The Sermon on the Plain (6) Righteousness (Luke 6:39-42)
Next, Luke records a parabolic passage of the sermon. Three brief parables in succession, the first here is actually three little word pictures that talk about how we grow in righteousness in relation to each other. Discipleship is a relational activity that God uses to grow His people. It is an important aspect of the Christian’s journey through life, and should be given some though, intentionality.
First Jesus points out the importance of good examples and leaders in our lives, ““Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” We need to be careful who we follow. If we fallow bad leaders who are leading us into folly, we will naturally end up in folly. This need not be intentionally bad or misleading leaders. It can be a case of following people who have no idea what they are doing.
Second, Jesus points out that we will all end up becoming like the people we follow, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Once again, it benefits us to carefully consider who we are choosing as role-models, leaders, and mentors. We will end up being like the people we learn from, so we need to evaluate their example as we walk with them. No one is perfect, so we will not have a perfect leader outside of Christ. Ultimately, we are all trying our best to follow Christ’s example, so we need to learn from people who are doing that well. We also need to help each other out along the way. No one is merely a disciple-er. We are all learning from each other.
Finally, in one of the most loved teachings of Jesus, especially among His non-followers, Jesus talks about taking care to evaluate ourselves before we help others with their meistakes.
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
The idea here is not what a lot of people like to assert. It is not a warning to not help each other out by pointing out each other’s mistakes. We are called to help each other avoid errors. However, we do want to be sensitive to the fact that we too are prone to sin. Often the mistakes we are most aware of in others are the very things we struggle with ourselves.
We can help each other grow as we are careful to keep each other on the right track, help each other be good examples, and we are as aware of our own weaknesses as those we see in each other.
First Jesus points out the importance of good examples and leaders in our lives, ““Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” We need to be careful who we follow. If we fallow bad leaders who are leading us into folly, we will naturally end up in folly. This need not be intentionally bad or misleading leaders. It can be a case of following people who have no idea what they are doing.
Second, Jesus points out that we will all end up becoming like the people we follow, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Once again, it benefits us to carefully consider who we are choosing as role-models, leaders, and mentors. We will end up being like the people we learn from, so we need to evaluate their example as we walk with them. No one is perfect, so we will not have a perfect leader outside of Christ. Ultimately, we are all trying our best to follow Christ’s example, so we need to learn from people who are doing that well. We also need to help each other out along the way. No one is merely a disciple-er. We are all learning from each other.
Finally, in one of the most loved teachings of Jesus, especially among His non-followers, Jesus talks about taking care to evaluate ourselves before we help others with their meistakes.
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
The idea here is not what a lot of people like to assert. It is not a warning to not help each other out by pointing out each other’s mistakes. We are called to help each other avoid errors. However, we do want to be sensitive to the fact that we too are prone to sin. Often the mistakes we are most aware of in others are the very things we struggle with ourselves.
We can help each other grow as we are careful to keep each other on the right track, help each other be good examples, and we are as aware of our own weaknesses as those we see in each other.
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