Luke 6:41-42

Jesus returned to the figure of limited perception (Luke 6:39). It would be easy for a disciple to criticize those he was instructing and fail to realize his own faults since he was in the position of a teacher (Luke 6:40). It would be not only dangerous but hypocritical to try to help a learner overcome his deficiencies without dealing with one’s own failings first. If a disciple tried to teach his learner the importance of loving as Jesus taught but did not practice that kind of love himself, he could not remove his learner’s knowledge deficiency. His sin would be greater than his learner’s ignorance.

Thus Jesus stressed the importance of His disciples applying the truths He had taught them before they tried to teach them to other people. Their failure to do so would make them the spiritual equivalent of blind eye surgeons. They would be judging others but not themselves (Luke 6:37; cf. Romans 2:1-3).