Sermon for The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 28, 2026.
Jesus asked, “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39). The answers are no and yes. No, a blind man cannot lead a blind man. And yes, if attempted, they’d both fall into a pit.
Jesus goes on to say, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher,” (Luke 6:40). A disciple is a follower. The one being led. The student. Before he is taught, he is like a blind man. The teacher is the one leading him—the one who can see where the student is going. Jesus is our teacher. And He is not blind. He alone is the one man who can see clearly. He can see where we’re going. He’s leading us with full sight of the pit, guiding us away from its edge, away from the dark danger of death inside it.
And as He’s leading us, along the way, as we follow Christ, we’re trained to be like Him. That is, we learn how to see. We’re trained to see the truth, and not even for our own sake, but for the sake of our neighbors. For our blind brothers. To serve them. To be the means by which Jesus leads them to His Father, just as He has used others to lead us. God delights in letting us participate in the training of our brothers. In helping them see.
And this, dear saints, is what our Luke text is about. It’s about being trained by Christ. Following Him. Learning to see as He sees. And therefore, being able to train others.
But as I’m sure you’ve experienced, many people want to use Jesus’ words in this pericope to tell Christians that we can’t help blind men see. That we’re not supposed to show them the dangerous pit they’re walking toward. We’re often told what the first half of the text says, without the context of the second half.
We do this ourselves when others try to help us see the error of our ways. “Judge not, and you will not be judged,” (Luke 6:37). It’s the favorite verse of the man who wants to continue in his sin. “Jesus says don’t judge!” We’re told. So effective has this defense been at influencing our culture that we often hear people having conversations, and as they comment on this or that, they’ll qualify their words by saying, “no judgment.”
But Jesus does not say that. He doesn’t leave it at that. It’s dishonest to pluck this teaching out of its context. It changes Christ’s meaning. It distorts and perverts His message. And if that isn’t bad enough, taking these words of Christ out of context makes them contradict the rest of Holy Scripture. The rest of God’s revealed Word. What does Proverbs 31:9 say? “Open your mouth, judge righteously…” Or how about 1 Thessalonians 5:14, “ And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle…” That requires judgment.
When we consider Jesus’ words, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned,” we can cross-reference them with what Christ’s apostle Paul says. “Bless and do not curse.” To curse is to damn, to condemn. And then he says, “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” (Romans 12:14-15) To be wise in your own sight is to be blind. We need to follow Christ to learn to see. To gain the wisdom of His sight. And so, after saying, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned,” Jesus continues, “forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)
And so, we see the meaning of Jesus’ words is actually focused on how to help our blind neighbor, how to be of service in leading him away from the pit. How to judge righteously. It’s not to keep your eyes and mouth shut and never show someone that he is sinning. That would be to sit by and let your blind, unrepentant neighbor fall into the deadly darkness of the devil’s dank ditch. To see your brother sinning and to say nothing is unloving.
Jesus says to take out the log that is in your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye (Luke 6:42). Remove the sinful obstacle to be able to judge righteously for the good of your neighbor. It’s not about keeping your mouth shut and never rebuking a sinful brother. That’s what the unrepentant sinner wants Jesus to say, but if that was what He was saying, His Holy Spirit would have lied to us when He inspired St. Paul to write, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16.
Jesus is telling us how to follow Him—how we are to see. We’re to take the log out of our eye, recognizing that we’ve been forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, that we owe everything to our Savior’s humiliation. He humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross for you. Your blinding log is no longer in your eye. You can clearly see that you are a sinner. You are not haughty. The log of sin that was once in your eye has been erected atop Mount Calvary. The Son of God is hanging from it. Dead for you.
You know, as a forgiven sinner, that you’re not in a position to condemn your brother, but as one who was once far worse off than him, a far worse sinner who has been forgiven by the grace of God shown to you on Christ’s cross, distributed to you through Baptism, the preached Word, and the Holy Eucharist, you can now offer him the same teaching you received. As a forgiven sinner, you don’t go to your brother as a hypocrite, arrogant, and condescending, but humble and with the light of Christ that enables your blind brother to see. You go as the man with experience.
“Oh, you have a speck in your eye? Brother, I got you. No problem. I used to have a log in mine.”
We are to judge righteously. As one who has received the Gospel, you’re in the position of sharing that Gospel with others. Calling them to repentance by speaking the truth of the Scriptures to them, letting them know the judgment of God, rebuking their sins, reproving their transgressions, and instructing them in the ways of the Lord, all in service to the Gospel that forgives sins. Yours. Mine. Theirs.
Christian, you’re no longer a blind man. You don’t see perfectly, Paul tells us that, but you can see clearly enough to be helpful to others. Once you were blind, but now you do see. Once you couldn’t lead anyone away from the pit, but now, Christ, who has led you away from the pit by the service of others, has enabled you to see so that you may help others avoid the pit. You can share the forgiveness of Christ with your neighbor because you have been forgiven by Christ.
The log of sin is no longer in your eye. It has been forgiven. The Holy Spirit has rinsed it away in the waters of Holy Baptism, using Jesus’ blood to give you Christian clarity.
You have been judged according to the righteousness of Christ. May you live in Christ’s forgiveness and may you show that forgiveness to others, judging them as Jesus teaches, with humility and grace. By so doing, “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you,” (Luke 6:38).
Amen!
Rev. Tyrel Bramwell 
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