Matthew 7:5

Mat 7:5. Διαβλέψεις, thou shalt see beyond) now that the beam has been taken out of the way, and no longer interposes itself between you and your brother’s eye, and that your own is relieved of the incumbrance. He who, having first corrected himself, seeks to correct another, is not a perverse judge.[302]

[302] For what man is there, who does not gladly allow a straw [thorn] to be extracted from his finger, not to say from his eye, by a skilfully applied hand? The principle is the same as in the gnat and the camel, chap, Mat 23:24.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 7:5 . ὑποκριτά : because he acts as no one should but he who has first reformed himself. “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes?” Psa 50:16 . διαβλέψεις , thou will see clearly, vide Mar 8:24-25 , where three compounds of the verb occur, with ανά , διά , and ἐν . Fritzsche takes the future as an imperative and renders: se componere ad aliquid, curare; i.e. , set thyself then to the task of, etc.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hypocrite--"Hypocrite."

first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye--Our Lord uses a most hyperbolical, but not unfamiliar figure, to express the monstrous inconsistency of this conduct. The "hypocrisy" which, not without indignation, He charges it with, consists in the pretense of a zealous and compassionate charity, which cannot possibly be real in one who suffers worse faults to lie uncorrected in himself. He only is fit to be a reprover of others who jealously and severely judges himself. Such persons will not only be slow to undertake the office of censor on their neighbors, but, when constrained in faithfulness to deal with them, will make it evident that they do it with reluctance and not satisfaction, with moderation and not exaggeration, with love and not harshness.

Prostitution of Holy Things (Mat 7:6). The opposite extreme to that of censoriousness is here condemned--want of discrimination of character.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. Thou hypocrite] A hypocrite, who professes to be what he is not, (viz. a true Christian,) is obliged, for the support of the character he has assumed, to imitate all the dispositions and actions of a Christian; consequently he must reprove sin, and endeavour to show an uncommon affection for the glory of God. Our Lord unmasks this vile pretender to saintship, and shows him that his hidden hypocrisy, covered with the garb of external sanctity, is more abominable in the sight of God than the openly professed and practised iniquity of the profligate.

In after times, the Jews made a very bad use of this saying: "I wonder," said Rabbi Zarphon, "whether there be any in this age that will suffer reproof? If one say to another, Cast out the mote out of thine eye, he is immediately ready to answer, Cast out the beam that is in thine own eye." This proverbial mode of speech the Gloss interprets thus: "Cast out? קסים kisim, the mote, that is, the little sin, that is in thy hand: to which he answered, Cast out the great sin that is in thine. So they could not reprove, because all were sinners." See Lightfoot.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) Thou hypocrite.—The man deserves this name, because he acts the part of a teacher and reformer, when he himself needs repentance and reform the most. The hypocrisy is all the greater because it does not know itself to be hypocritical.

Then shalt thou see clearly.—Here the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount rises far above the level of the maxims which, to a certain extent, it resembles. It gives a new motive to the work of self-scrutiny and self-reformation. While we are blind with self-deceit we are but bunglers in the work of dealing with the faults of others. When we have wrestled with and overcome our own besetting sins, then, and not till then, shall we be able, with the insight and tact which the work demands, to help others to overcome theirs.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. out of] Greek ἐκ = “from within,” of the deep-seated root of sin which the Pharisee may discern only when he has cast out the beam from his own eye.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,.... Very rightly does our Lord call such a man an hypocrite, who is very free in remarking and reproving other men's sins, and covering his own; and indeed, one end of his critical observations, rigid censures, and rash judgments is, that he might be thought to be holier than he is. Christ very manifestly points at the Scribes and Pharisees, who were men of such a complexion; and whom he often, without any breach of charity, calls hypocrites. The meaning of this proverbial expression is, that a man should first begin with himself, take notice of his own sins, reprove himself for them, and reform; and then it will be soon enough to observe other men's.

And then shalt thou see clearly, to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye: then will he, and not before, be a proper person to reprove others; all objections and impediments to such a work will then be removed. Our Lord here speaks in the language of the Jewish nation, with whom such like expressions were common, and of long standing (c).

"In the generation that judged the judges, one said to another, , "cast out the mote out of thine eye"; to whom it was replied, , "cast out the beam from thine eye": one said to another, "thy silver is become dross": the other replies, "thy wine is mixed with water".''

Again (d),

"R. Taphon said, I wonder whether there is any in this generation, that will receive reproof; if one should say to him, "cast out the mote out of thine eye", will he say to him, "cast out the beam out of thine eye?" Says R. Eleazer ben Azariah, I wonder whether there is any in this generation, that knows how to reprove.''

From whence it is clear, that these phrases were used in the same sense they are by Christ; and which is still more evident by the gloss upon them: for upon the word "mote", it observes,

"That it is as if it had been said, , "a little sin", which is in thine hand (i.e. which thou hast committed): the other could say to him, cast thou away , "the great sin", which is in thine hand; so that they could not reprove, because they were all sinners.''

Agreeable to these, are some other proverbs used by the Jews, such as

"a vice which is in thyself, do not speak of to thy neighbour,''

(e) or upbraid him with it: and (f) again,

"adorn thyself, and afterwards adorn others.''

Which is produced by a noted commentator (g) of their's, to illustrate the text in Zep 2:1 on which he also makes this remark;

"inquire first into your own blemishes, and then inquire into the blemishes of others.''

The sense of each of them is, that a man should first reform himself, and then others; and that he that finds faults with others, ought to be without blame himself.

(c) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 2. (d) T. Bab. Erachin, fol. 16. 2. (e) T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 59. 2. (f) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 19. 1. (g) R. David Kimchi in Zeph. ii. 1. Vid. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 142. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Ver. 5. Thou hypocrite] This is a dull generation, and must be rebuked sharply or cuttingly, that they may be sound in the faith. {a} And ministers, by our Saviour’s example here, must learn so to instruct as to sharpen and set an edge upon the word, so as it may gore the crusty consciences of their hearers with smarting pain, that they may hear and fear, and God may heal them, Mat 13:15. Christ turns himself here to such, and bitterly inveighs against them, as elsewhere likewise he doth, {Mat 17:17; Mat 3:7; Mat 22:18; Luk 13:15} but especially Mat 23:1-39, of this Gospel, dragging them down to hell by a chain of eight woes, as so many links, and closing up all with that terrible thunderbolt, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnasion of hell?" Mat 23:33; and all to show us how such kind of persons should be handled. As for those that are so proud and passionate that none dare declare their way to their face, God will lay them in the slimy valleys, where are many already like them, and more shall come after them; where hence also they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath, Job 21:30-33, and, will they nill they, hear Ite, maledicti, Go, ye cursed, &c.

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam, &c.] St James telleth us that the wisdom from above is first pure and then peaceable, without judging, without hypocrisy. And these two last are set together to teach us that the greatest censurers are commonly the greatest hypocrites, {b} and as any one is more wise he is more sparing of his censures. Hence also St Peter, after he had said, "Lay aside all malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy," addeth, "and evil speakings;" to note, that censuring and all other evils of the tongue are gendered of any of the afore mentioned. For wicked men are apt to muse as they use; as the envious devil accused God to our first parents of envy; the covetous person thinks all the world to be made of covetousness. Caligula did not believe there was any chaste person upon earth. And Bonner said to Mr Hanks, the martyr, I dare say that Cranmer would recant if he might have his living again: so measuring him by himself. Those that have a blemish in their eye think the sky to be ever cloudy; and such as are troubled with the jaundice see all things yellow. So do those that are overgrown with malice and hypocrisy, think all like themselves. Contrarily, Mary Magdalene thought the gardener should have had as much good will to Christ as she had. Little did Jacob suspect that Rachel had stolen her father’s idols; or the disciples that Judas had harboured such a traitor in his heart, as treason against his Master. They rather suspected every man himself than Judas. And when our Saviour bade him, "What thou doest, do quickly," they thought he had meant of making provision, or giving something to the poor, Joh 13:26. Also when the woman poured the precious ointment upon our Saviour, and Judas censured the fact as a waste, though he did it because he was a thief, and cared not a pin for the poor, yet all the disciples approved of what he said, and are therefore made authors of his speech by one of the evangelists; so little did they perceive his craft or his covetousness, Mat 26:8. True goodness is not suspicious, censorious, quarrellous. It is for an Esau to complain of his father’s store, -Hast thou but one blessing? of his brother’s subtlety, -Was he not rightly called Jacob? The godly man casts the first stone at himself, and with Jacob cries out, I am not worthy, Lord, the least of thy lovingkindnesses. "Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me," &c., {2Sa 24:17} said David, when he was come to himself; who before this, when he had defiled his conscience with the stain and sting of sin, both censured the fact of the cruel rich man (complained about by Nathan) with too much severity, even above the law; and shortly after tortured the miserable Ammonites without all mercy, putting them under saws, harrows, and axes of iron, and making them pass through the brickkiln, &c. This he did before his conscience was awakened out of that dead lethargy (whereinto Satan had cast him) by the trumpet of the law; before he was convinced of sin by the sanctifying Spirit, and purged thereby from those pollutions he had remorselessly wallowed in. But if God will but once more make him hear of joy and gladness, that his broken bones may rejoice; if he will but restore unto him the joy of his salvation, and establish him with his free spirit, then, instead of censuring, and setting against others, he will teach transgressors God’s ways, and sinners shall be converted unto him, Psa 51:8; Psa 51:12-13. He will no longer insult, but in meekness instruct those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them (as he had done him) repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may awake out of the snare of the devil, who (as the Ammonites were by David) are taken captive by him at his pleasure, 2Ti 2:26; "Put them in mind," saith Paul, "to speak evil of no man." And why? "For we ourselves also" (even I, Paul, and thou, Titus) "were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived," &c., Tit 3:2-3, and have yet still a world of work within doors about the discovering and opposing, the mortifying and mourning over, our own unruly lusts and unchristian practices. A sincere heart is ever most censorious and severe against itself. But it is set here by our Saviour as a visible brand upon the face of the hypocrite, that as he is ever tampering and meddling with other men’s motes, so he never hath either leisure or pleasure to look into his own rotten heart and rebellions courses. Galileo used a telescope to discover mountains in the moon; so do these to find faults in those that are far better than themselves; they can pierce beyond the moon and spy the least mote in the sun, the smallest infirmity in the most glorious saint; yea, some errors and exorbitancies that never had any existence but in their imagination, detesting those sins in others that they flatter in themselves. Utimur perspicillis magis quam speculis, saith Seneca. Men are more apt to use spectacles than lookingglasses; spectacles to behold other men’s faults than lookingglasses to behold their own. But those that would approve themselves no hypocrites must do otherwise.

And then shalt thou see clearly, &c.] There is in every godly man a holy bashfulness, an ingenuous modesty, that he would be foully ashamed to charge others with those crimes which he should allow in himself. Not so every profligate professor, frontless Pharisee, censorious hypocrite. These think, most likely, to bind up their own bleeding souls with a palliate cure, as they call it, by goring very bloodily into other men’s consciences, whereas they never yet purged their own. Thus dealt the priests and elders with our Saviour, the false apostles with Paul, Porphyry (and others of the same brand) with the primitive Christians, and the Papists with the Waldenses; whose freedom of speech in blaming and reproving the dissolute manners and actions of the clergy ( Effecit ut plures nefariae affingerentur iis opiniones a quibus omnino fuerant alieni, said Girardus) was the cause that they were reported to be Manichees, Catharists, what not? {c} And yet a certain Dominican was forced to confess that they were good in their lives, true in their speeches, full of brotherly love one towards another, but their faith, saith he, is incorrigible, and as bad as may be. {d} And why but because they maintained that the pope was Antichrist, that the court of Rome was intolerably corrupted, the clergy debauched, &c. Novum crimen Caie Caesar, &c. Fresh blood, Gaius Caesar. St Paul was become the Galatians’ enemy, because he told them the truth, and so were these, the pontificians. There was found a certain postiller, that meeting with this precious passage in St Augustine, "The whole life of unbelievers is sin; neither is there anything good without the chiefest good;" Crudelis est illa sententia, said he: this is a cruel sentence. {e} This was a sinful censure, say I, passed by a man that was never truly humbled with the sight and sense of his own wicked and wretched estate by nature and practice; a stranger to himself, and therefore so uncharitable to another. It is not evil to marry, saith one, but good to be wary. So, it is not amiss to reprove an offender, but let a man take heed he hear not, -"Physician, heal thyself. Hypocrite, first pull the beam out of thine own eye." {f} The apostle, after he had given rules for reproving, Eph 5:11-13, subjoins, Eph 5:15; "See that ye walk circumspectly," or exactly, that none may justly blame or blemish you with any foul fault. Infirmities are found in the best, and will be, till they come to be "the spirits of just men made perfect," Heb 12:23. And this is a means to make them warn the unruly with more feeling experience and compassion, Heb 2:17. But say they be guilty of gross sins (as these Pharisees), though they should begin at home, and first cast out the beam of their own eye, yet if they speak according to God’s word, and the thing be so indeed, hear them hardly, Mat 23:2-3, and mend by them. An angel may speak in an ass, and God by Balaam, Num 22:22-28 Deu 13:14. The words do but pass through him (as when a man speaks through a trunk), they are not polluted by him, because not his.

{a} Hypocritis nihil stupidius. Tit 1:13, αποτομως. Metaph. a chirurgis, quos misericordes esse non oportet. Celsus.

{b} It was said of Antony, he hated a tyrant, not tyranny. It may as truly be said of the hypocrite, he hates sinners, not sins. These he nourisheth, those he censureth. Dike.

{c} Eiusdem furfuris iisdem quibus Manichaei et Cathari commaculati credebantur erroribus. Ussier.

{d} In moribus et vita sunt boni veraces in sermone, in caritate fraterna unanimes: sed fides eorum est incorrigibilis et pessima. Jacob Lielensten.

{e} Omnis vita infldelium peccatum est, et nihil bonum sine aummo bono. Aug. de Vera Innocen. 56.

{f} Nihil turpius est, dixit non nemo, Peripatetico claudo, Curare debet omni vitio quantum fieri potest, qui in alterum paratus est dicere.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hypocrite, first cast out ... - Christ directs us to the proper way of forming an opinion of ethers, and of reproving and correcting them. By first amending our own faults, or casting the beam out of our eye, we can “consistently” advance to correct the faults of others. There will then be no hypocrisy in our conduct. We shall also “see clearly” to do it. The beam, the thing that obscured our sight, will be removed, and we shall more clearly discern the “small” object that obscures the sight of our brother. The sentiment is, that the readiest way to judge of the imperfections of others is to be free from greater ones ourselves. This qualifies us for judging, makes us candid and consistent, and enables us to see things as they are, and to make proper allowances for frailty and imperfection.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou hypocrites, cast out first the beam, &c. Correct first thy own greater faults, before thou censure the lesser failings of others. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Parallel passage: Luk_6:42. Thou hypocrite. (Mat_6:2, note) The thought here is of the personation of a part (a man free from impediment in his vision)which does not belong to you. First cast out the beam out of thine own eye, In ver. 3 the order of the words lays the emphasis on "thine;" here, on the eye. It is in thine eye, of all places, that the beam now is. And then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother"s eye . Surely a promise as well as a statement. See clearly (diableqeiv, dia discriminatingly); as in the right text of Mar_8:25, itself after the recovery of full power of sight. See clearly. Not the mote (ver. 3), but to cast out the mote. The verse seems to imply that if the spirit of censoriousness be absent, it will be possible for us to remove "motes" from the eyes of our brothers. Thus the passage as a whole does not say that we never ought to try to remove such "motes," but that this is monstrous and almost impossible so long as we ourselves have a fault of so much magnitude as censoriousness.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou hypocrite - It is mere hypocrisy to pretend zeal for the amendment of others while we have none for our own. Then - When that which obstructed thy sight is removed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

5. ὑποκριτά] ὑποκριτὴν τὸν τοιοῦτον ὠνόμασεν ὡς ἰατροῦ μὲν τάξιν ἁρπάζοντα, νοσοῦντος δὲ τόπον ἐπέχοντα· ἢ ὡς προφάσει μὲν διορθώσεως τὸ ἀλλότριον σφάλμα πολυπραγμονοῦντα, σκοπῷ δὲ κατακρίσεως τοῦτο ποιοῦντα. Euthym.

διαβλ., as in E. V., thou shalt see clearly, with purified eye. The close is remarkable. Before, βλέπειν τὸ κάρφος was all—to stare at thy brother’s faults, and as people do who stand and gaze at an object, attract others to gaze also:—but now, the object is a very different one—ἐκβαλεῖν τὸ κάρφος—to help thy brother to be rid of his fault, by doing him the best and most difficult office of Christian friendship. The βλέπειν was vain and idle; the διαβλέπειν is for a blessed end, viz. (ch. 18:15) κερδῆσαι τὸν ἀδελφόν σου.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.] Lk. has: “Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine eye; and then shalt thou see clearly the mote which is in thy brother’s eye to cast out”; cf. Grenfell and Hunt, Sayings of Our Lord, 11. 1-4.

(c)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See clearly [διαβλεψεις] . The preposition dia, through, giving the sense of thoroughness. Compare the simple verb blepeiv (beholdest), ver. 3. With the beam in thine eye thou starest at thy brother 's little failing. Pull out the beam; then thou shalt see clearly, not only the fault itself, but how to help thy brother get rid of it.

To cast out [εκβαλειν] . The Lord 's words assume that the object of scrutiny is not only nor mainly detection, but correction. Hence thou shalt see clearly, not the mote, but to cast out the mote.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.