Luke 6:39
The blind leading the blind
Can a blind person lead a blind person? Will they not both fall into a pit?
Easy to miss
Jesus has just told them not to judge (Luke 6:37). A judge who cannot see himself is a blind guide.
In one minute: If you only read this much
What happens
Jesus gives short sayings: the blind cannot lead the blind; a student becomes like the teacher; take the log out of your own eye before the speck from your brother’s; a good tree bears good fruit; the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.
Why this Sunday
These sayings come from Luke’s Sermon on the Plain. They are about examining ourselves before judging others.
Take with you
What we say shows what we have stored in our hearts.
Readings for the First Sunday after Shunoyo: Eight passages across four services
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
Evening prayer സന്ധ്യാപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംLuke 14:25–35ലൂക്കൊസ് 14:25–35
Count the cost before building a tower; salt that loses its taste.
Morning prayer പ്രഭാതപ്രാർത്ഥന1 readings
- GospelസുവിശേഷംLuke 15:1–10ലൂക്കൊസ് 15:1–10
The lost sheep and the lost coin: joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
Before Qurbana കുർബാനയ്ക്കു മുമ്പ്3 readings
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംExodus 14:21–31പുറപ്പാട് 14:21–31
Israel walks through the sea on dry ground.
- Old Testamentപഴയനിയമം1 Samuel 8:4–91 ശമൂവേൽ 8:4–9
Israel asks for a king like the other nations, rejecting God as their king.
- Old TestamentപഴയനിയമംIsaiah 43:1–5യെശയ്യാവ് 43:1–5
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Holy Qurbana വിശുദ്ധ കുർബാന3 readings
- General Epistleപൊതുലേഖനം1 John 2:22–291 യോഹന്നാൻ 2:22–29
Abide in him, so that we may be confident when he appears.
- Pauline Epistleപൗലോസിന്റെ ലേഖനംEphesians 6:10–17എഫെസ്യർ 6:10–17
Put on the whole armour of God.
- Gospel of the dayസുവിശേഷംLuke 6:39–45ലൂക്കൊസ് 6:39–45
The speck and the log; a tree is known by its fruit. This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenes
The thread through all eight
Israel walks through the sea on dry ground, and the people ask Samuel for a king like other nations. God tells Israel: you are mine. John warns about those who deny the Son, and Ephesians tells us to put on God’s armour.
Source
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Luke 6:39–45 explained: Luke 6:39–45 in five scenes
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
The blind leading the blindLuke 6:39Like the teacherLuke 6:40The speck and the logLuke 6:41–42Known by its fruitLuke 6:43–44From the heartLuke 6:45
Luke 6:40
Like the teacher
A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone fully trained will be like their teacher.
Easy to miss
We become like whoever we learn from. It matters who we follow.
Luke 6:41–42
The speck and the log
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and not notice the log in your own? First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck.
Easy to miss
Jesus does not say leave the speck alone. He says see clearly first.
Luke 6:43–44
Known by its fruit
No good tree bears bad fruit, and no bad tree bears good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. Figs do not grow on thorns.
Easy to miss
Jesus was a craftsman’s son in a farming village. His pictures come from everyday life.
Luke 6:45
From the heart
A good person brings good out of the good stored in the heart, and an evil person evil out of evil. The mouth speaks from what fills the heart.
Easy to miss
The word for “treasure” is a storeroom. Each of us is stocking one.
The verse to keep
“നല്ലമനുഷ്യൻ തന്റെ ഹൃദയത്തിലെ നല്ല നിക്ഷേപത്തിൽ നിന്നു നല്ലതു പുറപ്പെടുവിക്കുന്നു; ദുഷ്ടൻ ദോഷമായതിൽ നിന്നു ദോഷം പുറപ്പെടുവിക്കുന്നു. ഹൃദയത്തിൽ നിറഞ്ഞു കവിയുന്നതല്ലോ വായി പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നതു.”“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.”
Who is in the story, and what their names mean
The disciplesശിഷ്യന്മാർ
Listening to Jesus on a level place with a great crowd (Luke 6:17).
“—”
Three phrases worth knowing
- Sermon on the Plain
- Luke’s version of Jesus’ great sermon (Luke 6:17–49), similar to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount.
- Speck and log
- A deliberately funny picture: a person with a beam of wood in their eye trying to remove a speck of sawdust from someone else’s.
- Treasure of the heart
- What a person stores up inside: thoughts, habits and loves, which come out in speech.
Reflection: Logs and specks
കോലും കരടും
Jesus’ picture is meant to make us laugh. A man with a plank sticking out of his eye leans in close to help his brother with a speck of dust. We laugh because we recognise ourselves. It is always easier to see what is wrong with other people.
Jesus does not say we should never help anyone see their faults. He says we should first deal with our own. Someone who has honestly faced their own sin is gentler and clearer when they speak to others. Someone who has not becomes a blind guide.
The last saying turns the mirror inward again. Our words come from what we have stored in our hearts. If what comes out of our mouths at home is often harsh, the answer is not just to watch our tongues. It is to change what we are storing up: in prayer, in what we watch and read, and in the company we keep.