Looking for the Wrong Light
Read: Luke 11:27-36
27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” 29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
We have a family story: on the first camping trip that my wife Hayden and I took as a couple, we borrowed a historic gas lantern from her Dad. I can usually figure things out, but as the sky dimmed and shadows grew at our campsite, I could not get the thing to light. So there we were in the dark with our one-year old baby and barely any light. I wanted a lamp where I could merely pour in the fuel and light the wick…but I didn’t have that kind of lamp!
Jesus talked about lamps a lot, and often he started with “nobody lights a lamp just to hide it.” But he teaches different lessons using this same lamp example.
In Matthew 5, Jesus is saying that we are to be lights — visible for the world to see. As God strengthens us to do good, the world sees that good and says good things about God. So the light is us, and it’s shining outward to others.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
But that’s not the lamp he is referring to in Luke 11:33-36. “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light” (Luke 11:34). So here, the light is coming from outside of you and shining through your eye.
In Jesus’s word picture in Matthew, he is making you a light to show God’s goodness to the world. But in the word picture in Luke, the light is really Jesus’s own teaching and words, and we need to receive that teaching.
So your “eye” is the way you see and understand what’s going on, and Jesus is talking to people who were looking at him but with unhealthy eyes. Jesus is the true light that has come into the world (John 3:19), and the question you must ask is whether the eye of your mind and heart is healthy and clear enough to accept the light. “When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.”
What does it mean to be “full of darkness”? The amazing truth about God is made visible in the Messiah, Jesus, and in hearing and learning about him through his Word and the teaching of his Holy Spirit: this is the light of truth shining on our minds and emotions. When we look and judge Jesus because he’s not the kind of light we want, we leave ourselves in darkness.
The people around Jesus in his day heard what he was saying, but they wanted to see more supernatural actions (healings, creation of food, visions of heaven). And he warned them: be careful to listen to what I’m actually saying! We also tend to look to Jesus, trying to find something we want instead of what he actually says.
- If Jesus shines this light: he is the true valuable one of the world, but I want to see this light: I have all it takes, then I’m blocking his light. I’ll be all dark inside.
- The light of Jesus shows that my wrongdoing and failures are so horrible that they require his self-giving death to make things right. But if I want to hear from him some life-hacks and pro-tips to live a fuller life, then I’m blocking his light. My “eye” is filtering out the truth because I’m blocking what he’s really saying.
- Jesus said that we all have to trust his work in order to be pardoned and freed from a death sentence. But if I’d rather see that everyone is in Christ without trusting him, then I’m blocking his truth, and I could be missing the truth.
Jesus sets the standard, and what he teaches is the true light. We too can find ourselves stumbling in spiritual darkness when our eyes are not healthy and open to Jesus’s light. We might want a different light than the one he actually shines which leaves us in darkness.
So how do we constantly check the condition of our spiritual eyes, ensuring they are clear and focused on Jesus? We must embrace His teaching and ask for His help to understand and apply it. In doing so, we allow His light to penetrate our hearts and minds.
One smart way to do this is to look in his Word every day for what he wants to say to you and how he wants you to live. He loves to spend time with you, and through his Word he will speak to you. To replace “light” with “treasure,” go on a treasure hunt every day to learn more about God, what he’s like, and what he’s really saying. Bring him your hard questions and search the Bible for how he answers.
While camping, Hayden and I struggled in the darkness without a properly lit lantern. I wanted a different lamp than the one I had. I wasn’t ready to receive its light. Ask God to reveal to you how you might be wishing for a different light than the one He is truly providing.
