Luke 6:41-42 meaning

The parallel Gospel account for Luke 6:41-42 is Matthew 7:3-5.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (v 41).

In Matthew’s parallel passage, this parable shortly follows Jesus’s warning about judging others by the same standard with which you want to be judged (Luke 6:37).

This context helps us to understand this parable and its meaning in Luke, even though they are separated by several verses in this chapter. This parable is concerned with the standards we hold others to in contrast with our own behavior.

Jesus humorously illustrates the folly of how we inaccurately perceive our own sin in comparison to others. Why, he asks, do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? There are two parts to this question.

First, why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye?

A speck is a small object, like a piece of sawdust. It would be practically invisible to anyone else. The only people aware of sawdust in a person’s eye would be someone whose eye it is actually bothering, and perhaps someone who is carefully searching for the speck to help wash it out.

But in Jesus’s moral joke, He says you are not looking to help someone remove the speck, you are looking for something at which to gawk. And your looking is so intense, you do not notice the log that is in your own eye.

Jesus then brings out a painfully absurd truth in the second part of His question: But why do you not notice the log that is in your own eye? A log or plank coming out of an eye is far bigger than a speck. A speck is a nuisance. A log is a real hindrance and a potential threat to losing your eye. It would be obvious and unsightly to everyone around you. There is a situational irony that the one who has the highly visible moral log is judging the brother with a nearly invisible moral speck.

Or 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 (v 42).

Even if we are being charitable in witnessing this bizarre scene and assume that the brother with the plank in his eye is not judging but trying to help remove the speck from the brother with dust in his eye, it is still a ridiculous gesture. Or 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, Jesus says, 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. It is fake righteousness to make fussy demands of others before examining our own problems. Jesus is likely referencing another principle: we most readily see our own sins in other people. Whatever bothers us most in others likely shows us our own faults. If we can’t stand someone who is arrogant, it likely means we ourselves are arrogant. If we are greatly annoyed by stinginess, it likely means we are ourselves stingy. This principle can be applied by saying “When someone else bothers me, I need to look inward and deal with my own fault; I wouldn’t be bugged if I didn’t have that fault myself.”

Jesus gives His disciples a very practical way to grow in righteousness: instead of criticizing others, self-examine. Deal with your own faults first. Jesus has now redirected our focus from “fixing others” to “dealing with our own issues.” However, once we have adequately dealt with our own issues, Jesus wants us to help others. After dealing with your own issues, Jesus tells His disciples that then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. Jesus doesn’t want us to let others walk around with faults. But we won’t really see the faults properly until we deal with our own sin, and recognize we are a fellow traveler who suffers from the same faults.

The main point is to judge others like we want to be judged and to judge ourselves and deal with our own faults before we engage in correcting others (Luke 6:37-38). If you spend the same amount of scrutiny looking within your own eye that you exert searching for moral specks in your brother’s eye, you will find your own logs pretty quickly.

If we follow Jesus’s advice, and judge ourselves, we find that our specks will appear as logs from our own perspective and we will become far more understanding and merciful toward our brothers, and consequently receive far more mercy from God. This will also place us in a position to see others clearly, and make wise decisions on how best to help them find His kingdom and His righteousness.

As we allow God to deal with us and our sin, we have a merciful, rather than judgmental, heart. We will see clearly and better able to actually help take the speck out of our brother’s eye. We will also gain the great benefit of dealing with our own sins, which takes us down the path toward pursuing His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).