He
spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:39-42
Luke 6 [38.] “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6 [39.] He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye. For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
Luke 6 [46.] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say? Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock. But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Meaning:
Jesus has just said, “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged”, and “with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37-38). Now he tells a short parable in three pictures: a blind guide, a student and his teacher, and a man with a beam in his eye. Together they warn against leading and correcting others before we have dealt with our own blindness.
- “Can the blind guide the blind?”
The picture is easy to imagine. In a land of rough paths, open cisterns and pits dug for water, a blind man leading another blind man would soon bring them both to disaster. Jesus later used the same picture of the Pharisees: “They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14). Here in the Sermon on the Plain the warning is for his own disciples. Anyone who wants to guide others must first be able to see.
- “A disciple is not above his teacher”
A disciple in Jesus’ day did more than learn facts. He lived with his teacher and copied his way of life. Jesus says that “everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” That is a warning and a promise. If the teacher is blind, the student will be blind too. But if the teacher is Jesus, the student will become like him. Matthew records a similar saying, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord” (Matthew 10:24-25). We should choose our teachers carefully, and above all learn from the Lord himself.
- “The speck of chaff… the beam that is in your own eye”
Jesus, who grew up in a carpenter’s home, uses a deliberately comic picture. One man has a tiny speck of chaff in his eye. Another has a whole beam of timber in his, yet offers to perform delicate eye surgery on his brother. The exaggeration makes the point unforgettable. We easily notice small faults in others and overlook large ones in ourselves. Paul puts it plainly: “in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things” (Romans 2:1).
- “You hypocrite! First remove the beam”
A hypocrite was originally an actor who wore a mask on stage. The one who corrects others while ignoring his own sin is playing a part. Yet Jesus does not say we must never help a brother. He says to deal with our own sin first, “and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.” Humble self-examination makes us able to help others with gentleness. Matthew’s Gospel has the same words (Matthew 7:3-5).
The Significance of Luke 6:39-42
- Look at yourself first
Before we criticise someone else, Jesus asks us to look honestly at our own lives. Confessing our own faults keeps us humble and makes us more patient with others.
- Correction should come from love
The aim is not to stop helping each other but to help in the right way. “If a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
- Learn from the true Teacher
We become like those we follow. Followers of Jesus are called to be fully trained by him, so that his character is formed in them and they can guide others safely.
Cross-References:
Matthew 7:3: "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?" Matthew’s account of the same teaching.
Matthew 15:14: "If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit." Jesus’ words about the Pharisees.
Romans 2:1: "For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself." Judging others while doing the same.
Galatians 6:1: "you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness" The right way to help a brother.
Conclusion: In a short parable Jesus warns that a blind guide leads others into a pit, that students become like their teachers, and that it is foolish to try to remove a speck from a brother’s eye while ignoring a beam in our own. He calls his followers to humble self-examination first. Then, having learned from him and dealt with their own sin, they can see clearly to help others with gentleness and love.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible