is good and what is evil and imparts blessing and discipline accordingly.

⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.
Acts 10:42 CSB

Why is Jesus the Judge?

Jesus is not only our Judge, but as we studied in previous weeks He is Lord of All, the Only Begotten Son of God, Alpha and Omega, and so much more. All of Jesus’ names teach us of His sovereignty, divinity, and rightful place over creation. All things were created through, by, and for Jesus. We were made by His means and power, for His plans and purposes.

Not only did He create us, but He gave His life to save us if we will have faith in Him. He is the one who made us by His power, for His purposes, and who gave His life in payment of our sins so we could be reconciled to God. This gives Jesus the authority to judge the living and the dead according to His power and purposes.

²²The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,
²³so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
John 5:22–23 CSB

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:10 CSB

How will Jesus judge us?

Scripture is very clear about how Jesus will judge each of us. The very first and most important factor in judgment is whether or not we have faith in Him as our Savior and therefore have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father through Him. If we do, our names are written in the Book of Life. If we do not, our names are not written in the Book of Life.

Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be saved at the time of final judgment and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior and have this personal relationship with God are promised in God’s Word that we will get to spend our eternity with Him in Heaven, while those who did not accept Jesus as their Savior through faith will be thrown into the lake of fire.

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
¹²I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
¹³Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.
¹⁴Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
¹⁵And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-15 CSB

¹⁴It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones
¹⁵to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.”
¹⁶These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
¹⁷But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
¹⁸They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.”
¹⁹These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
Jude 1:14-23 CSB

God reveals Himself to all of creation, draws each of us to Himself, and that it is the responsibility of each individual to heed that call and come to Him in faith. There is no excuse for neglecting these prompting or rejecting God. Those who truly seek the Truth will find it, but those who follow their own desires will also find their reward which will result in eternal separation from God.

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
¹⁹For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
²⁰For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[^a^] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:18-20 ESV

Not only are we judged for having or neglecting faith in Jesus, but we are also judged based on the fruits of our deeds. If we have faith in Jesus and truly love Him, we will obey His Word. If we obey Him, we will live the way He wants us to live and let Him work in us, teach us, and grow us. This sanctification will enable us to produce the fruits of the Spirit, which will equip and enable us to discern and participate in the works which God has prepared and called for each of us to do.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.^[^a^]
²⁴Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 CSB

We are saved through faith, but we are judged by our faith and by our works that come as a result of our faith (or lack-there-of). He knows the intentions of our actions, the motivation of our hearts, and knows where our deeds are stemming from. He will judge our deeds based on our obedience, faithfulness, and intentions. This is all in accordance with His holy design and divine plan for mankind.

²³Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
John 14:23 ESV

Do we have a right to judge others?

As someone who will also be judged by God, we do not have the right to judge others but to impart grace and mercy upon others as we have also been given grace and mercy. We are told very clearly that if we judge others, we will be judged likewise. If we neglect to impart mercy, mercy will be withheld from us. If we fail to forgive, we will not be forgiven. We shouldn’t judge, but we should encourage, edify and uplift others to live set apart for God.

⁹Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!
James 5:9 CSB

²³For all have sinned and fall short of the^[^a^] glory of God;
Romans 3:23 CSB

All of mankind has fallen short and will continue to fall short of the glory of God. None of us are perfect, and all of us are still learning and growing. Where one person may be in their faith journey may be more or less mature than your own place in your own journey, but their journey is their own and yours is also unique to yourself.

³¹Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.
Luke 6:31 CSB

¹⁶Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 CSB

³¹Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.
³²And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you^[^a^] in Christ.
Ephesians 4:31-32 CSB

God knows each one of us inside and out, all of our thoughts, deeds, intention and He died for every single sin committed by every single person. He is the Judge, and we are all part of His great redemptive plan. Just as you would want mercy and grace to be given to you, we are to give it to others, with love and understanding.

“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.
²For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.
³Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?
⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?
⁵Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5 CSB

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
¹¹for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess^[^a^] to God.”
¹²So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:10-12 ESV

Forgive others as we have been forgiven by God, love as we are loved by God, but judgment belongs to the Judge alone. We are all sinners in need of grace and mercy, and should treat others with the same grace and mercy we would want them, and God, to treat us with.

How do I prepare for Jesus’ judgement?

Understanding why and how Jesus judges His creation is important. It is also vital to the life of a Christian to learn how to prepare for this judgment. The very first step is always to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior in faith., to believe He is the rightful Judge, who died to pay the price of your sin, and rose again to defeat the power of death and sin.

Some additional ways scripture encourages us to prepare for the coming judgment are:

Loving God and obeying His Word in faith
Loving others as God defines love
Treating others as you would want to be treated
Forgiving others and yourself
Grow in prayer and your personal relationship with God
Learning about God and His commands through His Word
Confessing and repenting of all sin, honestly
Seeking God’s wisdom and leaning on His understanding
Putting on the new self, becoming more like Jesus
Resisting the devil, fleeing from unrighteousness, casting off the old self
Rely on the wisdom, strength and power of Jesus alone
Focus on Christ in all things, and doing all things for His glory and not our own

⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV

²⁰Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
²²You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
²³and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
James 2:20-24 ESV

⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self^[^a^] with its practices
¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,^[^b^] free; but Christ is all, and in all.
¹²Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
¹³bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:9-14 ESV

¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:16 ESV

¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 14:15 ESV

⁸There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.^[^a^]
2 Timothy 4:8 CSB

Have you accepted the grace of God?

If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.

If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here: