Luke 6:39-45 - We Become Like Our Teacher

39 And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.   Luke 6:20-49, is the first recorded message of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus is preaching to the multitude and teaching His disciples at the same time. So far, we have noticed that Jesus proclaims that the blessed or happy life is based on our attitude toward circumstances (vv. 20-26), and on people (vv. 27-38). Today we are looking at what Jesus says about our attitude toward ourselves, and He gives us four striking figures in this section to teach us some important lessons about life and ministry leadership. It appears that this section is directed more at His disciples who will be the future leaders of the church. And especially, He is reminding us all that we become like our teacher.     In verses 39-40, Jesus teaches as His disciples, we must be sure that we see clearly enough to guide others in their spiritual walk. While there are blind people who have a keen sense of direction, it is not likely that any of them will be hired as airplane pilots or wilderness guides. No doubt, Jesus was referring primarily to the Pharisees who were leading the people astray (Matt. 15:14; 23:16). If we see ourselves as excellent guides, but do not realize our blindness, we will only lead people into the ditch (see Rom. 2:17-22).   Jesus reminds us that we cannot lead others where we have not been ourselves, nor can we be all that our Master is. In fact, the more we strive to be like Him, the more we realize how far short we fall. This is a warning against pride, for nothing blinds a person like pride. Obadiah 1:3, “The pride of your heart has deceived you…”.   Continuing with the image of "the eye," in verses 41-42, Jesus taught that we must be able to see clearly enough to help our brother see better. It certainly is not wrong to help a brother get a painful speck of dirt out of his eye, provided we can see what we are doing. The crowd must have laughed out loud when Jesus described an "eye doctor" with a plank in his eye, performing surgery on a patient with a speck in his eye!   The emphasis here is on being honest with ourselves and not becoming hypocrites. It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just so we can cover up our own sins! People who are constantly criticizing others are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives (Romans 2:1-3).   In verses 43-44, the illustration of the tree reminds us that fruit is always true to character. An apple tree produces apples, not oranges; and a good person produces good fruit, not evil. Believers do sin, but the witness of their words and works is consistently good to the glory of God. In terms of ministry, servants of God who are faithful will reproduce themselves in people who are in turn true to the Lord (2 Timothy 2:2). Jesus already said that we should not judge, meaning we cannot judge a person’s motives, but here He clarifies that it is not wrong to discern between a wise and foolish person by their fruit.   The last image in verse 45, the treasury, teaches us that what comes out of the lips depends on what is inside the heart. The human heart is like a treasury, and what we speak reveals what is there. A man who apologized for swearing by saying, "It really wasn't in me!" heard a friend say, "It had to be in you, or it couldn't have come out of you!"   In this section we should learn that we must be honest with ourselves and admit the blind spots in our lives, the obstacles that blur our vision, and the areas within that must be corrected. Then we can be used of the Lord to minister to others and not lead them astray.   Remember we become like our teacher! Is Jesus your teacher? We are either leading people to closer to Jesus or we are leading them further away from Him. Which way are you leading others today?   God bless!