Parable of the Speck and the Plank

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 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.” (Luke 6:41-42, NKJV)

The parable of the speck and the plank is preceded by the admonition, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37, NKJV). In Matthew’s account of the same parable (Matthew 7:1-6), Jesus is delivering what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. He touches strongly on the subject of judging and how careful we should be as we point out what we consider faults in others. We ourselves may have a greater fault. He compares this fault-finding as a speck in another’s eye while the one who judges has a plank (log, beam) obstructing his own vision. He is addressing a major flaw in relationships: that of noticing other’s flaws to the exclusion of our own faults. Christ uses a strong term for anyone who thus judges. “Hypocrite!” He says. One who pretends one thing while being another; one who puts on a false face, especially of virtue or who play-acts at being religious and devout. The comparison of a small speck of sawdust in the other person’s eye while the judge has a blinding beam or plank in his own eye is using the literary device known as hyperbole, or extravagant exaggeration. This is an attention-getter. And when we imagine a log or beam in comparison with a speck of sawdust, we can immediately see that the one who has the log in his eye is certainly blinded and incapable of judging. And the teaching here is that we will be judged with the same measure with which we judge others. It’s far better to “judge not…for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37-38).

What is the difference between judging and discerning? We might say a thin line exists. Jesus said in another teaching, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). One of the definitions of the verb discern is “to detect with senses other than vision.” We are urged not to judge the faults of others. Instead, we are to use discernment, which is a matter of knowing with the heart as well as with the eye and mind, what is right and wrong. And with this sort of “judging,” we have a close relationship with the Lord and see others in the spirit of love and forgiveness. In using the beam, log or large plank as the “blinder” of the one judging others, Jesus is emphasizing the often-quoted Jewish proverbs on judging. One judge said to another: “Cast out the mote out of your eye.” The other replied, “Cast out the beam from your own eye.” The roof-beam of the house as a blinder is used in a context of judging without love or compassion. Unkind and frivolous criticism has no place in the Christian’s evaluation of others. But discernment, and judging what is right and wrong, sound and false, are all part of a Christian’s responsibility. Note the very solemn charge given the Christian in Paul’s writing to Timothy: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5, NIV). Max Lucado in his book A Gentle Thunder sums up judging by writing: “Look before you label. What is the work of God? Accepting people. Loving before judging. Caring before condemning.” Remember the parable of the speck and the beam. It has a lot to do with how we consider each other in love: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3, NIV). This is a hard parable, and worthy of deep consideration and practice.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, September 1, 2010