In the Gospels, the Lord uses a phrase several times, in various contexts, and with slight variations. The gist is that nobody lights a lamp and then places it in a hidden place or under a bed. Instead, he places it on a lampstand so that everybody can see the light. 

In the United States, I think we view this as simply a logical statement. Who would light a lamp and place it under a bed? It would be dark in the room. Most of us might also think of an electric lamp.  

I recently heard someone talk about lighting a lamp in the first century. These were little clay lamps with oil. The lamp had a wick that would be lit. Of course, there were no electric lamps. There weren’t any light bulbs. 

When we enter a house at night, we take no notice of the lamps or the light bulbs in the ceiling. Light fills the place. 

It wasn’t like that in the first century. Back then, when a person entered a house at night, the owner would light one of these little clay lamps. It would be the only light in the house. The house would not be filled with light. It would only be light around the lamp. It would be placed on a stand so that others could see the light. 

A person entering the house would naturally focus on the lamp. He couldn’t see other areas of the house. 

When I was reminded of this cultural difference, it occurred to me that I was missing something in the Lord’s teachings. He is not just talking about something logical. Naturally, you would put a lamp on a lampstand. But the Lord also meant that the lamp was to be the focus for those around it. The lamp should catch your attention. You would be drawn to it. In our culture, we would focus on an electric lamp only in very rare circumstances. 

Even though we are not familiar with the clay lamps in the Lord’s illustrations, we have all experienced what He is talking about with other kinds of lights. If the electricity in our house goes out at night, we light a candle. Before the candle is lit, we are in darkness. But when we light it, everybody in the room focuses on it. It is the only source of light in the darkness. 

When I was young, I was active in Boy Scouts. There were nights, when we were camping, that the woods were very dark. But almost always, there would be a campfire. You could see the fire through the trees, and we were all drawn to it. We focused on it because we could see activity around it. We couldn’t see anything else. 

In a series of blogs, I would like to look at how the Lord uses the phrase “lighting a lamp and putting it on a lampstand.” He uses it in Matt 5:15-16, Luke 11:3, and Mark 4:21-22. I will maintain that He discusses three different circumstances with three different audiences. These examples show that the Lord can use similar words to teach different theological truths.

But the main point of the illustration remains the same. It was understood in that culture, even if modern audiences miss some of the nuances. A lamp is a source of light. It calls out for attention in the darkness. A wise person lets the light shine and is attracted to it.