Luke 6:42 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: 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.

NASB: 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.

CSB: Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,' when you yourself don't see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother's eye.

NLT: How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

KJV: Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

NKJV: Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Here, Christ concludes explaining what is required for His followers to properly judge another. First, we need to realize that we do not have sufficient discernment on our own. We need to follow Jesus and become more like Him. Then we use that wisdom to determine if we have unrepentant sin or if we have a worldview that contradicts God's (Luke 6:39–41).

Jesus is correcting His audience's perception of the Mosaic covenant. Leviticus 26 is clear that if the Israelites obeyed Him, He would bless them with verdant agriculture and victory over their national enemies. Conversely, if they disobeyed Him, He would send famine and take the people into exile. Many of the religious leaders turned God's promises inside-out. They strove to earn worldly riches to "prove" they had pleased God. Conversely, if someone was poor, hungry, or injured, they were assumed to have sinned.

Jesus disavows His disciples of this interpretation. When they see a man born blind, they ask Him "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that the was born blind?" Jesus responds, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:2–3). In this event, the "works" are that Jesus heals the man's blindness. In the context of the Sermon on the Plain, God promises that the persecuted poor will receive His kingdom, the hungry will be fed, and they all will be rewarded in heaven (Luke 6:20–22).

The "log" is this misinterpretation of Leviticus 26. Demanding vengeance and recompense for earthly persecution does not reflect Christ's character. If we accept Jesus as our teacher, we will not accept a false view of retribution. Once this log is removed and we clearly see God's priorities, we can properly judge others and help them see Jesus' better way. Ironically, by the time we reach that state (Hebrews 5:13–14), we will be reluctant to judge. We will understand the advantage of loving, praying for, forgiving, and blessing our enemies. We will hold our lives lightly. We will be merciful because we know how much mercy God has shown us (Luke 6:27–38).

In Luke 6:37–42, Jesus finishes explaining precisely what it means to be His disciple. He began with a list of blessings His persecuted followers can expect. He listed consequences for those blessed by the ungodly world (Luke 6:20–26). He exhorts His followers to love their enemies with prayer and generosity (Luke 6:27–35). Here, He applies mercy (Luke 6:36) with gracious judgment and forgiveness. Finally, He calls the crowd to have good hearts and lives that are founded on Him (Luke 6:43–49). The sentiments behind Jesus' teachings here are scattered around Matthew and Mark.

Luke 6 contains two main sections of teaching and calls to discipleship. Luke 6:1–16 continues the pattern of Luke 5. The two ways in which Jesus sets aside tradition—this time by taking authority over the Sabbath—are paired with His call for the Twelve disciples. Luke 6:17–49 records Jesus' teaching on the ''level place,'' or His ''Sermon on the Plain,'' and a call to a crowd for general discipleship. Much of this material has parallels in Matthew 5 through 7, but it's not clear if the two accounts are of the same event. As a travelling teacher, Christ likely gave the same general message multiple times.

Luke 6 completes Jesus' call for disciples and followers that started in Luke 5. Luke 5:1—6:16 consists of three calls for disciples, each paired with two revolutionary teachings about Jesus' authority that increasingly infuriate the religious leaders. Luke 6:17–49 continues the theme with a general call for followers and a description of their responsibilities. In Luke 7:1—8:3, Jesus interacts with the other: Gentiles, women, and even the dead. This is followed by another general call (Luke 8:4–21), a series of miracles (Luke 8:22—9:17), and a final call for the Twelve to follow Him even more deeply (Luke 9:18–50).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.