Luke 6:39-45 — Eyes and Hearts

READ THIS: Luke 6:39-45

39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. 

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

In these verses, we see two lessons centered around our sight and one lesson about our heart. The first lesson we see was certainly a reference to the Pharisees, but it also can apply to us! Jesus asks if the blind can lead the blind somewhere... and the answer is obviously no! It would be unbelievably difficult for a blind person to lead another blind person without help, right? Jesus uses this example to remind us to be careful who we are learning from. Our teachers and models of the faith are important: if they aren't rooted in Jesus, they won't truly be able to "see" what is best for us to do, and they can lead us down dangerous paths! That's why Jesus says that if we are fully trained by someone, we will be just like them... we need to make sure the people who train us are people who point us to Jesus.

The second story we see here is a classic one: the speck and the plank! Jesus says that it is common for people to be so focused on something small that is wrong with someone else that we don't even notice a massive problem that we are struggling with. We do this all the time! But here's the thing... Jesus isn't telling us that it is evil to call people out. In fact, it's important that we point out each others' faults in a loving way (see Matthew 18:15)! But Jesus wants us to first recognize that we are just as messed up as the person we are calling out... that is how we call out people lovingly.

Lastly, Jesus spends some time talking about fruit! He says that you can recognize a tree by the fruit it bears... for example, you wouldn't go looking for bananas in an apple tree, right? But we aren't trees... so how does that make sense for us? Well, the fruit that we bear is shown through our actions and words, and those things flow from our hearts. People should be able to see the fruit of a believer through their actions, words and heart! The more that we shape our heart to look like Jesus's heart, the more our actions and words will change to be like His too!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Is there someone you need to call out in a loving way? How can you look at the plank in your eye before you get the speck out of their eye?

2. What can you do to make your heart and actions look more like Jesus today?

TRY THIS:

Think about the people in your life that you consider teachers or models in your faith! Thank them for walking with you and leading you well!