In three previous blogs (see HERE- Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3), I pointed out that the Lord uses the illustration of lighting a lamp and placing it on a lampstand. Nobody would light a lamp and hide it under a bed. I argued that we miss a little of the illustration’s meaning because we didn’t live in the first century. We probably think that it would, of course, be illogical to hide a lamp under a bed. But the Lord means more: Placing a lamp on a lampstand would direct the people in the house toward the light. When they are surrounded by darkness, the lamp allows people to see.
The Lord employs this illustration frequently in His ministry. He uses it in different contexts. But the point He makes about the light is the same. People in darkness can see the light, and it can reveal what they would not otherwise see. In this blog, I will discuss one more instance in which the Lord uses this illustration.
In Matt 5:14-16, the lamp is the life of the obedient disciple. In Mark 4:21-23, the Lord uses the same illustration, but the lamp is His teaching. If the disciples come to Him, He will teach them what they need to know.
In Luke 11:33-36, the Lord uses the same imagery, but again, in a different context. This time, He is talking to the nation of Israel. The leaders have concluded that He performs miracles through the power of Satan (11:15). Many in the crowd want Him to perform a miracle from the sky to show who He is (11:16).
But the Lord had already done many things to show He was the Christ. He had taught them what they needed to know. He told them that He would not give them any sign other than the sign of Jonah (11:29). The nation was headed for judgment because they were unwilling to look at the evidence before their eyes.
Was Jesus keeping them in the dark? Was He hiding the truth from them by not performing a miracle from the sky? That would be like lighting a lamp and placing it under a basket (11:33). No doubt, some in the crowd were saying that. But the Lord did not do that.
He had clearly shown that He was the Christ. His teachings showed it. His miracles showed it. The nation was in spiritual darkness. When He walked among them—teaching them, making the blind to see, casting out demons—He was like a lamp lit in a dark place (Matt 4:15-16).
If they had had a good eye—a sincere eye—that was willing to look at the light, they would have seen the light (Luke 11:34). They were not sincere in wanting another sign, this time from heaven. Imagine being in a dark room in the first century, unable to see what was happening around you. Somebody comes and lights a lamp. He doesn’t put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. The people in the room could then see what was around them.
How illogical would it be to not look at the lamp and take advantage of that light? That is what the nation of Israel and its leaders were doing.
This four-part study shows that the Lord could use the same phrase in different circumstances regarding different groups. Lighting a lamp and placing it on a lampstand meant that the people in question should look at the light! If they didn’t, they would remain in darkness. That was true whether the light was the life of an obedient believer before the eyes of the world (Matthew 5), the teachings of the Lord before the eyes of the disciple (Mark 4), or the ministry of the Lord before the eyes of the nation of Israel (Luke 11).
