As we dip into chapter 11 of Luke’s Gospel, the antagonism between Jesus and His opponents is ratcheting up, notch by notch. How will God’s chosen King respond to living in a society increasingly opposed to Him? And how should His followers live in such a society, then and today?
33 ‘No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 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. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.’ Luke 11 v 33-36
“Light” is Jesus’ image here for His person and His teaching.
Jesus was under pressure to withdraw from public ministry. It can’t have been easy to continue to preach and teach a crowd who demanded more evidence, or said He was devilish. Christians today, especially in western societies, are under increasing pressure to withdraw from the public arena. Faith is, we’re told, a private matter—fine for the home, but not to be spoken of or lived by in the workplace or the street. Christians in the public eye are mocked if they admit to praying for guidance, or believing in the resurrection, or wanting to abide by biblical standards of sexual morality.
Jesus keeps using the imagery of light, but in verses 34-36 He’s moving on to make a different point. Jesus is the light. We need to make sure our eyes are being lit up by looking at Him. As the moon reflects the sun’s rays onto earth, so our eyes must be reflecting Jesus’ words to the rest of our body.