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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?”
— Matthew 7:3 (NIV)
The theme of this song and this scripture is simple, but very searching: God deals with us before He deals through us. Before we are qualified to help our brother with his problem, God requires that we face our own problem. Before we become instruments of correction, we must first submit to correction.
This is part of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: the inner life is more important than outward behavior; the heart condition is more important than religious performance; and our own repentance is the foundation for any ministry to others.
The repeated line in the lyrics captures Jesus’ order very accurately:
> “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.”
There is a divine order: first – then.
First purity, then clarity.
First repentance, then restoration.
First dealing with my own sin, then helping my brother with his.
Let us look at what the Word of God says about this principle.
---
Matthew 7:3 is part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), delivered by Jesus to His disciples and the crowds in Galilee. Jesus is not speaking to pagan unbelievers; He is speaking to those who are drawn to Him, to those who want to follow Him. In other words, this is addressed to professing believers.
Just a few verses earlier Jesus said:
> “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
> For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,
> and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
> — Matthew 7:1–2
Then He continues with the image of the speck and the plank. So the setting is a discourse on judgment, criticism, and the measure we apply to others. Jesus is warning about a very common religious sin: the sin of judging others from a place of blindness and self-righteousness.
In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders, especially the Pharisees, often focused on the faults of others while refusing to face their own. Jesus said of them:
> “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders,
> but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
> — Matthew 23:4
And again:
> “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
> You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
> — Matthew 23:25
The issue is not that we should never discern or correct. The issue is hypocritical judgment. The word in Matthew 7:5 is very strong:
> “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye…”
Jesus is speaking to His followers, warning them:
Do not become like the Pharisees. Do not pretend to be spiritual surgeons while you are spiritually blind. Do not offer to remove a speck from someone else’s eye while you have a beam lodged in your own.
The song paraphrases and repeats this warning, making it personal and practical:
> “First deal with your own sin—
> then you can help your brother rightly.”
The Lord is not forbidding us to help our brother. He is qualifying us: He requires that personal repentance comes before public correction.
---
Let us look at two key words in this passage: “speck” and “plank.”
### 1. “Speck” — Greek: kárphos (κάρφος)
The word translated “speck” is *kárphos*. It means:
It is not nothing. A speck in the eye can be painful and can hinder sight. So Jesus is not saying, “Your brother has no problem.” He is saying: your brother’s problem is real, but it is small compared to yours.
### 2. “Plank” — Greek: dokós (δοκός)
The word translated “plank” or “beam” is *dokós*:
Where the brother has a small splinter, the critic has a great beam. The contrast is deliberate and almost humorous, but it is deadly serious. Jesus is saying: you are focusing on a minor defect in your brother while ignoring a major obstruction in yourself.
### The Significance for Our Understanding
The deeper sense is this:
The eye in Scripture often represents perception, discernment, and spiritual sight.
So we can paraphrase Jesus’ teaching:
“How can you presume to fix someone else’s small problem when your own vision is deformed and blocked by a major issue you refuse to face?”
The lyrics echo precisely this order and this proportion:
> “First take the plank out of your own eye,
> and then you will see clearly
> to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
The problem is not discernment in itself, but unclean discernment — discernment flowing from an unrepentant heart.
God’s remedy is: Repent first. See clearly. Then help gently.
---
### A. “Why do you look at the speck… and pay no attention to the plank…?”
> “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?”
There is a contrast between look at and pay no attention to.
This is one of the great distortions of the fallen heart. The flesh is quick to accuse others and slow to accuse itself. The accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10) loves to work through this tendency.
Paul addresses this in Romans 2:1:
> “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.”
The same principle appears in 2 Samuel 12, when Nathan confronts David. Nathan tells him a story about a rich man stealing a poor man’s lamb. David is outraged and pronounces judgment. Nathan then says: “You are the man!”
David saw the speck in the story but not the plank in his own heart.
Theologically, this shows:
1. The deceitfulness of sin – Sin blinds us to our own condition (Hebrews 3:13).
2. The danger of self-righteousness – We act as if we are judges, not subjects of judgment.
3. The subtle work of pride – Pride justifies self and exposes others.
### B. “First take the plank… then you will see clearly…”
> “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.”
Here is the divine order: First – then.
Many believers want clarity without repentance. They want to minister to others without allowing God to minister to them. They want to be instruments of correction without being subjects of correction.
But Jesus says:
Vision comes through removal, not through information.
Clarity comes through repentance, not mere study.
This parallels John 7:17:
> “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God…”
Understanding follows obedience. Light follows surrender.
Likewise here, clear sight follows repentance.
Notice also: Jesus does not say, “Forget about your brother’s speck.”
Instead, He says you will “see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
So there are two stages:
1. Personal cleansing – dealing with the plank.
2. Restorative ministry – gently helping your brother.
This is exactly what Paul teaches in Galatians 6:1:
> “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit
> should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”
Only those who “live by the Spirit” and have watched themselves are qualified to restore gently. Those who have dealt with their own weakness are safest to handle another’s weakness. Brokenness protects us from harshness.
### C. “How can you say to your brother… when all the time there is a plank…?”
> “How can you say to your brother,
> ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’
> when all the time there is a plank
> in your own eye?”
Jesus exposes the contradiction: We offer help we are not fit to give. We pretend to be surgeons, yet we cannot see. This is not just ignorance; Jesus calls it hypocrisy.
> “You hypocrite, first take the plank
> out of your own eye…”
The Greek word for “hypocrite” (hypokrités) originally referred to an actor, one who wears a mask. It came to mean a person who pretends to be something outwardly that he is not inwardly.
So when I present myself as your spiritual helper while refusing to let God deal with my own sin, I am acting. I am wearing a religious mask. I am pretending.
Jesus is very severe toward hypocrisy. In Matthew 23 He pronounces a series of woes on hypocritical leaders. Yet in Matthew 7 He is warning ordinary disciples: You can fall into the same pattern.
The lyrics capture the Lord’s practical demand:
> “First deal with your own sin—
> then you can help your brother rightly.”
This is not a suggestion. It is a divine order.
### D. “Remove the plank first—then help with care.”
This line is very important: “then help with care.”
The Lord does not say, “Once you’ve dealt with your own sin, ignore everybody else. Keep your faith private.” No. The goal is still to help your brother, but under God’s conditions:
1. With clear sight – no plank.
2. With right motive – love, not self-righteousness.
3. With gentleness – careful handling, not harsh criticism.
Hebrews 12:13–15 shows that our walk affects others:
> “Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
> Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy;
> without holiness no one will see the Lord.
> See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
> to cause trouble and defile many.”
If I allow a plank of bitterness or pride to remain, it will defile many others. But if I pursue holiness and allow God to purify my own heart, then my presence becomes healing, not harmful.
James 4:11 adds:
> “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.
> Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it.”
We are not called to tear each other down with judgmental words, but to build each other up in truth and love (Ephesians 4:15–16).
So the theological picture is:
This is spiritual maturity. This is the pathway to being a true helper, not a religious judge.
---
Let us consider how we respond practically. I will give four steps, and with each you can turn it into a proclamation of faith.
### Step 1: Ask the Holy Spirit to Expose the Plank
First, we must invite the Holy Spirit to search us before we examine anyone else.
Psalm 139:23–24 is the pattern:
> “Search me, God, and know my heart;
> test me and know my anxious thoughts.
> See if there is any offensive way in me,
> and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Before you assess your brother’s speck, pray this seriously. Ask the Lord:
Proclamation 1:
“Lord, I choose to stop focusing on others’ faults. I invite You, Holy Spirit, to search me. Expose every plank in my life that blocks my spiritual sight.”
### Step 2: Repent Deeply and Specifically
Second, we must not only recognize the plank, but remove it. Recognition without repentance is useless.
1 John 1:9 gives the condition:
> “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
> and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Confession means to say the same thing as God about our sin. Be specific:
Do not excuse, minimize, or blame. Call sin what God calls it. Bring it to the cross.
Proclamation 2:
“Lord Jesus, I confess my sin of judging others while ignoring my own condition. I repent of pride, criticism, and hypocrisy. I lay this plank at the foot of Your cross and receive Your forgiveness and cleansing.”
### Step 3: Submit Your Sight and Speech to the Lord
Third, after the plank is removed, we must bring our eyes and our tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit. Our vision and our words are powerful instruments either for healing or for harm.
Psalm 19:14 gives us a pattern:
> “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
> be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
James 3 teaches that the tongue is like a rudder, steering the whole life. If our speech about others is critical and harsh, our whole spiritual direction will be affected.
Pray something like:
Proclamation 3:
“Lord, I yield my eyes and my tongue to You. Let my perception be purified by Your Spirit, and let my words be instruments of grace, truth, and restoration, not judgment or destruction.”
### Step 4: Restore Your Brother with Gentleness and Care
Fourth, once we have allowed God to deal with us, we can then approach our brother rightly.
Galatians 6:1 again:
> “You who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.”
Notice:
If you see a speck in your brother’s eye:
Proclamation 4:
“Lord, as You cleanse and correct me, I choose to be an instrument of gentle restoration to others. I will seek my brother’s good, not his humiliation. I will help with care, in the fear of God and in the love of Christ.”
---
### Proclamation (Confessing the Word Aloud)
Speak this out, deliberately and slowly:
“I affirm today that the words of Jesus are truth for my life:
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but do not notice the plank in your own eye?
I refuse to live as a hypocrite.
By the grace of God, I choose first to face my own sin.
I invite the Holy Spirit to search my heart and reveal every plank of pride, judgment, and unforgiveness.
I confess my sins and receive the cleansing of the blood of Jesus.
I declare that my spiritual sight is being restored as I walk in humility and repentance.
Because I deal with my own sin first, I will see clearly.
By the Spirit of God, I will help my brother not with criticism, but with care;
not to condemn, but to restore;
not in my own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Christ.
From this day forward, I renounce a critical spirit and embrace the heart of a gentle restorer.
Jesus is my Judge, my Healer, and my Example,
and I choose to walk in His way.
Amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ, You are the One who spoke these searching words about the speck and the plank. I stand before You and acknowledge: my greatest need is not to fix others, but to be cleansed myself.
I ask You now: send Your Holy Spirit to shine into every area of my heart. Expose every hidden plank—pride, self-righteousness, bitterness, hypocrisy, secret sin. I do not excuse it. I bring it to Your cross. I receive Your forgiveness and Your cleansing through Your precious blood.
Lord, purify my eyes. Remove every obstruction that has distorted my view of my brothers and sisters. Purify my tongue. Let my words be words of life, not death; restoration, not destruction.
Make me a vessel that You can trust—to see clearly and to help gently. Teach me to restore my brother in a spirit of meekness, watching myself, knowing that I, too, am weak and dependent on Your grace.
I renounce every partnership with the accuser of the brethren. I choose to align myself with You, the Advocate, who intercedes for us. Let my life, my vision, and my speech reflect Your heart.
I ask this, Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.”
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