37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 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.
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus taught a fundamental principle that God has built into the universe—you reap what you sow. What we do to others we can expect God to bring about in our own lives. If we judge others, God will judge us more harshly. This is talking about the realm of rewards and blessings, not judgement regarding eternal life and hell. If we forgive others, then God will freely forgive us and we will enjoy a close relationship with Him. If we are generous to others (with God’s wealth He has given us) then He will be more generous with us. We cannot expect to treat others poorly and expect God’s blessing in our lives. Who have you been harsh or unkind or stingy with that you need to make right today?
The blind can’t lead the blind because they’ll both end up in a ditch. The religious leaders who rejected the Messiah would only lead the nation to reject the Messiah as well. If we follow leaders who are not grounded in the truth, we will be led astray from the truth. The disciple or follower will turn out like the one he follows therefore we must be careful to follow Jesus and those who point us to Jesus (1 Cor 11:1). It can be very tempting to point out another’s faults and try to help them deal with their sin (take the speck out of their eye) all while minimising the greater sin in our own lives (the plank in our eye). But we are then the blind, blinded by our plank, trying to lead another. Each of us must focus on our own righteousness before we attempt to help others with their faults. To continue to attempt to deal with other’s sins while ignoring our own is to be a hypocrite. When we have focussed on our own plank, we can help others, but we must still be careful because of our own tendency to sin (Gal 6:1). Have you been too focused on what others are doing wrong (in your eyes) while paying little to no attention to your own failings? What do you need to work on in your life to move you a step closer to Christlikeness today?
Following on from the parable of the blind leading the blind, Jesus provides a standard for evaluating who we should listen to. How do we know that we’re being led by a blind man? By the fruit of his life. You don’t get good fruit from a bad tree. The religious leaders were not producers of good fruit. Ultimately the person who has a treasure of good in their heart will produce good and the one bent on evil, will produce evil. The same is true of everyone. The condition of your heart will be revealed by what comes out of your mouth. If you find yourself saying things that you really shouldn’t be saying, if you find yourself tearing down rather than building up, if you’re arguing rather than seeking peace, whatever it is, you need to go to the source. When your heart is right, then you will produce the fruit of righteousness (Phil 1:9-11; Gal 5:22-24).
Jesus sums up this sermon of beatitudes with a question we should all consider deeply. Why do we call Jesus Lord, Lord and not do what He tells us? If we build our lives by living the way Jesus taught us to, then we build our lives on a foundation of rock and our lives will weather the storms that come, especially that final day when our lives are laid bare before Jesus and He evaluates how we have lived and determines our rewards. But if we hear what Jesus has taught but continue to live as we see fit, we ignore Him at our peril. When the proverbial floodwaters come, we will see that the house of our life was built on sand and it will crumble in great ruin and we will suffer loss. Did your Christianity come to a standstill at belief? Or has it continued with following Jesus and doing all that he taught (John 14:15, 24)?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
David and Solomon: 1 Kings 1-2