Light

 Hello everyone. 

I will continue my exegesis of Luke 11, today looking at verses 33-36. Here is my translation:

33 No one lights a lamp, then places it somewhere hidden, or under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, so that all of those who come in can see its light. 34 Your eye is the light of your body. Whenever your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is evil, the body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore, be careful that your light is not darkened. 36 If, then, your body is full of light, without any darkness at all, then the full light of the lamp shines on you.

Jesus repeats the idea that he had presented in 8:16.  No one hides a light.  A hidden light serves no purpose and helps no one. 

This time, Jesus says (verse 34) that the eye is the light of the body and when it is healthy the whole body is full of light.  We see that the body is full of light, only if the eye is healthy.  If the eye is unhealthy the body become full of darkness. 

Obviously, Jesus is speaking on a spiritual level.  But we have to ask, 'how do we keep our spiritual eyes healthy?" We have to be careful about what we allow into our minds and bodies.  What are we looking at?  If we are bringing in spiritual truth, then our body will remain full of light.  If we are bringing in evil, we go dark.  In verse 35, Jesus says to his hearers “Be careful that your light isn’t darkened.”  

Some questions to think about: What are we allowing into our hearts and minds?  What are we watching?  This becoems something we have to be careful about.   Darrell Bock says, “”But if the eye is not sound, if the judgment is poor, then darkness results and spiritual light is nonexistent….What we are is related to what we take and accept as true.  We are responsible for our spiritual condition by how we respond to our environment.” (Bock, 1101.) 

A spiritually healthy person is full of light.  They walk in the light (see 1 John 1:7) and reflect the light of Jesus with their lives. (see 2 Cor. 3:18) In verse 36, Jesus says, “the full light of the lamp shines on you.”  We want the full light to shine on us. We appreciate light because it helps us to see.  Light removes the darkness and allows us to walk through without bumping into things.  Jesus’ light allows us to walk through a dark world and avoid some of its traps. It is to our advantage to walk in light rather than darkness.

Tom

Darrell Bock, Luke Volume 2: 9:51-24:53, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1996.