A Redeemed Perspective on Others

Scripture Reading

Luke 6:37–42 NIV84

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Introduction

As you look at and consider other people in the world around you, even as you consider the people around you that are participants in the grace that is found in Jesus Christ, how is it that you view them and perceive them? As you consider others around you, is your view and perspective on them marked by humility and graciousness towards them? Or is it marked more by a critical and judgmental spirit? How quickly do you become annoyed with others, because you just know that they’ve deliberately tried to make you angry through their actions?

These are very important questions for us as Christians to be asking ourselves! So often, we continue to live our lives in relation to others with the very same fallen perspectives on them that we had before we became believers. Or we view the people around us in the same manner, or according to the same way that any other person in the world would view them. We treat others around us in much the same way that unbelievers treat them.

This is the very matter that Jesus addresses in these verses as He continues to teach his disciples this kingdom ethic as he preaches what’s known as the sermon on the mount / Sermon on the Plain. Recall that when we were last together in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had addressed the matter of love for ones’ neighbour. He spoke very clearly of the distinction that is to mark the love of the believer over against the love of the unbeliever. In other words, he said that those who are truly His disciples will have a deeply altered manner of love that is demonstrated towards others. It will no longer be a love that simply repays in kind the love that is shown towards them. Rather, it is a love that will go to the point even of loving those who demonstrate hatred towards them. This is love, according to the manner of the love that God Himself showed us.

In the text before us this morning then, we find a continuation and a practical application of the kind of love that we are to have for those around us. In this situation, Jesus delves into what we think of other people and the attitudes that we hold and display towards other people around us. And his words are very instructive!

The Title of my sermon this morning is “A Redeemed Perspective on Others.”

What I would like us to consider through this passage this morning is the fact that we as Christians are only to view people around us through the lens of God’s gracious redemptive work that has been done for us. It is out of place and unfitting for us to hold within our hearts attitudes towards others that are not properly shaped and formed by God’s redeeming work on behalf of sinners like us.

Alternatively, those who have been redeemed by Christ, will have a redeemed perspective on other people.

And so, as we consider these words, we must think carefully about how we are considering and thinking about other people, and if those thoughts and attitudes towards others are aligned with Christ’s kingdom ethic.

As we turn our attention to this text, I’d like us to see firstly that if you’re going to have a redeemed perspective on others, then you must...

1. Consider Your Lowly Estate (vv.37-38)

As Christ teaches this section on his sermon on the Mount, he begins by telling his disciples, in essence, that the manner in which they treat other people in the world around them is going to impact the manner in which God deals with them.

In this sense, it needs to be remembered that when we are dealing with those around us, our fellow sinners in this life, then we need to keep in mind what we considered last week - that God is gracious and merciful towards the undeserving. None of us has received the grace of God on any merit of our own, but rather we have received that mercy as that which was entirely undeserved.

And this is wondeful, and should cause us to have great rejoicing - that God would redeem us by His exceedingly great love.

But this great love leads us to consider our rightful, our lowly, place before God, and thus how we are to respond towards and treat others.

Now, recall that last week we considered that Golden Rule - that Christ said that we should do unto others as we would want them to do to us. We should treat others in the manner that we would desire that they treat us. And so that thought forms part of the context here.

But now Christ goes on to say that the manner in which we treat other people will have consequences for us also. In other words, the manner in which we are treating others will have consequences for us.

As Christ teaches these things to his disciples, he outlines four things that they should be considering as they evaluate their relationships with other people. Two of them are from a negative perspective - that which ought not to be done as a redeemed child of God. And two of them are from a positive perspective - that which ought to be done as a redeemed child of God.

Before we delve into these four things that he speaks about, we must keep in mind the religious context of the day. For the most part, the religious leaders were exceedingly zealous for the Jews to live a righteous and pious life, and in fact they took things well beyond where they ought to have.

But with that said, all that Jesus says here he says to his ordinary disciples, as he teaches them what they ought to be wary of as His disciples.

1.1. Judging (v.37a)

The first aspect that Jesus addresses here is that of judging other people.

He says in verse 37, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.”

Welcome to the most quoted Scripture of our day!! By Christians and non-christians alike!

But we need to think carefully through what this verse says and what it does not say, obviously taking into consideration the context here.

The first thing that I would like to point out is that this verse does not mean that we are never to make any judgments about anyone, ever. It’s not saying we must simply ignore what other people do. It is not saying that we must make no judgment calls.

We have an absolute standard of morality, right and wrong, that which is pleasing in God’s sight or not pleasing in God’s sight, and that is the word of God. And so, when we find a person or group of people acting outside of the prescripts of this revealed will of God, then we need to understand that this person is acting contrary to the ways and will of God, and it is right and fitting to convey that, in love, and with the right attitude. We are called as Christians to call people out of darkness, and into his marvelous light - which necessitates a judgement call on that which is right and that which is wrong.

John 7:24 NIV84

24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

We must notice further that Paul himself called upon the church in Corinth to pass judgment based on immorality that was present int heir midest. In 1 Cor 5 - that Paul himself says to the church that they ought to have passed judgment on an immoral believer within their midst.

This simply to say that there are proper and careful judgments that are to be made in light of God’s word, and particularly among God’s people as they seek to live in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ, and strive towards a purity within the body of Christ.

With that said, we certainly don’t want to take away from the impact of what Christ is teaching here. He’s saying that we ought not to be in the habit of casting critical judgments upon those around us in the normal course of life. If someone is living in unrepentant sin, certainly, call that out. But we are being called here to be careful of a critical spirit.

Christ is truly concerned here with the heart attitude of people, particularly as people would go beyond the bounds of what Scripture itself was teaching.

A very practical application of this is found in Romans 14.

Romans 14:1–4 NIV84

1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Paul goes on in that passage to address various other matters that should be seen as a matter of personal conviction, and he forbids there to be judgment cast against others based on these matters. Then, in verse 12 he gives the pertinent truth to keep in mind...

Romans 14:12 NIV84

12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

The fact is, if we are casting judgments upon others, we set ourselves up as the standard of righteousness, and God says that this is a dangerous place for us to be.

Philip Ryken writes...

Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Judge Not

When he tells us not to judge, he is telling us not to treat people unfairly or unjustly in the court of our own opinion. In a word, we must not be judgmental. A judgmental person is someone who reaches unjust conclusions about someone else’s motives. He or she is quick to criticize—usually putting things in the worst possible light—but slow to forgive. Someone who is judgmental also lacks any sense of proportion. Small offenses receive the same angry response that ought to be reserved for the most egregious sins. This is what Jesus is warning against: “a judgmental and censorious perspective toward others that holds them down in guilt and never seeks to encourage them toward God,” or “evaluating others with such a harshness that the result is an unforgiving attitude and an approach that ceases to hold out hope as if someone is beyond God’s reach.”

Taking this a step further, Christ addresses...

1.2. Condemning (v.37b)

Christ goes on to say that we should not condemn. Condemning takes a step further than judging does. To condemn someone is essentially to declare that a person stands guilty before God. The sad reality is that this is usually based on my own perceptions of that which is right and wrong. The idea of condemning others flows out of the self-righteous heart.

Again, we must consider this in the light of what has already been said, and also in the light of the rest of Scripture. In disputable matters, we are not to bring condemnation against people. And even when people are struggling in sins, and even when they are slow to come to Christ and to come to a place of repentance, we must be slow to condemn.

The cavaet to this is that the church is called to put out of the fellowship those who are living in sinful conduct.

But we do need to keep in mind in this regard, the church has gone through the entire disciplinary process with a person, seeking to lead that person to a place where they come to repenantance of their sin, but the person has failed to repent. It’s only within this context that the church “hands the person over to Satan” as a means of discipline. They effectively declare, based on the unrepentant conduct of the person, that this person cannot be a professing believer.

That said, we must recognise that that entire process is not an individual process, but rather a congregational process. The entire congregation ultimately participates together, carefully, prayerfully, and humbly through that process, all the while longing that the brother / sister that is sinning would turn from their sinful ways. The church would indeed grieve to know that someone is living in this manner. There is no desire to pass condemnation, only a hope that there would be restoration.

Christ’s word to his disciples here is that they ought not to bring words of condemnation against other people. They are not to hold a critical and judgmental spirit over other people, since this is out of place for the people of God.

Philip Ryken is helpful in a number of his practical applications in terms of our haste in casting judgment and condemntion on others...

Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Lest Ye Be Judged

It happens when we are overconfident in the conclusions we reach about other people’s problems, without fully knowing their situation. It happens when we judge people’s motives, wrongly assuming that we know why they did what they did. It happens when we withhold forgiveness from people who have done us wrong. It happens when we keep our distance from Christians struggling with difficult sins like self-pity or sexual immorality. It happens when we shun people with messy problems like poverty or drug addiction. It happens when we criticize the sins that other people commit more than we repent of our own unrighteousness. It happens when we use angry slogans to condemn hot-button issues like abortion or the gay lifestyle without befriending people and offering them grace. God forgive us. This is not the way that Jesus taught us to treat people, and when we do, it should not surprise us that they want nothing to do with his gospel.

Friends, we need to carefully evaluate our heart attitudes to determine if we are condemning people without even realising it. We are not called to judgmental attitudes and an attitude of condemnation. Rather, we are called to encourage and spur on in the faith.

Galatians 6:1–2 NIV84

1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

We carry each other’s burdens. We do not seek to place a greater person on the people around us.

Having given these two negative statements (do not), Jesus goes on to give two positive statements - that which should mark the people of His kingdom. The first is...

1.3. Forgiving (v.37c)

“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

This is the counter to judging and condemning. In this instance, the person that we would usually judge and condemn has genuinely done something against us. They have caused us harm, insulted us, struck us on the cheek etc - as Christ spoke about in the section we considered last week.

But here Christ says that we are to hold and to be guided by a posture of forgiveness. It is as we forgive others, that we ourselves will be forgiven. I would add to that, if we fail to forgive others, it is because we know nothing of the forgiveness that Christ has for us.

The very clear passage on this is Matthew 18:21-35 in the parable of the unmerciful servant. You know the parable well - one servant is forgiven a debt that was impossible for him to repay. Yet when he goes out and finds a fellow-servant that owes him a truly insignificant amount in comparison, he has him thrown into prison. No forgiveness. No mercy. Just a harshness that says you owe me, therefore I’ll ensure justice against you.

In principle, the servant was right. There was a debt owed. There was an amount that was due and payable to him. He was within his rights to have the man thrown into prison.

But the pertinent fact to consider was not the offense committed against him, but his greater offense against his king, and the mercy that had been given to him.

It was precisely because he failed to take into account the mercy and grace that was shown to him, that he acted harshly towards his fellow-servant. He enacted justice without mercy.

Christ plainly says that any servant of his, any disciple of his that acts in this way will not be forgiven. In other words, they will not receive forgiveness because they certainly haven’t understood the forgiveness that has been extended to them by God through Christ.

Friends, we must think carefully about these things and how we treat others. We have been forgiven an impossible debt to repay. It was utterly impossible for any man to gain access to a right relationship with the Father in heaven. We ought to have been condemned by God, and had his wrath poured out on us.

And yet, He showed us mercy. He forgave us a debt that was impossible for us to pay.

If that is the case, then we most certainly ought to forgive other people.

Matthew 18:32–35 NIV84

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Having spoken about granting forgiveness, Christ goes on to speak about giving to others.

1.4. Giving (v.38)

Luke 6:38 NIV84

38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

The picture that Jesus uses here is that of the market place where grain was sold. Christ says that if you give, then it will be given to you…

But what’s so important to see is the measure in which it will be given back. In this picture of the grain, he speaks about a good measure… pressed down, shaken together and running over.

In the grain markets, if you simply filled measuring container with grain without shaking it or pressing it together, you would get far less grain in the container than if you pressed it down and shook it togeher.

Christ is saying here that the amount that will come to you will be given to overflowing. The grain would be pressed carefully together, shaken to remove any air gaps and pockets, and then it would even overflow into the lap.

Ephesians 3:20 reminds the believer that God is able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

What a glorious truth!! The reality is that the believer has an inheritance that is being treasured up in heaven, an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Why would withhold that which is in our power to give, when such abundance is promised us by God.

Indeed, Christ is telling his disciples that to be stingy and selfish is a mark once again that you have not understand the great price that has been paid for you!

This leads us to consider our second main point from this text. If you are going to have a redeemed perspective on others, then you must...

2. Consider Your Leader (vv.39-40)

As Christ progresses in his teaching on this subject, he does so with a very brief but interesting parable. We read in verse 39...

Luke 6:39 NIV84

39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

The question in itself that is asked here is quite straightforward to understand. Any person that is blind is in no place to lead another person anywhere. Certainly they cannot be relied upon to lead others. The blind are those who need someone who is able to see to lead them in order to avoid the dangers of this world.

Thus Jesus asks the rhetorical question - will they not both fall into a pit? The question was one that would have been well understood within the context of those people. The harsh terrain of the Palestinian region had many pits that posed a threat and danger to a person walking along, particularly if they could not see properly. We find a number of references of such pits in Scripture, just indicating that they were common to the people of that day...

Psalm 40:2 NIV84

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

And so for Christ’s hearer, the picture was immediately clearly portrayed. It would be foolishness for blind man to lead other blind men around, as they would both end up in a pit.

The question, however, is what Christ is referring to here as he speaks about the blind leading the blind. Particularly, how does this fit into the context and flow of what Christ is saying.

I would suggest to you that Christ particularly had the religious leaders of his day in mind. In that case, it was the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, that were the blind guides that Jesus is referring to. This is made very clear in another encounter that is recorded for us in the Gospel account as recorded by Matthew.

Turn to Matthew 15...

In Matthew 15, the Pharisees approach Jesus and confront him with the fact that his disciples don’t undergo the ritual washings and cleansing of hands before they eat. And so the Pharisees are horrified at these unclean disciples of Jesus. But Jesus himself turns this against them, and in fact tells them that they are the ones that fail to honour God in their own lives. And we then read these words...

Particularly emphasize v.14...

Matthew 15:10–14 NIV84

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

And so there we find very clearly that Christ is referring to the Pharisees as those who are blind guides.

Just to bring this in the particual context within Luke’s Gospel here, we must keep in mind the kind of judgments that the Pharisees made on other people. They set all kinds of rules and regulations up - man-made rules and regulations, and then expected the people to obey these rules and regulations. They placed an exceedingly heavy burden on the people. And then they judged and condemned the people. And they failed to extend forgiveness themselves to the people, and failed to give to people. Instead, they expected from people.

Taking this a little broader - there are many so-called blind guides that claim to know the truth, and yet are far removed from the actual truth revealed by God through Christ. And so often, these leaders, who themselves are blind, lead the blind after them to the detriment of all.

But what Christ does here is that he speaks to His disciples about a radical new way of life that is to be expected from his disciples. But he’s also showing them that there is a new leader that is the true leader of those who will hear Him.

And that’s what he goes on to address in the next verse. Verse 40 reads...

Luke 6:40 NIV84

40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

This has been a somewhat difficult verse to interpret and to fit within the flow of Christ’s discourse here. It’s clear within the context of the previous verse that he is now educating his disciples concerning their teacher(s).

There are two possible ways that Christ would have been using these words - and both have important implications and application. Firstly, it needs to be recognised that a student is indeed not above his teacher, and that if the disciples that he is now addressing follow the paths and teachings of the blind guides of that day - the religious leaders - well they will not rise above them, but they will become like them.

Now, in the context of the blind guides, it would be asked, why follow such blind guides?! They will simply lead you to destruction.

In this regard, it must be asked, who is your guide / teacher? We need to be careful about those that we will allow to teach us and guide us. We need to exercise much discernment in the world, because the consequences of following the wrong teacher can be severe.

But then there is another application, and that is to Christ as the true teacher. Recall that Jesus is the teacher of these disciples here. And so in this case, he’s warning against false teachers, and then referring to himself as the true teacher. In this case, He is not a blind guide, but rather he is the true teacher that has come from the Father.

When Christ then says that a student is not above his teacher, what he’s emphasizing is the fact that none of those who would follow him are greater than him. And He came as the one who was gentle and lowly in heart.

If we refer back to the teaching that Christ has already done, and the way in which he’s told his disciples that they must not judge, and they must not condemn - he’s the teacher that has himself perfectly emulated this.

John 12:47–48 NIV84

47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

And again in John 3:16-17, we read...

John 3:16–17 NIV84

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The work of Christ was not to come and judge, and condemn. But rather, the work of Christ as he came into this world was to bring salvation to people. This is seen in the manner in which Christ lived in this world. He was one who was labeled a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He was one that was labeled a drunkard and a glutton, because he ate and drank (within reason) with the common people. He did not come into the world in order to elevate himself and place himself on a pedestal, or even on his rightful throne. Rather, he came into the world in order to serve.

He came into the world to bring forgiveness. He came into the world not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. All of the words that Christ has just spoken about not judging, not condeming, forgiving, and giving to others, he is the perfect teacher and example of this.

Here is the stark contrast that is to be seen in the disciples of Jesus himself. Firstly, no person is greater than his teacher. We are not greater than our teacher, Jesus Christ. We are not elevated to a place above him, that we should begin to teach him what is and isn’t appropriate in terms of how we live our lives in this world. He is the teacher, and we are to be submitted to him. In other words, when he humbles himself in a servant attitude to those around him, should we think that we don’t need to?

And then, flowing out of that, every person who is fully trained will be like his teacher. In other words this is the place towards which we as the disciples of Jesus stive - to be like him. To live in a manner and attitude of life that is just like His!!

This then leads us to consider our final point for this morning...

3. Consider Your Limitations (vv.41-42)

As Christ proceeds in this teaching, and particularly as he brings in this idea of judging other people, he reminds his hearers of their severe limitations - that they fail to see even the plank that is in their own eye, even as they seek to take the speck out of their brothers eye.

Luke 6:41 NIV84

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

In a sense, this is an indictment against all who are judging other people. And I do believe that this kind of conduct is typical of our own lives in terms of the way we live and the way in which we treat other people. It is so easy for us to see the faults in other people, and yet we fail to see the faults in ourselves.

Within the sinfulness of our own hearts, there is an innate inability to properly see the sinfulness of our own hearts and motives.

But Christ says here that this kind of thinking is plain wrong. Imagine in your minds this picture that Christ is conveying here...

You see a man who has a massive long plank sticking out of his eye, and he’s busy trying to look for a spec in his brother’s eye - something barely even visible. It’s an absurd picture. But this conveys the nature and heart of man well. We think and believe that we see things so clearly, but we need to be cautious. We need to consider our limitations.

Now notice what Jesus does go on to say in the next verse...

Luke 6:42 NIV84

42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

The question of course must be asked what it means for us to take the plank out of our own eye. Does this mean that we should deal with our own sin in a particular area, and once we’ve got it completely under control, then we are allowed to go and address the same issue that we see in our brother or sister’s life?

I think we need to be careful of just how we apply this, and what specifically it is that we’re dealing with here. This is not a statement to discourage us from addressing sin in each other’s lives, until we ourselves have perfected a particular area of sin.

Rather, this has to do with our heart posture before God. Christ is dealing here with an attitude of self-righteousness, and posture of self-righteous pride, and the fruit that flows out of such a posture. What is that fruit? Anger, hatred, condescension, short-temperedness, and the like. When we are dealing with other people in such a manner, then we can be sure that we have some eye surgery to do before God.

Christ is teaching here that we need to humble ourselves before God and not think of ourselves in a high and haughty manner. If this is our attitude, then it is impossible for us to address the faults and sins of others. Instead, we first need to come to understand the great log in our own eye - just how sinful we are before the Almighty Creator God - before we can even think to start confronting any sin in another person’s life. We need to understand that we ourselves are unworthy sinners and are indebted to the grace of God. If we don’t have that perspective right, then it is impossible that we will deal with other people around us with a humility and concern

Application / Conclusion

There has already been much for us to consider in this passage.

As a way of summary, meekness, gentleness and lowliness of heart is to be the defining feature of the true believer, just as it was for Jesus Christ. We are to be ever striving towards, seeking, and pursuing a humility of heart founded upon and grounded in the humility of the greatest King that ever walked the face of the earth. The very King of the heavens, if he could be so condescending and lowly as to enter into the flesh and die for people such as us, then we must follow in his ways.

Dear friends, our natural inclination is to walk in the ways of the Pharisees. The natural pursuit of the world is a desire for greatness and exaltation over others. We wish to show ourselves better, to prove ourselves better… this tendency is within our hearts. But we must be cautious!!! We are called to a deep humility and gratitude. This is the life of the Christian.

This is the life that we are all called to.

Let me encourage you, dear brothers and sisters - let us be careful to evaluate our own hearts and lives. Let us be careful to be looking to see if we are truly humbled before the Saviour. To the extent that we see pride residing in our own hearts, as demonstrated by our actions and attitudes towards others, let us quickly repent of these, and let us cry out to our merciful Saviour for genuine transformation through a proper understanding of His glorious humility.

May he be pleased to grant us the grace of deep humility, so that we would properly demonstrate his love to a world that is filled with selfish pride.

May our Lord Jesus strengthen us in this!