What does Luke 6:41 mean?

Jesus has told His followers to love and forgive their enemies instead of judging and condemning them. By doing so, they will emulate their heavenly Father who will reward them graciously (Luke 6:27–38). Now, Jesus continues to drive home the point: we're not qualified to judge but we can gain the discernment to guide others away from sin.

He began by explaining that being quick to judge suggests a person lacking the spiritual awareness needed to judge in the first place. The first step is to follow Jesus, our teacher, who came to save—not condemn—sinners (John 3:17) and freely forgave those who murdered Him (Luke 6:39–40; 23:34).

Once we have decided to follow Jesus and become more like Him, we can start to evaluate ourselves and see if we are in unrepentant sin. The "eye" symbolizes how we spiritually perceive the world. It is much easier to identify someone else's faulty worldview than recognize our own—we're too close to it. Our worldview is determined by what we have learned and by our experiences. It is the height of arrogance to unthinkingly condemn how another views the world without first determining if our view is accurate (Luke 6:42).

The first way to check ourselves is to learn Jesus' worldview (Luke 6:40). If we learn from and emulate Him, we can be sure that our understanding truthfully reflects God's truth (2 Corinthians 13:5). This is because Jesus is truth and He speaks what God tells Him to (John 14:6, 10).

In the context of the passage, Jesus has revealed several logs that commonly blind us. We often assume God has cursed us if we're poor, hungry, and persecuted. We presume He's blessed those who are rich, full, and of whom the world speaks well (Luke 6:20–26). We believe we have the right to curse our persecutors, defend our honor, and demand justice (Luke 6:27–31). And we believe that when someone does us wrong, God gives us the wisdom and authority to hold that sin against our oppressor (Luke 6:37).

Jesus teaches that such beliefs do not reflect God's truth. If we wish to emulate Jesus, we will love our enemies, pray for them, forgive them, and even give generously to them. If we understand our own lack of wisdom and discernment, we will refrain from judging and condemning sinners—even those who sin against us. If we can do that, remove that log of entitlement, we will be able to help others with their own worldview issues.

The passage about the log and the speck is also in Matthew 7:3–5.