Word@Work Luke96 - Luke 6:41-42
Published: Wed, 05/05/10
Word@Work from BeaconLight
THEATRICAL HYPOCRISY
Luke 6:41-42 "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? 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. (NIV)
When Jesus used the word 'hypocrite', everybody knew He was referring to actors. In the Greek theatrical tradition of Jesus' day, the most common plays were tragedies in which the misfortunes of the main character stemmed from unrealised bad personality traits. The audience could see the tragedy developing although the character remained oblivious to his own faults. Speaking to His disciples as well as the crowd, Jesus used this sawdust and plank analogy to expose the laughable nature of hypocrisy. He did not prescribe multiple rules for the founder members of a new club; instead He asked them to think about the way they related as members of a new family. By asking the questions, "Why?" and "How can you do it?", Jesus exposed the sinful motives behind legalistic behaviour.
Christless religion is rule-based. Such religious leaders encourage rule-keeping and reprove/punish rule-breaking. So Jesus asked how they could see to extract a small piece of dust from somebody's eye when they were blinded by a huge plank of wood: it is obvious to us that they could not. In fact, nobody is sinless, except Jesus Christ; so only He is able to remove the blindness caused by our natural sinfulness. The role of the disciples was not to be legalistic referees of other people's behaviour, but to bring them to Jesus so that He might deal with their spiritual blindness and heal their souls.
Christians are sometimes accused of being legalistic moralists who pretend to be better than others. Unfortunately, that is sometimes true. But that is not a true advertisement for the gospel, not does it reflect the grace of God. If we are to work with the Lord, we must understand that our task is not to make people nicer (because we cannot), but to bring sinners to the Saviour. In many ways, that should be a relief. It is not our task to criticise wrong behaviour or to pretend we are better. If we are working with Jesus, our first responsibility is to ask Him to remove our own guilt (which is only possible because He has paid the penalty for our sin - see www.crosscheck.org.uk to know more). After that, as we have no power to change people, our witness is to pray and encourage our friends and colleagues to go to Him also.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You that I have not been called to prove my perfection or to criticise the behaviour of others. I know that my only righteousness comes by trusting You to forgive and save me, and that I am still a 'work-in-progress' under Your hand. Forgive me when I assume the right to make up rules for others, which neither they nor I can keep perfectly. Help me to be a faithful witness to Your saving grace; being open about how much You have done for me, and encouraging others to seek You with all their heart. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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When Jesus used the word 'hypocrite', everybody knew He was referring to actors. In the Greek theatrical tradition of Jesus' day, the most common plays were tragedies in which the misfortunes of the main character stemmed from unrealised bad personality traits. The audience could see the tragedy developing although the character remained oblivious to his own faults. Speaking to His disciples as well as the crowd, Jesus used this sawdust and plank analogy to expose the laughable nature of hypocrisy. He did not prescribe multiple rules for the founder members of a new club; instead He asked them to think about the way they related as members of a new family. By asking the questions, "Why?" and "How can you do it?", Jesus exposed the sinful motives behind legalistic behaviour.
Christless religion is rule-based. Such religious leaders encourage rule-keeping and reprove/punish rule-breaking. So Jesus asked how they could see to extract a small piece of dust from somebody's eye when they were blinded by a huge plank of wood: it is obvious to us that they could not. In fact, nobody is sinless, except Jesus Christ; so only He is able to remove the blindness caused by our natural sinfulness. The role of the disciples was not to be legalistic referees of other people's behaviour, but to bring them to Jesus so that He might deal with their spiritual blindness and heal their souls.
Christians are sometimes accused of being legalistic moralists who pretend to be better than others. Unfortunately, that is sometimes true. But that is not a true advertisement for the gospel, not does it reflect the grace of God. If we are to work with the Lord, we must understand that our task is not to make people nicer (because we cannot), but to bring sinners to the Saviour. In many ways, that should be a relief. It is not our task to criticise wrong behaviour or to pretend we are better. If we are working with Jesus, our first responsibility is to ask Him to remove our own guilt (which is only possible because He has paid the penalty for our sin - see www.crosscheck.org.uk to know more). After that, as we have no power to change people, our witness is to pray and encourage our friends and colleagues to go to Him also.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You that I have not been called to prove my perfection or to criticise the behaviour of others. I know that my only righteousness comes by trusting You to forgive and save me, and that I am still a 'work-in-progress' under Your hand. Forgive me when I assume the right to make up rules for others, which neither they nor I can keep perfectly. Help me to be a faithful witness to Your saving grace; being open about how much You have done for me, and encouraging others to seek You with all their heart. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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