When the Blind See

Series on LukeIV The Imperatives of the Kingdom

A Increasing opposition

8 Seeing Clearly

Text: 11:33-36

Introduction

This is one of those passages that always puzzled me until i saw the intimate connection of these words with what precedes. Last week we looked at the generation of Jesus seeking a spectacular sign out of its evil heart. Jesus said they would have no sign beyond what he had already given except the sign of his death and resurrection. This idea carries over into our text. The reason they rejected all of Jesus mighty works and ultimately even his resurrection was the blindness of unbelief. They lacked the vision to see the significance of the many signs He did. So He explains it to them. Let him who has ears to hear and eyes to see understand. What we really have here is the signature of Christ, then the ability to recognize his signature and finally the consequences of that recognition. There are then three movements in our text which i call the shining light, the seeing lamp and the singular life.

I The Shining Light

Verse 33 describes the light that God in Christ was giving to the world, No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. The light of the gospel is shining. It is very interesting that Jesus uses this same verse elsewhere with a different application. In other places He draws from this the lesson that we are to be the light of the world and let our light shine before men so they may see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father. But here we see the marvelous wisdom of our Savior in taking the same proverb and using it to illustrate men’s blindness. In Christ a brilliant light has shown in the world; in His life, His miracles and atoning death and resurrection in fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. In John 9 where Jesus heals a man born blind he says, While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. The Bible says in Christ was life and the life was the light of men and the darkness did not comprehend it, and likewise, men loved darkness rather than light. This is illustrated in John 9 because the leaders of the Jews think the healing of the man is a trick, and the man himself in one of the most ironic twists of the Bible says to them, This is remarkable you don’t know where he comes from yet he opened my eyes. They were disciples of Moses and they said you’re just a dumb sinner how dare you instruct us. Learn one lesson my friends. The light of God came into the world. If we don’t see it it is because we are blind. So be very careful in thinking that you know a lot because if you don’t know Jesus you don’t know anything. Our Lord proceeds to explain further the with the seeing lamp.

II The Seeing Lamp

The explanation of Jesus in verses 34 and 35 is clear, 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. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. The lamp of the body is the eye. If the lamp is on, and the eye sees, light comes in. But if the lamp is off, the eye is blind and no light enters. You have heard that the eyes are the windows of the soul. That is the metaphor Jesus is using. Because we enter the world as sinners we enter the world blind. We do not see that we are made by God and responsible to him, or that we have sinned, or that God sent his Son to die for us. In II Corinthians 4:4 Paul writes, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Therefore a man must be born again. In John 3 when Jesus speaks to Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews He specifically says to him that unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now I know that the words born again have been tragically misunderstood. To liberals and modernists they mean nothing more than a psychological change or a vague religious experience. For others they are associated with a kind of holy roller religion or some kind of rude faith that people wear on their sleeves. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being born again means first that the Holy Spirit mysteriously and powerfully enters a man and brings life where there was death, sight where their was darkness and hearing where there was silence. Secondly, it is manifested in conversion, but that conversion shows up in as many different ways as there are people. It does not have to be the same as your neighbor’s, although it always issues in repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. Finally, it is absolutely essential because without it you are blind, still in your sin. and lost.

III The Singular Life

As Jesus makes clear in verse 36, the story does not end there, Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” The new birth is only a beginning. To listen to some evangelists you might think that all you need to do is be born again and all your problems are over. When you are born again you have not finished, you have begun. The goal is to have your whole body full of light which means here that your intellect, your emotions and your will are all changed. Now the word translated good in verse 34, When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light, is really the Greek word for single. The New International Version translators have made it correspond to the word for evil, but it has a different meaning. Single is opposed to double or duplicity. It means sincerity, clarity of vision and openness of heart and the implication here is that as the light enters through the eye it will light the whole man and change the direction of his life. In other words if one is really enabled to see then it isn’t just the brain that is affected, the whole life is changed. This is what the gospel will do for you. It is at this point that a connection between the teaching of Jesus on the light elsewhere and our passage becomes rather clear. When the sunlight or the artificial light shines on you, everybody can see you. You are “lighted up.” Jesus says if the light of God continues to fill your being, then it will be as if you are lighted up on the outside as well. This is how your light will shine before others and give witness to God the Father. In other words, let in the light, and let it fill you, and it will shine before others. It shines out in direct proportion to how it shines in.