“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”

“See to it, then, that the light within you

is not darkness.”

 

 

 

 

 

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a hidden place or under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it is dark, it will be completely lighted, as when a lamp shines its light on you” (Luke 11:33–36).

 

 

 

(1)   As I meditated on today’s passage, Luke 11:33–36, the words of Jesus—“The eye is the lamp of the body” (or “The eye is the body’s lamp” in the Modern Korean Bible)—particularly drew my attention.

 

(a)    When I reflected on the “eye,” I was reminded of what Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said about the eye in his book Spiritual Light: “Your eyes are the problem.  When you look at something, your heart follows it…  If something causes you to be tempted, do not look at it…  Do not allow your eyes to desire certain things.  Keep them fixed straight ahead…  Make a covenant with your eyes to look straight ahead.  Fix your gaze only on the direction God points—to holiness and to heaven.”

 

(i)       Satan knows well the lust of our eyes. He knows that the human eye is never satisfied (Prov. 27:20).  The eyes of people are full of adultery and never stop sinning (2 Pet. 2:14).

 

·        I am reminded of the passage where the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Mt. 4:8; cf. Lk. 4:5).  As I meditated on this, I also thought of Genesis 3:6: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye…”  When the most cunning serpent tempted the woman, the fact that she “saw” the fruit and that it was “pleasing to the eye” shows that Satan was stimulating the lust of the eyes (1 Jn. 2:16).  This is Satan’s strategy.

 

-      Therefore, we must guard against the lust of the eyes, which is never satisfied (cf. 1 Jn. 2:16).  Otherwise, Satan will continually present things that look desirable—like the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil—and provoke our eyes into sin.

 

n   Job 31:1 says: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.”

 

(b)   When I reflected on the “lamp,” I revisited some of my previous devotional writings:

 

(i)      “The Lord is my lamp”: The Lord becomes my lamp and lights up my darkness (2 Samuel 22:29).

 

(i)          “The Lord is our lamp”: “… The Lord, who is our lamp, is the God who illuminates our darkness.  He is the God of salvation who rescues us from our darkness.  This God of salvation makes us lamps of Jesus and sets us up to shine in this dark world.  Having delivered us from our darkness and made us lights in this world, the Lord desires that we shine the light of Jesus wherever we are.  Therefore, we must never cover a lamp with a bowl or put it under a bed.  Rather, we should place it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light (Lk. 8:16).  The light of the righteous should shine brightly (Prov. 13:9).  We must obey God’s command, which is a lamp (6:23).  Thus, we are to shine God’s glory in this dark world (Rev. 21:23).”

(ii)        “A guiding lamp”: The word of the Lord is a lamp that guides us and a light for our path (cf. Psa. 119:105).

 

(iii)      “You would do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19).

 

(iv)       “A burning and shining lamp”: Like a candle that gives light as it melts, we are lamps that burn and shine (Jn. 5:35).

 

(v)        “The Lord will not break a bruised reed nor snuff out a smoldering wick.”: The Lord who proclaims truth does not break a bruised reed or extinguish a dimly burning wick, but faithfully brings forth justice (cf. Isa. 42:3).

 

(vi)       An interesting point is that today’s passage, Luke 11:33 (“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a hidden place or under a bowl, but on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light”) is similar to Luke 8:16 (“No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light”).

 

·          This “parable of the lamp” is generally interpreted with two main meanings: First, Jesus’ teaching (the Word) is the light that illuminates the darkness of the world, so it must not be hidden but revealed.  Second, the life of a believer should become a lamp that shines light to others.  In other words, the lamp symbolizes God’s Word, the gospel, or any being or act that represents light. Just as a lamp is not placed under a container but on a stand to shine, we are taught that we must hear the Word, put it into practice in our lives, and influence the world (Internet).

 

-      God’s Word / the Gospel: The lamp represents Jesus’ message, which contains the mysteries of the kingdom of God.  This message is not meant to be hidden but to be revealed as light that shines on the world (Mt. 13:21–23; Mk. 4:21–25).

 

Light in the world: Just as a lamp dispels darkness, Christians (and their teachings) are meant to be lights that illuminate the darkness in the world.

 

Sharing and service: Acts of helping others—sharing one’s talents or positive influence—can also be understood as living as a shining lamp, bringing both light and joy (Internet).

 

n  This Greek word for “lamp,” “λύχνον” (lychnon), appears not only in Luke 11:33 and 8:16 but also in Luke 15:8: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”

 

#    This is the “Parable of the Lost Coin,” one of the three parables in Luke 15.  When the woman loses one of her ten coins, she lights a lamp and diligently searches until she finds it.  This illustrates the value of a single lost soul—one sinner wandering away from God.  It shows that God does not give up on that one lost soul but instead seeks it earnestly, persistently, and passionately.  Here, the light of the lamp represents the Word that illuminates spiritual darkness—the light of truth, namely the gospel and truth of Jesus Christ.

 

(2)   After saying, “The lamp of your body is the eye,” Jesus continues: “When your eye is healthy, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Lk. 11:34).

 

(a)    Here, the “body” refers to the whole person, while the “eye,” compared to a lamp, refers to the channel through which one discerns and receives truth (Hochma).

 

(i)       In the phrase “when your eye is healthy,” the Greek word “ἁπλοῦς” (haplous) originally means “without folds,” “simple,” or “sincere.” It implies that one’s spiritual vision should be single, simple, and sincerely fixed on the truth (Hochma).

 

·        Some interpret this word metaphorically as “single-hearted devotion,” explaining “your whole body will be full of light” like this: “If the eye is sound and receives light—that is, if the spiritual eye receives the light of the gospel with undivided devotion—then the whole being will be filled with light” (Hochma). 

-      If our hearts are not divided but are fixed solely on God, then God’s light will fully enter our lives, and our whole body—that is, every area of our life—will be filled with light (Internet).

 

(i)               In the phrase “if it is bad,” the Greek word for “bad,” “πονηρός” (ponēros), goes beyond the simple moral meaning of “bad” and refers to an essential evil or corruption.

 

·        Therefore, “if your eye is bad (ponēros)” does not refer to poor physical eyesight, but to a state of spiritual distortion or unbelief that cannot receive the light (the gospel of Christ).  Such an eye is fixed on what is evil and thus rejects the truth and the gospel that come from God (Hochma).

 

-      In other words, having a “bad eye (ponēros)” is a warning about a condition in which the center of one’s heart is not directed toward God, but is instead captivated by worldly or evil intentions, making one unable to rightly discern God’s revelation (Intetnet).

 

n  If our hearts are distracted by things other than God—such as greed, envy, or worldly desires—and lose focus (like a diseased eye that cannot properly receive light), then our values and lives will fall into darkness (spiritual ignorance or sin) (Internet).

 

(3)   Jesus says, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness” (Lk. 11:35).

 

(a)    This verse (Lk. 11:35) is the final conclusion and a strong warning from the preceding parable of the eye and the lamp.  Literally, it means: ‘Carefully examine whether the light you think is within you is actually darkness.’ The key meanings are as follows:

 

1.      A warning against illusion (self-deception)

 

People naturally want to believe, ‘I am right,’ or ‘I am in the light.’  However, Jesus points out that what one believes to be truth—one’s knowledge, convictions, or religious zeal—may actually be darkness (self-righteousness, stubbornness, prejudice).

 

2.      The importance of spiritual discernment

 

The light within you: the values, conscience, and religious convictions you use as your guide.

 

See whether it is not darkness: this means you must continually examine yourself (self-examination), testing whether it is truly “light” according to God’s Word and the light of the Holy Spirit, or actually “darkness” that deceives you.

 

3.      A rebuke to the Pharisees

 

The Pharisees, who prided themselves on knowing the Law, considered themselves to be “in the light.”  Yet they failed to recognize the Messiah (Jesus) who stood before them. In other words, their “knowledge of the Law” had become darkness that led them to reject Jesus.

 

In summary: This verse asks, ‘Is what you believe to be right truly light before God?’   It exhorts us to abandon the pride of thinking we are in the light and to examine our inner selves daily in the light of God’s Word (Internet).

 

(i)       As I meditated on this passage, I was reminded of a verse about “light” and “darkness” that I had previously reflected on while studying 1 John.  That verse is 1 John 1:5: “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”

 

·        This message, which the apostle John heard from Jesus Christ, presents a twofold truth about God: (1) “God is light,” and (2) “In Him there is no darkness at all.”  What does it mean that there is no darkness at all in God, who is light?   As the apostle John contrasts light and darkness, he emphasizes that there can never be any darkness whatsoever in God, who is light.  So then, what is light, and what is darkness?

 

-      First, the Apostle John stated in John 1:4, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men,” and in 1 John 1:1–2, he spoke of “the Word of life” and “eternal life.”  I believe that in the statement, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all,” light refers to life or eternal life, while darkness, conversely, refers to death or eternal death.

 

-      Furthermore, based on 1 John 1:6, which states, “If we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth,” I believe that light represents “truth” and darkness represents “falsehood.”  Here, the Apostle John states in 1 John 2:22 that “those who deny that Jesus is the Christ” and “those who deny the Father and the Son (Jesus)” are the ones who lie.

 

-      Furthermore, in 1 John 2:9, the Apostle John states, “Whoever claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.”  From this, I believe that in the statement “God is light,” “light” can signify “love,” and conversely, “darkness” signifies “hate.”  Here are the verses from 1 John 2:9 and 11: “Whoever claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness…  Whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness; they do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.”

 

n  If we were to give an example of “one who hates his brother”—that is, one who walks in darkness—we could cite Cain, whom the Apostle John mentions in 1 John 3:12: “Do not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”  Based on this passage, if we consider what light and darkness are, we can say that light is “righteousness” and darkness is “evil,” or, as 1 John 1:9 puts it, “unrighteousness.”

 

(4)   Jesus says, “If your whole body is full of light, and no part of it is dark, it will be completely lighted, as when a lamp shines its light on you” (Lk. 11:36).

 

(a)    Here, the phrase “if your whole body is full of light and no part of it is dark” means that when our spiritual eyes are fixed on God and our inner being is filled with light, not just a part of our life, but every area—our character, relationships, values, and actions (our whole body)—is illuminated under God’s rule.  And the phrase “no part of it is dark” refers to a state of transparency and purity, without hypocrisy, hidden sin, or a divided heart (Internet).

 

(i)       The phrase “as when a lamp shines its light on you, it will be completely lighted” means that just as a lamp (here symbolizing Jesus Christ or the Word of God) fully illuminates a room, a person who fully receives God’s light becomes someone who also shines light toward the world.  And just as when a lamp is lit in a dark room every corner is illuminated, so a soul enlightened by the Holy Spirit will live a clear, bright, and unobstructed life (Internet).

 

·        This verse shows the beauty of a life fully exposed to God’s light.

 

A consistent life: A life where the inside and outside are not different, and every part of life is aligned under God’s light.

 

Spiritual clarity: A life of confidence that does not wander, knowing what is right and where to go.

 

Ultimately, Jesus is inviting us: ‘Correct the eyes of your heart and fully receive the light that I (Jesus) give.  Then your whole life will become bright, as if it were under a lamp’ (Internet).

 

-      How, then, should we respond to this invitation of Jesus?  “This invitation is a call to readjust the focus and the center of our lives.  We can respond in three concrete steps:

 

1.      Acknowledge that ‘my light’ may actually be darkness (self-denial)

 

The first step is to confess that our own knowledge, morality, and experience are not perfect light.  Like the Pharisees, the certainty of ‘I know’ or ‘I am right’ can actually block God’s light. The beginning is to admit that we can be wrong and to have spiritual humility.

 

2.      Fix your focus ‘simply’ (Focus)

The “healthy eye (haplous)” emphasized in the passage means an undivided heart.  We must withdraw our attention from being scattered by worldly worries, greed, and human approval, and train ourselves to fix it only on God’s Word and will.

 

Practice: Let go of complicated thoughts, focus on just one verse God gives you today, and respond according to that Word.

 

3.      Expose the ‘dark corners’ within to the light (honesty)

 

As the phrase “no part of it is dark” suggests, we must honestly bring the hidden areas of our lives (finances, relationships, secret habits, etc.) into God’s light.

 

Practice: Pray, “Lord, this area of my life is still dark. Shine Your lamp into this corner,” and place even the areas we want to hide under God’s rule.

 

Conclusion: Daily “Spiritual Eye Examination”

 

Responding to Jesus’ invitation is not a one-time decision. Just as we come before a lamp, we need a daily process of cleansing the lens of our hearts through the Word and prayer.

 

What is the “divided heart” or “complicated thought” that most captures your attention today?  Start by simply laying it down before the Lord (Internet).