Believers have been set apart to witness to the truth of God in this world.
Luke 11:34-35: “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. “
One of the strengths of the Hebraic worldview is that it always paints things in the light of contrast: good and evil, light and dark, life and death. It’s this contrast that allows for the mind to distinguish between right and wrong, and that which is holy and that which is unclean or wicked.
In this passage speaking of light and darkness, Yeshua is carrying on a tradition of demonstrating how righteousness is light, and unrighteousness is darkness.
Proverbs 4:18-19: “But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over.”
In the Bible, light is associated with wisdom and understanding, and darkness is related to wickedness, pride, and selfishness.
- Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”
- Isaiah 5:20-21: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”
So, the imagery that Yeshua is using as he speaks of the lamp of the eye is not a new or novel concept to his hearers. This type of thinking is how the Hebrew world is codified. Yeshua is speaking to the singleness of purpose that should be the guiding principle of all believers: to love Yahweh our God with all our heart soul and strength.
Mark 12:29-30 – Yeshua answered, “The most important of all the commands is: Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
That single principle provides the basis and foundation of all that sets believers apart from the rest of the world. It is not only the underlying principle of personal belief, but it is the very cornerstone of the kingdom of God. This is what makes us holy: when we can operate from the strength of this simple mindset of loving God with all that we are. All else comes into focus and clarifies the muddy waters of compromise with this world system.
Luke 11:36: “If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
More than providing light only for ourselves, this singleness of purpose will also allow our righteous actions to be a light to others, that they may see the light through us.
Luke 11:33: “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.”
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