In Luke’s research report, Jesus, at this time, was completing a keynote speech to a great multitude, which had been present to see his power and authority. The speech had been totally ‘other’ – see Infos AR and AS. It taught what had never been taught before. No doubt many began to see.
Then he asked the above questions in a parallel. The answers are clear. But the question arises: who is able to “lead the way for a blind person”?
“A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone, having been perfected, will be like his teacher.”
The word “disciple” means ‘pupil’ – pupil of a “teacher”. To the crowd there, Jesus was the supreme go-to “teacher”. Not a pupil.
|
|
“Why do you see the speck, the thing, in your brother’s eye, but do not observe the beam, the thing, in your own eye? How are you able to state to your brother, ‘Brother, send away the speck! I may remove the thing in your eye’, you yourself not seeing the log that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the log from your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck, the thing, in your brother’s eye.”
|
.
|
Spoken to a great multitude, these words seem strange. Why was Jesus bothering to speak so strongly about inter-personal relationships? Could it be that the desire of human beings to correct others actually reveals a massive problem?
When I look at another, I see “the thing” in their eye. But, at the very same time, I cannot see “the thing” in my own eye. Indeed, it’s “the thing” which is in my eye which has actually blinded me. So much so that, in reality I’m too blind to help another person to see.
To whom shall I go? Who is able “to remove the thing” which disables me with blindness to my own bad things?
“Because it is not a fine tree making bad fruit, nor again a bad tree making fine fruit. Because each tree is known from its own fruit. Because they do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they harvest grapes from a bramble.”
Jesus made my question vastly more serious when he continued to speak to the great multitude. He explained that it is a complete tree and all its fruit which is “bad”. It’s not only “the thing” in my eye.
“The good person from the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil out of his evil produces evil, for from an abundant heart his mouth speaks. In fact, why do you call me ‘Lord! Lord!’, and not do the things I state?”
As mentioned earlier, the great multitude which heard these words, had just seen his enormous power and authority to cure all their afflictions – straight away, whatever they were. When they were calling him to see to their afflictions, they no doubt called out “Lord! Lord!” But when it came to following his ways, to doing “the things I state”, then the hypocrisy showed itself clearly. |
|
“Everyone coming to me and hearing my words and doing them, I will uncover to you what he is like: he is like a person house-building a house, who dug and excavated and laid down a foundation upon the rock. In fact, a flood having come to be, the torrent broke against that same house and was not able to shake it, because it was well house-built. In fact, the one hearing and not doing is like a person house-building a house on the earth without a foundation against which the torrent broke - and immediately it fell in - and the ruin of that same house came to be great.”
|
.
|
This parallel closed this AD 29 keynote address of Jesus, down from the mountain, “with them”, “standing on a level place”.
Hypocrisy – pretending to be good, correcting others, even calling Jesus “Lord! Lord!” whilst ignoring him – does bring results.
|
|
|
