There Is Something In Your Eye
Introduction
In 1969, the Cartier Company purchased a pear-shaped diamond, weighing in at an astounding 69.42 carats. The stone was purchased at an auction, for a then record price of $1,050,00. For a brief period of time, the Cartier diamond, as it was called, was put on display in Cartier’s store in New York. More than 6,000 people a day flocked to the store to get a glimpse at the record setting gem.
A newspaper ran an interesting article about some the comments of the people who viewed the diamond. A short, bald man looked at the stone and said, “I see a flaw there, but I wouldn’t want to say anything. A well-dressed lady commented, “It isn’t really that beautiful, but I wouldn’t mind having it.” Another lady said, “It’s too large.” A security guard standing near the stone said, “I’ve heard more sour grapes in the last two days than in my whole life.”
Unfortunately, some people are equipped with a super-hero like vision that enables them to see the negative even in what appears to be perfection.
Dale Carnegie once said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain…and most of them do.”
I’ve checked the entire New Testament, and contrary to what some believe, criticism is not one of the gifts of the Spirit.
In Luke’s account of the famous Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus paints for us an interesting picture that indicts those who would be judgmental and critical of others around them.
By studying this little parable, we learn that we should be careful before we say to someone else, “There’s something in your eye.”
Notice three things we see in this passage. First of all, notice with me:
I. The Issue Jesus Confronts
In verse 41, Jesus asks, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
Jesus is talking about eyes, but his subject has more to do with theology than it does ophthalmology. If you look back up at verse 37, you find what prompted this particular analogy of the eyes.
Verse 37 says, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned…” In Matthew’s expanded account of this same sermon, he records this statement directly before the parable of the eyes.
The issue that Jesus confronts with this little story is the practice of judgmental criticism. Jesus is confronting the critic, and dealing with those who always seem to know what is wrong with everybody else.
Notice a couple of things our Lord confronts here. First of all, He deals with the issue of:
A. Being Consumed With Faults Of Others
Look carefully at what Jesus says in verse 4He says, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye…”
Mark that word “beholdest”. It is translated from a Greek word that literally means to “look upon”. The idea of the word is to stare at something, or to gaze.
It is one thing to notice the faults in others, it is another thing to stare, and gaze, and gawk at those shortcomings in another person’s life. Writer, Zig Ziglar said, “Some people find faults like there’s a reward for it.”iii
There are those who honestly believe that the ministry to which God has called them is fault finding. Therefore, they look around the church with discerning and discriminating eyes, staring at the shortcomings of those sitting around them.
They can tell you what is wrong with their neighbor’s marriage. They know exactly why your teenager is in trouble. They will quickly point you to what the preacher is not doing, and they know exactly what happened to that family that no longer comes to church.
These people are consumed with what everyone else is doing wrong. They know more gossip than the National Enquirer, and they pass more judgments than Judge Wapner on The People’s Court.
Jesus asks, “Why are you staring at the mote in your brother’s eye?” Notice also, He not only confronts the issue of being consumed with the faults of others, but He goes on to address the issue of:
B. Being Critical Of The Faults Of Others
Look at verse 4Jesus goes on and says, “Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye…”
Jesus is not just dealing with those who see what’s wrong in others. He is also dealing with those who announce and denounce the wrong they find in their brothers and sisters.
There are those who not only know what is wrong with everybody else, they are also more than happy to share that extensive knowledge through their criticisms. Do you know these people? Are you one of these people?
They don’t mind sharing with you what they know to be wrong with you and everybody else. They often preface their criticisms with arrogant lines like, “Well, I’ll tell you what the problem is…”, or, “You know, if you would just listen…”, as if their advice is the final authority.
Even though the critical, judgmental person claims to be trying to help, very often they only want to help themselves. Their criticism is a vehicle through which they cover their own glaring faults.
Former British prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli once said, “It is easier to be critical than to be correct.”
Jesus confronts the issue of judgmental criticism, and He indicts those who choose the easy road of criticism over the difficult road of self-examination.
Notice a second thing we draw from this passage. Notice not only the issue Jesus confronts, but notice also further:
II. The Illustration Jesus Connects
For those who have the idea that Jesus was a prudish, somber soul, who never smiled, or understood the humor of life, this text is a surprise.
In order to show the foolishness of being judgmental and critical, Jesus gives an illustration that one writer describes as “the language of humorous hyperbole.”iv
Jesus paints a picture that is so ridiculous that is clearly illustrates the foolishness of those who constantly criticize and judge the lives of those around them.
Notice with me a couple of things regarding this illustration our Lord used to connect us to the truth He was trying to portray. Notice first of all that:
A. It Is A Comical Picture
Though the Bible says that the Lord Jesus was a “Man of sorrows”, that in no way means that He had no sense of humor.
You couldn’t work with characters like Peter and Thomas and not see the humor in life. The picture that Christ paints in this particular text is comical and funny when fully understood.
Jesus depicts a man who sees a mote in someone else’s eye and yet fails to see the beam in his own eye. The word “mote” describes a small speck, or something akin to a piece of sawdust.
The word “beam” on the other hand, speaks of a large, squared piece of lumber. One writer translates this word as “log”. It most likely refers to a beam that is used in a floor joist.
In your mind you have to imagine the scene Christ is painting. One man is walking around with a 4 x 8 log sticking out of his eye, and he says to someone else, “Hold still, I think I see a little splinter in your eye. Let me get my tweezers and get that out for you.”
It is a ridiculous and therefore comical illustration our Lord gives in this text. There is something funny about the image of a person with a log in their eye trying to help someone with a speck in theirs.
The humor is not incidental. The Lord intended this story to be ridiculous, in order to show how silly it is when flawed and fallen creatures criticize other flawed and fallen creatures.
It is comical when people whose own lives bare faults, choose to ignore those faults as they point out the faults of others.
Notice that this illustration is not only a comical picture, but notice also further that:
B. It Is A Common Problem
The Lord Jesus is not addressing some obscure sin that only applies to a few people. No, unfortunately anyone who criticizes and judges usually falls within the application of this indictment.
How very often is it that those who are the most critical have faults in their own lives that are worthy of criticism.
That dear sister who doesn’t like the way the teenagers are dressing in church seems to have forgotten that her gossiping tongue is more offensive to a holy God than the holes in those kid’s jeans.
That dear brother that is so quick to pass judgment on the drug dealers and the meth-heads seems to have forgotten that his refusal to witness to those kinds of people is as disgusting and sad as their addictions.
It is such a common problem. Those of us who criticize and piously judge those around us do so only when we close our eyes to our own glaring weaknesses and sins.
When we criticize and judge others, while refusing to acknowledge our own faults, we are like blind men, fussing at deaf men for being handicapped.
Jesus paints what is a foolish and funny picture in order to convict us of the silliness of our own conduct when we criticize those around us.
Notice a third thing we draw from this text. Notice not only the issue Jesus confronts, and the illustration Jesus connects, but notice also finally:
III. The Instruction Jesus Conveys
Jesus confronted this issue of judgmental criticism, and gave this wonderful illustration with the purpose of teaching us something about how we are to live as Christians.
Notice again verse 42, Jesus says, “…Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.”
Jesus uses the strong word, “hypocrite”, and then proceeds to tell us how we can avoid being hypocritical. Notice his instructions in this text. First of all, He encourages us to:
A. Examine Our Own Selves
In the illustration, Jesus described a man who thought he could see the speck in his brother’s eye, but somehow was unable to see the log sticking out of his own eye.
Jesus says in verse 42 that we must cast out the beam in our own eyes before we can ever help someone else with their eye problems.
In other words, we must first acknowledge the faults in our own lives before we can ever begin to help others with their problems.
Ask yourself this question, “What is the beam in my eye? What is my greatest fault?” It may be that your fault is fault-finding. It may be that your beam is the tendency to criticizes and judge others.
Chances are that if you examine your own heart, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you, you will begin to see that you have enough issues of your own to deal with without worrying about the issues of others.
Do others have faults? Yes. Jesus is not denying that other people need help. He is simply teaching that we must examine our own life before we begin to examine the lives of others.
Some of us have been living the Christian life with glasses instead of a mirror. That is, we spend most of our time looking at the lives of others instead of examining ourselves.
The challenge of this text is to spend more time in front of the spiritual mirror, and less time looking through your spiritual glasses.
Notice another instruction our Lord gives us. He encourages us not only to examine our own selves, but also to:
B. Eliminate Our Own Sins
Look again at verse 4Jesus says, “…Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.”
We are commanded not only to see the beams in our eyes, but also to cast them out. Jesus is calling not only for inspection, but for improvement.
So often, the problem is not that we are blind to our faults, we are just used to them. We have decided to live with our problems and weaknesses rather than addressing them.
Before we can ever be of a real spiritual help to others, we need to find spiritual help for ourselves.
If you know what your beam is, why not get rid of it? Why not let the Lord Jesus pull out that part of you that is hindering your vision.
Why don’t you decide that rather than criticizing others, you are going to correct yourself? Why not confess and forsake your sin today, and humbly ask the Great Physician to fix your flawed eyes so that you can see the world with humility and concern, rather than haughtiness and conceit.
The television network, A&E, has a fascinating show called Intervention. The program focuses on the efforts of families to save their loved ones who are dying from addictions to drugs and alcohol. At the end of the program, the family will surprise the addict with a last attempt to get them into treatment. That intervention by the family will be hosted by a professional counselor. One of things I love about the show is that all of the counselors were at one time alcoholics and drug addicts themselves.
The people that are the most effective at helping others are the ones who have first dealt with their own faults, and cast out the beam from their own eyes.
You may one day be able to help your neighbor, but you must first let God help you.
There are people who are known as “demolition experts”. They make their living by being able to safely, and properly tearing down structures in order to make way for new ones.
When the demolition experts are done with their job, then the construction experts move in to do their job.
Which crew are you most like? Are you a demolition expert, criticizing and tearing down? Or, are you a construction expert, encouraging and building up?
Unfortunately, most of us are better at demolition than we are construction. For that reason, the Lord Jesus deals with the issue of a critical, judgmental spirit.
Next time you start to say, “Hey, there’s something in your eye”, stop, and ask God to hold your tongue while you look for your own beam.
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- Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, (Assurance Publishers, Rockville, MD), p. 292
- McHenry, Raymond, McHenry’s Stories for the Soul, (Hendrickson, Publishers, Peabody, MA, 2001), p. 64 iii Ibid
- King, Guy, New Order, (Marshall, Morgan, & Scott, London, 1958), p. 99
- Wuest, Kenneth, The New Testament: An Expanded Translation, (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1975), p.145