“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34).
We learn from Luke 11:16 that some in the crowd were asking for a sign from Jesus. The Lord replied that the casting out of demons was a sign for them. He goes on to say the great sign that will be given to that generation was the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah preached to Gentiles, so the Gospel is going to Gentiles. Just as Jonah “died” and was “resurrected” on the third day, so Jesus is going to die and be resurrected on the third day.
Jesus goes on to point out places in the Old Testament where the Gentiles came to hear the Gospel. He contrasts them to the crowd of Jews before Him, who are scoffing. The Queen of Sheba journeyed to hear Solomon, says Jesus, but the Greater Solomon is before them now. The Ninevites repented at Jonah’s preaching, but the Greater Jonah is preaching to them at that moment.
The point Jesus is making is this: The sign is plainly revealed, but they are refusing to see it. Jesus’ miracles and His coming resurrection are as much sign as they need, but they are blinding themselves. Jesus illustrates His point with a story. He says if you want to have light in a room and you light a candle, it would be foolish to hide it under a bushel. Jesus then says the eye is the lamp of the body, the place where light enters. If we shut our eyes, it does not matter how bright the light, we remain in darkness.
Jesus is the light of the world. His miracles and His preaching were a bright lamp. God was not hiding His Lamp under a bushel but was putting Him in a high place to shed light over the entire world. They, however, were shutting their eyes. They were continuing in darkness because they were steadfastly refusing to see the Light.
Their deeds were evil, and they did not want to be exposed. Thus, they preferred the darkness. Jesus was saying that the problem of unbelief, in the final analysis, is not an intellectual one, but a moral one. God has made the message clear, but men prefer the darkness of sin.
What secret sins do you hide that you do not want to be exposed? Ask God right now to search your heart with His light and convict you of them. Confess them to the Father and expose them to His loving light.
