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“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? … You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
— Matthew 7:3, 5 (NIV)
The central theme of this song is clear spiritual vision—how God intends to deal with sin, correction, and relationships among His people. The emphasis is not merely on avoiding judgment, but on removing what blinds us, so that we may see clearly to help our brother.
Many misunderstand this passage. Some use it to defend themselves from any correction: “You can’t judge me.” But that is not what Jesus is saying. He is not abolishing discernment; He is establishing the order and condition of true, godly correction:
This is a kingdom principle: God begins with us before He uses us. The Holy Spirit exposes the plank in our eye not to condemn us, but to qualify us—to make us useful instruments in the hands of the Lord.
Let us look carefully at what the Word of God says, for in this passage there is both warning and promise: a warning against hypocrisy, and a promise of clear vision for those who submit to God’s dealing in their own lives.
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These words are part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), where Jesus is laying down the foundational ethics of the kingdom of heaven. He is speaking to disciples (Matthew 5:1–2), not to the crowds only. This is not general religious advice; it is instruction for those who follow Him.
### The Setting
The immediate context is Matthew 7:1–5:
> “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged… Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye… You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye…”
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were experts in other people’s sins and blind to their own. He repeatedly confronted this:
The problem was not that they made moral evaluations, but that they did so from a hypocritical heart—quick to condemn others, slow to repent themselves.
Jesus speaks in deliberate exaggeration: a speck versus a plank. This is striking imagery. Imagine a man with a beam sticking out of his face, offering delicate help to someone with a tiny particle in his eye. That is how heaven views proud, unrepentant critics in the church.
Yet do not miss this: Jesus still intends that the speck be removed. He is not indifferent to the brother’s sin. He is teaching the right order:
1. First: personal repentance, cleansing, and humility.
2. Then: Spirit-led, gentle restoration of others.
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Let us consider two key words in this passage that deepen our understanding: “speck / splinter” and “hypocrite.”
### 1. “Speck / Splinter” – *karphos* (κάρφος)
The word translated “speck” is karphos, which can mean:
It is something real, but comparatively small. It irritates, it disturbs vision, but it is not massive. This is important. Jesus is not denying that your brother has a problem. The speck is not imaginary. It is sin, weakness, or error—but on a smaller scale than the plank.
This shows:
### 2. “Hypocrite” – *hypokritēs* (ὑποκριτής)
The word translated “hypocrite” is hypokritēs, originally used for an actor in the Greek theater—someone who wears a mask and plays a role. Over time, it came to mean:
In spiritual terms, a hypocrite is someone who acts righteous while concealing sin, particularly while condemning the sins of others.
This explains why Jesus is so strong in His language. He is not merely warning against an error of perception; He is exposing a condition of the heart:
When Jesus says, “You hypocrite,” He is unmasking the actor. He demands truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). The path to clear vision is not better technique; it is radical honesty before God.
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Let us now walk through the main themes of the lyrics and connect them with Scripture.
### A. “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?”
Two key verbs: “look” and “pay no attention.”
This reveals a tragic tendency of the fallen heart: projection. We are inclined to:
Paul diagnoses the same condition:
> “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”
> — Romans 2:1
The principle is this: What you judge in others while refusing to repent of it in yourself becomes a witness against you.
This is also a matter of spiritual warfare. One of the devil’s main strategies is to distract believers from their own need of repentance by keeping them preoccupied with the sins and failures of others—spouses, leaders, churches, governments. As long as our eyes are outward and not inward, we remain spiritually ineffective.
### B. “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Remove the plank first—then help with care.”
Notice the order: first… then…
This verse shows us that Jesus actually wants us to help our brother. The final goal is not isolation, but restoration.
The theology here is very practical:
1. God’s dealings with us qualify us to deal with others.
Paul writes:
> “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
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