Luke 11:33-36

Jesus takes a physical attribute and connects it to a spiritual reality. He tells us how the lamp of the body is the eye, and meant to be useful. When you’re in the light, you can see everything. And, when your eye is good, your whole body is full of light.

When you’re little, kids love to have the light on. They love night lights.
Kids love to have the hallway light on. Mom. Dad turn the hallway light on. They love light.
Listen. Don’t ever scold your kid for wanting to leave the light on. That is a light bill worth paying.
It’s when they’re 16, they leave the light on. That’s another story. That’s when you make them pay the bill.
But when your ones are little, when they’re little ones, they want the light on.
I’d go ahead and leave the light on. Let them listen. Let them become accustomed to the light.
Let them delight in the security, the peace and the comfort that the light brings.
I think it’s good that a kid wants the light on.
I think we as adults, we need to have the light on more often as adults.
We need to draw closer to the light.
By the way, little kids think there are evil, scary spooky things in the dark.
I think there are evil spooky, scary things in the dark. Leave the light on.
You can’t leave the light on unless you turn the light on and God would have us this morning.
In our study, Jesus is going to be teaching about turning the light on in our lives and how to keep it on.
Luke chapter 11 verse 33 you can follow along with me.
Jesus said no one when he has a little lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket.
But on a lamp stand that those who come in may see the light.
Verse 34 the lamp of the body is the eye.
Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.
But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
Therefore, take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.
If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, your the whole body will be full of light.
Verse 36 near the end there as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light a lot of talk of light.
Why now what’s he saying in this chapter? Why is this important? What’s vital?
All the verses leading up to verse 33 he answers verses 33 36.
The very reason why those previously have missed his teaching, why they missed his miracles. Why they missed his parables?
For example, Jesus had delivered a man from having a demon that kept the man from speaking.
Jesus did a great miracle. Some people rejoiced, but the leadership of Israel the religious leadership of Israel said, we know how you do that.
You do that by the powers of Satan.
Jesus spoke to them about being a witness and about being an example and they didn’t understand that Jesus spoke to them about being a loving father and, and giving uh bread to your son when he’s hungry rather than a stone.
Or if a child were to ask for an egg, you don’t give him a scorpion.
The whole teaching was obvious, Jesus put forth that parable to jar their attention, that they might see that what God says is obvious when God speaks, it’s obvious he doesn’t speak in some cryptic impossible way that we cannot understand.
Jesus makes it very simple. The Bible makes it very simple. You might be saying this morning.
Well, Pastor I’ve read the Bible a few times. I don’t get it.
You don’t want to know why the light has not yet been turned on.
The Bible is a book that has to be spiritually discerned. A child can understand it.
But as time goes on, there’s the encroaching darkness that covers our soul that can come against us.
Jesus is going to be talking about that this morning, the application this morning is all about you and I being open to God as we look to our study, it’s this that we’re looking at that what Jesus desires to do in his teachings as he has called them to consider in our previous studies that the ministry of Jonah spoke about his coming death and resurrection.
He spoke about the queen from the South that she would come to Solomon to seek out his wisdom and the glory of his kingdom.
What did Jesus say concerning that are greater than Solomon is standing in front of you?
But they didn’t get it. Why? Because they were missing the light point.
Number one to our study this morning found in verse 33 turning on the light is this verse 33 we learned that there’s a great value to light, the value of light.
And I want you to pay close attention.
Number one, concerning this value is that light is meant to be seen. You say pastor, that’s ridiculous.
Everybody knows that light is meant to be seen.
Oh, but wait a minute, Jesus is gonna do something brilliant, but a child can understand it.
The value of light. Certainly, we can talk about the physical aspects of light and we will.
But when we consider this, the light is meant to be seen. Yes.
In the physical realm right now, you, you and I are enjoying the fact that these lights are producing to us and for us, the ability to see and to dwell here with comfort.
There are projectors behind those walls that are throwing forth great power and light that you might see these screens.
Yes. Light is a physical aspect of our world and we love light.
We want lights, the value of light. Yes, it’s all valuable to us.
But listen, Jesus is going to be telling us simply that light in the physical realm suggests and means so much more that it’s meant to be seen.
He says in verse 33 no one when he has little lamp puts it in a secret place or under a basket.
And if you were standing in the crowd and heard Jesus say that you’d say, well, everybody knows that.
What’s his point? No one lights a torch or a candle and then puts it underneath their bed.
No one puts a cup or a basket over it. What do you do?
You sit it in the most prominent place in the house?
That’s if you need the light, that’s if you want the light.
Jesus makes a simple statement that all of them knew about that is when you light a lamp, you put it in a very prominent place, you don’t hide it.
And maybe people in the crowd would have said, OK, we got that. Where are you going with this?
His conclusion is going to be very simple.
By the way in John chapter eight verse 12, Jesus said, or the scripture says that Jesus spoke to them saying I am the light of the world.
He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
Now, that’s spiritual talk, Jesus is saying, if you tie those two concepts together.
No one lights a lamp and hides it.
John chapter eight, Jesus said, I am the light of the world.
If you were to put those two things together, what do you conclude that Jesus?
His message, his ministry, his life is as light. It’s not to be hidden.
The very person of Christ is to be exalted among those who love him and worship him.
We’re to hold forth his name. We’re to put forth his message.
We are to declare the great wonders and works of God.
Light is to be seen and we appreciate that. No one lights a lamp and hides it.
Can I put it this way? No one becomes a Christian and never lives a life for God.
You can’t become a Christian and then take the fact that you belong to Him and hide that it will eventually come out of you.
The spirit of God dwelling in, you will see to it that the glories of Christ come out of you.
This is part of his great work in the life of a believer. The value of light.
Secondly, look at verse 33 light is meant to be useful. Light is meant to be useful.
Jesus is you put it on a lamp stand, you put it in a place that is very usable.
Why? Because it’s the light that you want to use again, this is obvious everybody knew this in the room or everybody knew this when Jesus was speaking.
And what do you do with that lamp stand?
By the way, the word in the Greek for Lambs stand is a great word.
There is the menorah, which is fixed. That’s not the word for this.
The Greek word is not equivalent to the menorah Hebrew.
This is a lamp stand that we would say, uh maybe you’ve seen in an old movie, they would light the candles and they would take the lamp stand and walk down the hallway with it.
That’s exactly the meaning of that word. It is a portable movable lamps stand. It goes everywhere.
It’s taken by the one who’s holding it wherever the lamp stand goes, it’s under the command or demand of the person holding it.
And what does it do? The lamp stand simply holds the candle or the torch that transmit light and that light goes through the room, it goes out.
And where would you put such a thing? Where would you put something that emanates light?
Well, you put it in a dark place, wouldn’t you?
You would put it in a room where you want to be, you would put it in a hallway, you’d put it, maybe going down the stairs, you would carry it.
So you don’t stumble. Nowadays, we don’t use those things. Exactly. But we would use a flashlight.
Think of that, by the way, keep this in mind, the bulb is not the light, the candle is not the light, the light emanates from it.
It’s the light that shines everywhere. There’s great light bulbs in these uh whatever that is.
What are those things fixtures over your head? The light bulb is not what you’re enjoying right now.
It’s the light that’s coming out of it. That’s all important to where we’re going.
All important light is valuable lights to be seen. Light is to be useful.
But there’s something that brings that light in Luke 2 32 the Bible says that Jesus, his life, his ministries to be a light brought to the revelation of the gentiles and to the glory of your people.
Israel and Joseph and Mary, it says in Luke 2 33 that Joseph and Mary marveled at those things which were spoken about Jesus, he’s to be a light to the gentiles, that’s you.
And I if you’re not Jewish, he’s to be a light to us and he’s to be the glory of the people of Israel.
In Matthew chapter four verse 14, the coming of Christ to earth.
The Bible says that it may be fulfilled, which is spoken of by Isaiah, the prophet.
This is what Matthew said, quoting Isaiah, that the land of Zebulon and the land of Neptali by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has dawned.
Now you see that Jesus and the Scriptures of Isaiah speaking about Christ Matthew repeats it is more than the physical aspect of light that the coming of Christ that for those who are in the region of darkness and those who sat in the shadow of death, the light has come, meaning that God’s light brings spiritual illumination that when God brings begins to shine his light on you, you begin to think spiritual thoughts.
Listen. Are you starting to think spiritual thoughts wherever you are in your life?
Is that why you’re here today? Or is that why you’re listening?
You’re thinking spiritual thoughts now, maybe something’s happened to you this week or maybe in the course of your life, you’re starting to think and maybe you’re starting to entertain is God real?
Do I need him? Who is He? What does the Bible say? God is stirring you up?
I know it seems subtle. I know it seems almost natural and common.
It’s not natural and it is not common. God is touching your heart. He’s flirting with you.
If I can put it to you that way, he wants you to start thinking thoughts about Him.
He wants you to come out as the Bible says out of the darkness and into the light.
And by the way, when he does that, he changes everything about us, it’s awesome.
Some things are changed quickly. Some things are changed slowly but a change happens.
You’re listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series. Just go to Jack Hibbs dot com.
That’s Jack Hibbs dot com. And for now let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s pastor Jack.
Also, in verse 33 we learn that light is meant to be discerning light is discerning.
He says in verse 33 that those who come in may see the lights. What does that mean?
The word in the Greek here for this is that when people come in, they can recognize one another.
Isn’t that great when you turn on the light?
Oh, that’s who’s in the room when you turn on the light.
Oh, that’s what you’re wearing when you turn on the light. So it’s great to be with you.
You don’t know anybody unless you come into a room full of lights.
Well, light is discerning spiritually.
When the light of God is in our hearts, we can understand something about fellowship.
We can understand something about what God wants to do. Light is discerning. It exposes things.
Remember this? We forget so often about this.
Remember our first mom and dad, our original mom and dad, our DNA goes all the way back.
Think of our first mom and dad, Adam and Eve. Remember they were created perfect.
And then Eve sent Adam transgressed. Eve sinned, eve sinned.
The Bible says in listening to the serpent, Adam wasn’t there.
The Bible says in Timothy that Adam came along later saw her situation and he transgressed what Adam did was actually worse than Eve.
Eve was deceived. But Adam transgressed our original mom and dad who according to the Hebrew scriptures, Genesis, when they fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden, the Hebrew language suggests that though Adam and Eve were naked, they never knew it because the Hebrew language suggests that they were clothed in lights.
Now, that’s kind of cool. Think about it. What did they look like? I don’t know.
What did it feel like? Don’t know.
But being in the Garden of Eden walking with God, it had to be cool, it had to be awesome.
But the Bible says that when they send, when they aid to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Bible says that in that they sinned and they knew that they were naked.
Can you imagine beaming? Um Adam, you’re naked Eve, you’re looking pretty naked there yourself naked no longer displaying the fellowship of God.
The Bible says that our God is light.
Did you know that three things that the Bible says about the God of the Bible?
The God Jehovah, the God who’s created all that there is that He’s holy. It says God is holy.
God is light and God is love.
That’s all you need, that God loves you, that God invites you to come into the light and that God is holy.
So you and I can never be holy. God makes us holy. It’s God’s work in our lives.
He puts the love, he puts the holiness and He invites us into his presence.
God is so very good. Well, light is meant to be discerning. Listen.
Ephesians 5 11 says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them for it is shameful to speak of those things which others do in secret.
But all things that are exposed shall be manifested by the light.
For wherever the light is, the light makes manifested.
Therefore, he says, awake, you who sleep, it doesn’t mean you’re sleeping awake.
You who are lost, wandering around sleep, walking as it were arise from the dead.
And Christ will give you light point number two, verse 34.
The need to see turning on the light because we have the great need to see.
Jesus said the lamp of the body is the eye.
Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.
But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness, two absolute different paths.
But notice this, it has to deal with the eye.
The point central of discussion this morning that we need to look at an application is the eye.
What does he mean about the eye? What is he talking about?
Let’s be honest, is he talking about only the physical eye. No, we’ll, we’ll know that clearly in a moment.
But he is talking about the eye. Why? Because it’s through our eyes that things enter into our being.
It’s the way things enter into our soul, things enter into our mind.
It’s through the eye that things enter into our spirit. Watch this.
If you’re gonna talk to somebody, maybe you’re going to discipline your child and you say to them, look at me, look at me in the eye, I’m gonna tell you something.
Next time you paint the dog, you’re going to get grounded.
If it’s serious, you’re going to say, look at me in the eye lovers, what do they do?
They look at each other in the eyes, in the eyes.
If you’re trying to communicate anything of meaning value and of importance, you’re gonna look right into the eyes.
No one appreciates someone who’s talking to them. Have you ever talked to people like this?
I have, they’re talking to you and you’re talking to them and they’re looking right over your shoulder at other things going on.
And you’re wondering is this person even listening? If it’s serious? Let’s look and talk face to face.
Very important. Well, what’s very, very essential about that is that when the Lord is communicating to us, he announces to us clearly, he speaks to us directly and when we talk to somebody, the, the closest we can get to them when we’re talking on this physical plane that you and I live in, we would look right into their eye because you know, the old earthly proverb that says that the eyes are the window to the soul, you know.
Well, this is not all that far off from the truth. Your eye is an amazing thing.
Your body is an amazing thing, but your eye, if you look at something, watch this.
And now we go as Jesus is teaching us from the physical how it affects the spiritual.
I can look at something very tender, very uh wonderful thing and it can affect me on September 11th.
When you were here, you saw the the video of those, those police officers and firemen who survived the 9 11 attacks, but they were burying their brothers.
And you saw that one guy standing there saluting his brother and he’s crying there couldn’t have been a, a heart in this place that wasn’t touched by that.
And I got a lump in my throat when I saw that.
How can something that I physically look at with physical eyes of this world affect a non physical part of my being?
Why? Because you are a spiritual creature.
This body is simply a tool and God has given you and I these eyes to look at things and whatever we see it’s processed, the eye watch, our eyes cannot sin, our eyes cannot be righteous, they cannot do anything.
They’re just a biological tool. It’s where the will, the invisible part of who we are.
It’s where we direct them, it becomes an apparatus to take it in.
That’s very, very important, very careful about that. The need to see the lamp of the body is the eye.
And what do we learn about this? Verse 34?
What we see shapes our purpose, each and every one of us in this room, we have a path, we have a direction, we have a purpose.
We have a desire in our lives and it came through and it’s translated via the things that we’ve seen over our lives.
Jesus said the lamp of the body is the eye and the eye works like a lens, picture the eye like a lens and if something gets on it, it’s going to affect the way the brain processes.
For example, if you need reading glasses and now your glasses are out of shape, they’re out of focus.
You need stronger reading glasses. If you don’t get those things fixed, you are operating with as it were now a film over your eyes.
They’re the glasses, they’re wrong, the wrong prescription. What’s going to happen to you?
You’re gonna get a headache, you’re gonna get nauseous, you’re gonna think you’re sick.
I think I got the flu.
Did you know that you can have the wrong prescription and think you have the flu because you get wicked, wicked headaches all because there is something affecting the process of what the eye is taken in.
Jesus said, that’s exactly how it is in life. Your eye takes in what you’re beholding.
And when it comes through, if there’s a film, if there is dirt as it were on that lens, it is going to affect the way it is processed in your innermost being.
The need to see is for all of us. But what we see shapes our purpose.
Ephesians 5858, Ephesians 58 says for you, we’re once in darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord walk as Children of light.
We once had our eyes in the world. Now we have our eyes on the Lord. We’re changed.
Listen, I need you to sit down while you are sitting down. I need you to stay seated.
Because what I’m gonna say right now, I wanna say this loud and clear.
I want you to know that the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Did you hear what I said? Anybody? All five of you heard that right?
All of us have senses the Bible in this room from that end to that end, there’s no one bigger or lesser of a sinner in the eyes of God.
You and I grid on a curve, but that’s because we’re wicked evil people and we judge people based upon a curve.
God does not judge based upon a curve if you are the most respectable businessman in the community, but a liar.
If you are a prostitute, half naked and, and ruinous life, all of your life society says you’re bad.
But we, we want to but you, we want to go out to dinner with God says I don’t want to go out to dinner with any of you until you come to my son.
You need Jesus pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real life radio with his message called Turning on the Light.
You know, this message is part of our series called The Gospel of Luke, a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
Hey, did you know that Christianity is based on fact, defending one’s Christian faith has just become a whole lot easier with our current featured resource called evidence that demands a Verdict.
Life Changing Truth for a skeptical world by Josh and Sean mcdowell.
This updated classic invites you to bring your questions and doubts to the table and it doesn’t shy away from the tough questions.
Treasure trove of evidence for the cause of Christ.
It’s an indispensable book on how to defend your faith against the harshest of critics and skeptics evidence that demands a verdict.
Life Changing Truth For a skeptical World by Josh mcdowell and Sean mcdowell.
It’s yours today for a gift of any amount and it’s available at our website Jack Hibbs dot com.
One more time, Jack Hibbs dot com.
This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you.
Our listeners visit us at Jack Hibbs dot com. That’s Jack Hibbs dot com.
Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio.
Wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in his word, we’ll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.