39 And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead
the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above
his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:20-49, is the first recorded message of Jesus in the
Gospel of Luke. Jesus is preaching to the multitude and teaching His disciples
at the same time. So far, we have noticed that Jesus proclaims that the blessed
or happy life is based on our attitude toward circumstances (vv. 20-26), and on
people (vv. 27-38). Today we are looking at what Jesus says about our attitude
toward ourselves, and He gives us four striking figures in this section to teach
us some important lessons about life and ministry leadership. It appears that
this section is directed more at His disciples who will be the future leaders
of the church. And especially, He is reminding us all that we become like our
teacher.
In verses 39-40, Jesus teaches as His disciples, we must be
sure that we see clearly enough to guide others in their spiritual walk. While
there are blind people who have a keen sense of direction, it is not likely
that any of them will be hired as airplane pilots or wilderness guides. No
doubt, Jesus was referring primarily to the Pharisees who were leading the
people astray (Matt. 15:14; 23:16). If we see ourselves as excellent guides,
but do not realize our blindness, we will only lead people into the ditch (see
Rom. 2:17-22).
Jesus reminds us that we cannot lead others where we have
not been ourselves, nor can we be all that our Master is. In fact, the more we
strive to be like Him, the more we realize how far short we fall. This is a
warning against pride, for nothing blinds a person like pride. Obadiah 1:3, “The
pride of your heart has deceived you…”.
Continuing with the image of "the eye," in verses
41-42, Jesus taught that we must be able to see clearly enough to help our
brother see better. It certainly is not wrong to help a brother get a painful
speck of dirt out of his eye, provided we can see what we are doing. The crowd
must have laughed out loud when Jesus described an "eye doctor" with
a plank in his eye, performing surgery on a patient with a speck in his eye!
The emphasis here is on being honest with ourselves and not
becoming hypocrites. It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just
so we can cover up our own sins! People who are constantly criticizing others
are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives (Romans 2:1-3).
In verses 43-44, the illustration of the tree reminds us
that fruit is always true to character. An apple tree produces apples, not
oranges; and a good person produces good fruit, not evil. Believers do sin, but
the witness of their words and works is consistently good to the glory of God.
In terms of ministry, servants of God who are faithful will reproduce
themselves in people who are in turn true to the Lord (2 Timothy 2:2). Jesus already
said that we should not judge, meaning we cannot judge a person’s motives, but
here He clarifies that it is not wrong to discern between a wise and foolish person
by their fruit.
The last image in verse 45, the treasury, teaches us that
what comes out of the lips depends on what is inside the heart. The human heart
is like a treasury, and what we speak reveals what is there. A man who
apologized for swearing by saying, "It really wasn't in me!" heard a
friend say, "It had to be in you, or it couldn't have come out of
you!"
In this section we should learn that we must be honest with
ourselves and admit the blind spots in our lives, the obstacles that blur our
vision, and the areas within that must be corrected. Then we can be used of the
Lord to minister to others and not lead them astray.
Remember we become like our teacher! Is Jesus your teacher?
We are either leading people to closer to Jesus or we are leading them further away
from Him. Which way are you leading others today?
God bless!
