The Fourth Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 6:36-42 “The Speck, the Log, and the Cross”
July 13, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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O Lord God, heavenly Father: You are merciful, and through Christ promised us that You will neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray that by Your Holy Spirit You would establish in our hearts a confident faith in Your mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all, and, judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in Your fear; through Your dear Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 159)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 6th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who pours out on us generously His gracious gifts, gifts that change the hearts of those we love, dear fellow redeemed:
As we watch all these natural disasters take place before our eyes, we keep in our prayers all of those who are in their path. Once the storms have ceased, the process of moving on begins. There is a process of finding comfort in loved ones who are still here. The process of mourning for those who were taken away. Lastly, the process of cleaning up. I remember one Fourth of July weekend where my family worked to pick up fallen trees from straight line winds and tornadoes. The trees we gathered ranged from huge logs to little sticks. While these storms need the debris cleaned up, we hear in our text, this is the same debris that we need to clean up in our lives. Whether it is a speck, or a log, they all disappear from the wood of the Cross.
Just like that physical mess, this spiritual one is a hard one to sort through. [Jesus said:] “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; 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.” Diving into our text, there are many wrong ways to look at it. We can just start off with the Words, “judge not.” Before we hear all the ways we mess up with using them, first let’s hear why Jesus used them. We know that we “can’t” judge because Jesus is the One who “will” judge, yet Jesus and Scripture have taught there are instances where we hold judgment. Before our text the people hear themselves in the beatitudes, then they hear how they are to show love to those who hate them, or who they may hate in return.
With such a divide between the religious leaders and the people, Jesus is pointing out what the Father is like. For the people, the two sides will look at the Old Testament and find the same conclusion. The religious leaders believe they have shown mercy. Sure, their laws may be hard for some to follow, but there isn’t near the great consequences like what God did to His people in the Old Testament. For the people, they search for the mercy of God, but it looks as though it isn’t for them. As they all struggle with God’s judgment, let’s not forget how they are currently struggling with the secular rule and judgment they face. Struggles that St. Paul clarifies God has established for their good. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1-2).
As many will hurl out the phrase, “you can’t judge me,” we have already heard this is not what this text is saying. Jesus before His death as He told the people they were to follow the laws of Ceasar, He also instructed there will be judgment in His church. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17). So, if the government can judge, and Jesus says, the church has the power to lay a judgment, what is our text talking about today?
Jesus is instructing us how to clean up our eyes. If we do, we will see blessings. However, the blessings become the focal point because as we say, “you can’t judge me,” we already have done an immense amount of judging. It is second-hand for us to compare mistakes that we have made in our lives against the mistakes of others. It is also second hand for us to talk to others about them instead of doing what Jesus instructed us. He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?” Too often, we can keep our sins hidden only to make it look like we are helping someone else out of theirs. The judgment Jesus does not want us to do is the judgment given to Him. When it comes to our judgment, Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7b) and when it comes to forgiveness, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Man can never judge the heart and is far off from God’s true mercy.
The people in Jesus’ day were waiting for the fulfillment of God’s eternal mercy. While the law pointed out their sins, there were times that it was hard for them to see the law was there for their good. God’s voice was heard by Moses that they possessed this mercy. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). God had chosen His people, that He would keep the eternal promise of their redemption. Of course, this does not mean they were able to live their lives any way they wanted. Life is not a free-for-all. God gives us His guidance, so we can see His mercy. This is a mercy that isn’t deserved. A mercy God didn’t have to show Adam when he corrupted creation. Since the day of the fall, God has been merciful, and in His mercy and holy judgment, He sent the good measure of His forgiveness in His One and only Son.
As the people struggled with specks and logs, these specks and logs needed to be cleared away with forgiveness that comes from the wooden cross. The people would see Jesus miraculously cleanse those who could not see. Now in His teaching, He knows the Father’s will is to miraculously cleanse the people’s spiritual sight. Jesus teaches the people that He will do the true judging because He can read their hearts. He knows for some, they must see the log in their eye. If they don’t the log will continue to blind them. For those who have the speck, and the speck weighs as much as the log, Jesus reveals the judgment that is deserved is placed on Him as He bears it on the cross of wood. Instead of the Father’s judgment, they find the Father’s mercy. Mercy brought to them through the Son who says to them the speck in their eye is taken away, it is forgiven.
With this forgiveness, the people would be able to live out what Jesus had taught before this in the beatitudes. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This will always look easy to do. Even when we believe that we are merciful, our thoughts drift toward our actions. This is our very nature. For us to be truly merciful, our mercy must come from the perfect mercy that is shown to us. With Jesus’ perfect mercy, the mercy of Him giving up His perfect life to count as ours, our mercy then is true mercy that is given to others. It is a mercy that sees through our sinful pride, our log, and reveals to us that we don’t deserve it. What a gift, to see the mercy that we don’t deserve in our hands and then to give it to someone else. This same message then applies to judgment. Instead of receiving the just judgment we deserve, we are declared not guilty through the cross and with joy we bring that same judgment to our neighbors. Instead of judgment, the guilty soul hears, “you are forgiven.”
When you continue to fail, it will seem like God’s forgiveness is so far away and His judgment is the only thing you will ever see. To clean up this great mess, a great sacrifice was needed to take man’s judgement away. The speck and the log not only can create great controversy in our lives, but they can do harm as they can make a person spiritually blind forever. Jesus is the One who sees clearly. He saw the will of the Father and He didn’t follow His will to be better than you. In fact, His great love for you was for Him to make Himself the lowest of the low, taking on God’s wrath and judgment. Through His clear eyes, instead of seeing our just judgment of eternal death, He comes with mercy that is running over as He gives up His life on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Mercy, judgment, condemnation, and forgiveness are given and not given to you because of the One who does them all perfectly. This is what you offer to others. You give mercy, don’t judge, don’t condemn, and give forgiveness because your Savior has perfectly done it all for you.
The devil will try to pry all this away from you because His goal is for you to be selfish and only worry about yourself. There will be times when it will be enticing. The world doesn’t show mercy, judge, condemn, doesn’t forgive, and it looks like everything is going well for them. You look at the One who can get rid of the log and restore your sight. Then you can do as He says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). We judge not because we have earned the right, but because this judgment is the perfect judgment of Christ who wants to see all gathered in His mercy. Through the Holy Spirit, those you love see the speck in their eye and with the love of the Gospel, the speck is joyfully removed. With the log and the speck gone, there we are brothers and sisters united around the wood that stands firm. The wooden cross of forgiveness. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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