Flashback Episode — Lightness Over Darkness: Luke 11:33-36

If you ever wondered if Jesus had a favorite one of the five senses, then our passage for this episode makes the case for one specific sense. I know this sounds like a random question, but it is one I recently had while studying in the gospels. All throughout the gospels, Jesus heals people who cannot see, cannot hear, cannot talk, those who have leprosy, which is a sensory disease, and if someone were to have come to Him with no sense of smell or taste, chances are Jesus would have healed them too. Jesus loved making all of our senses whole.

However, unless you are more like me than I would have thought or guessed, I suspect you never thought of asking whether Jesus had a favorite sense, and there is probably no way of really knowing for sure. But with that said, in our passage for this episode, Jesus uses one of the senses as a metaphor for describing the significance of our perspective, and with how Jesus frames this sense, a case could be made that it was His favorite, if Jesus had a favorite.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 11, and we will read it using the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting with verse 33, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³³ “No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. ³⁶ Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be full of light. It will be just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

I am always amazed when reading passages like this one how Jesus is able to speak on multiple levels simultaneously. Not only are His words literally true, they are symbolically true as well.

The key phrase that unlocks the symbolism in this passage is the metaphor at the beginning of verse 34. Jesus says, “Your eye is like a lamp for your body.” This connects the idea of lighting a lamp and not hiding it with the idea about how healthy eyes help light our whole body.

In a literal sense, when we cannot see well, everything is blurry and if our eyesight is really bad, often called blindness, things would be dark. Perhaps this teaching came following Jesus healing some physically blind people, or maybe Jesus could tell there were some spiritually blind people in the crowd that needed direction.

However, when talking about blindness, it is easy to understand physical blindness, but what about spiritual blindness? How should we define or explain spiritual blindness?

In a symbolic sense, our eyesight can also mean what we choose to focus on. Our eyes are like a lamp for our body and mind because they allow us to see the things we are paying attention to. When our focus and perspective is healthy, our bodies and minds will be full of light and we will have spiritual health. But on the flipside, when our focus and perspective is unhealthy, our bodies and minds will be full of darkness and we will be spiritually sick. This is one simple way to describe spiritual blindness verses spiritual sight.

After sharing this description, Jesus says something that always jumps out at me when I read His words in this passage. In verse 35, He says, “So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Don’t miss the implications Jesus is saying here. In a literal sense, darkness is simply the absence of light, and when I turn a lamp on in my home, the darkness is reduced. In the literal sense, darkness is weaker than light simply because when the light comes on, it wins and there is less darkness.

In a spiritual sense, darkness seems to have more power than it does literally in the physical world. In our own lives, and in the things we focus on, we are able to focus on something that we really want, or something that we really need, but ultimately learn later that it was not or would not have been a blessing in the end.

In our spiritual lives, it is incredibly important for us to discern light from darkness, though really we could simply say it is important for us to discerning truth from error, because in our lives, we will begin to see more of the things we focus on.

Jesus tells us to “make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.” If left unchecked, we might believe the dimness or darkness inside of us is really light, and seek to spread it. I am probably as guilty as anyone else for wanting to spread what I have learned and discovered, but if I do so without checking these discoveries next to what I see written in the Bible, I could end up spreading darkness.

Darkness, which we could parallel with lies, is in many ways easier to spread than the truth. Darkness and lies are sometimes easier to believe than the truth as well. However, in every single case, the truth will come out. Lies trap those who started the lie because they must remember both the truth and the lie. Lies ultimately kill the reputation of anyone who started or spread the lie when the truth is finally found out. Lies trap us under the weight of the lie itself.

In contrast, the truth sets us free.

Lying delays the results of our poor actions – and this delay adds interest to the results. The truth can be risky to tell and it may cause pain in the moment, but following the pain, those involved are able to move on. Lying adds interest to the pain the truth will cause while delaying the inevitable outcome.

“Make sure that the light inside you is not darkness.”

Jesus’ words here are significant because when we believe and spread lies, we are spreading darkness, and while we might think this darkness is light, it can only be true light if it is leading people into a deeper relationship with God.

The spark of light that God has placed in each of our hearts is important for us to pay attention to. This spark says that we have been created for a purpose, we are special to God, and that we cannot do it on our own. Some people run from their spark, but in my own life, I want to fan the flame and let it grow.

With that said, here are the challenges I will leave you with at the end of this podcast episode:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and pay attention to how you see Him. Choose to move towards Him and seek to discover the light that He has revealed to you when you study His Word and grow closer to Him.

Also, as I challenge you in one way or another every episode, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to help you discern God’s light from the world’s darkness. Don’t run from the spark God has placed in your heart. Instead, choose to fan the flame God has placed in your heart and let it grow.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!