Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Have you ever asked someone who is colorblind if you match or not? I remember in college there was a roommate that I habitually asked, “Hey, do I match today?” I later realized that he was colorblind. Well, if you are asking a colorblind person for advice on how to dress, you are going to end up in the wrong place every time because the leadership you are following is flawed.
Jesus said more than once, “Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” We find here an ability, leading; we find here an inability, blindness; and we find here a result, the ditch. Jesus is talking to those who are following and those who are leading.
Verse 40 says, “The disciple is not above his master; but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” You find here “disciple,” “master,” and later you find “brother.” We all are disciples, and we all have the responsibility of leading somebody. Also, we all have brothers, people who are working with us. Jesus is saying here that you won’t rise higher than leadership; you won’t rise above the one you are following.
Now if you are the one leading, you ought to look back and realize that people who are looking to you for leadership are not likely to rise above the level with which you are leading. The lesson is to follow Jesus and lead by example.
Verse 41 says, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” It is hard to see clearly the needs of other people if I am not paying attention to the problems in my own life. If I have a 2×4 sticking out of my eye, one of the issues with that, aside from enormous pain, is that I can’t see other people clearly. I might be worried about the speck that is in a brother’s eye, but not see clearly because of a beam that is coming out of my own eye.
The takeaway is that a good leader takes a good look at himself first. Verse 42 says, “Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.”
So, in verse 39 you have the blind; in verse 41 you have the eye; and in verse 42 you have the ability to see clearly. This is about following the right one, Jesus, because the servant is not greater than his Lord, and you are not likely to do better than the one you are following.
A good leader takes a good look at himself first. That is hard to do. I can see people in my environment today, but I don’t see myself. I am the only one I know that has never seen me. I have never seen the back of my head or the way I walk. The best I can do is look in a mirror. The Bible is a mirror, and the Lord wants to give us the kind of leadership we need to follow so that we can lead others well.
The blind do lead. They lead blindly and lead into a ditch. So, even the blind can lead, but they don’t lead well. I need to take a good look at the Lord Jesus and follow Him. I need to see myself for who I am and realize that the people following me are not likely to do better than I am doing. I need to take note of the people in my world. A good leader takes a good look at himself first of all.