Spoken at SGBC
6-22-97
Luke #96
11:33-36
When Light is Really Darkness
(Luke 11:29 NASB) And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
These words introduced our lesson last Lord's Day. At that time we covered verses twenty nine through thirty two and were exposed to the following truths. First we learned that sign seeking is the practice of wicked people. Sign seeking reveals a lack of faith and is equal to Spiritual Adultery. The sign seeker says, "I hear the words of Christ. I see His miracles and even the resurrection but I must have more, before I will believe." All such people are yet in their sins. By the testimony of Jesus they are wicked. Second, we learned something about privilege and responsibility. The principle is, "The greater the privilege the greater the responsibility and punishment in the day of judgement." Christ uses the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba to illustrate. The Ninevites had only the testimony of nature and the reluctant prophet Jonah, yet they repented. The Queen of Sheba had the testimony of nature and a word of mouth report that there was a wise man named Solomon some fifteen hundred miles to the north. Yet, she was hungry for knowledge and spared no expense or effort to get to Solomon. The Jews, on the other hand, had the scriptures, the prophets and Jesus Christ Himself to teach them. Still they did not repent and believe. Therefore, says our Lord, when all are raised from the dead the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba will stand and condemn the privileged but un-repentant Jews. These kinds of people in every age will be beaten with many stripes when their punishment begins. Third we learned that there is only one sign given for the validation of Christ's person and work. That is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord. This is the sign of Jonah. To seek a sign beyond this is sinful.
In today's text Jesus continues to address the same people along similar lines. He speaks to them and us about privilege and responsibility then He sets forth a warning for all. Let's read our text for today.
(Luke 11:33-36 NASB) "NO ONE, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar, nor under a peck-measure, but on the lampstand, in order that those who enter may see the light. {34} "The lamp of your body is your eye; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. {35} "Then watch out that the light in you may not be darkness. {36} "If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays."
The text applies to Jesus first of all. He has just been asked for a sign, for something to see with the eyes. Now He says, in essence, "I am the sign, I am the light shining in the darkness, I am the light of the world, I am standing before you right now. I have not hidden Myself in a cave. For NO ONE, (No sensible, reasonable, sane person.), after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar or under a basket but on a lampstand for all to see." Jesus was that lamp. He had put Himself on a lampstand. That is, He put Himself, His message and His Disciples in the public eye. He intended that all see and hear Him. We have only to read the Gospels to see that Christ's ministry was carried on in the open. He always let His light shine before men that they might see His good works and glorify His Father in Heaven. Further, He told His disciples to do the same. Listen to our Lord's instruction to His students.
(Matthew 10:27 NASB) "What I tell you in the darkness, (private) speak in the light; (open) and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."
There were no secret hand shakes, no closed club meetings. Everything our Savior did and taught was meant to be public. He was and is the light of the world who came unto His own countrymen, the Jews, but they did not receive Him. Surely you are familiar with John 1:1-13 NASB. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning with God. {3} All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. {4} In Him was life, and the life was THE LIGHT OF MEN. {5} And the LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. {6} There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. {7} He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the LIGHT, that all might believe through him. (Jesus the Light.) {8} He (John) was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the LIGHT. (Jesus) {9} There was THE TRUE LIGHT which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. {10} He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. {11} He came to His own, (The Jews) and THOSE WHO WERE HIS OWN DID NOT RECEIVE HIM. {12} But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (Now we are told why some received Him and others did not.) {13} who were born (Saved or Born Again) not of blood, (Not because of ancestry.) nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, (One's salvation has nothing to do with physical or biological causes. Rather, it comes to one only by the command of God.) but of God."
The Jews lived in darkness and did not recognize Jesus, the light of the world. That did not, however, make them any less responsible. The exact opposite is true. For Jesus the way the truth and the life. He was God in the flesh. He was all wisdom. Great was the light in their presence, therefore, great was their guilt. Jesus did not come to hide His great light but to put Himself on public display. He shed His light upon all and especially the Jews.
There is another application of Christ's words and that is to Christians.
(Luke 11:33 NASB) "NO ONE, (No Christian) after lighting a lamp, (After receiving the Light who is Jesus.) puts it away in a cellar, nor under a peck-measure, but on the lampstand, (That is the saved person does not hide his salvation from the world around him. Rather, he puts himself on display for all to see.) in order that those who enter (Into his presence.) may see the light.
The unbeliever may and does, on many occasions, try to hide who he is. The sinner is a creature of deception and darkness. By that I mean he or she tries to sin their fill without being discovered. On the other hand no Christian hides who he is. There is a sense in which he cannot hide who he is. Then there is a sense in which he will not and does not want to hide who he is. Then there is the fact that the Christian is commanded to practice his faith on a day to day, situation to situation basis. Hear the words of the Lord.
(Philippians 2:12-16 NASB) So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; (Continue to carefully obey as you have in the past. This obedience is the expression of your salvation.) {13} for it is God who is at work in you, both to will (Give you the desire.) and to work (Give you the ability and power to obey.) for His good pleasure. {14} Do all things without grumbling or disputing; {15} that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, (Who grumbles and complains about everything.) among whom YOU APPEAR AS LIGHTS IN THE WORLD, (If indeed you carry yourself in the above manner.) {16} holding fast the word of life, (That is sticking to a good confession of faith and practicing the same in a practical sense.) so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
Christians ARE lights in the world of darkness. They MUST NOT and they WILL NOT hide themselves under a basket so that they appear to be what they are not, lost sinners. One of Martin Loyd Jones's sermons was titled "Be who you are." The essence of the lesson was this. In all your affairs, work, marriage, play, citizenship act out your Christianity or, in the words of Paul, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Jesus put it yet another way in Matthew 5:1-16 NASB.
"And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. {2} And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, (The following words are commonly referred as the Beatitudes. These words do not set forth a standard to which all men can attain. Rather, they describe what the Christian has become and must strive to be.) {3} "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {4} "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. {5} "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. {6} "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. {7} "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. {8} "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. {9} "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. {10} "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {11} "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. {12} "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. . . . {14} "YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A city set on a hill CANNOT be hidden. (The Christian is light and cannot hide it.) {15} "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Now Jesus calls us to a determined, deliberate, constant expression of who we have become by faith in Him. Here is something we are to do.) {16} "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Christians are lights who cannot be hidden from the world. Further we are called upon to put off all that would dim our light and to put on all that will increase or enhance its brilliance. No person who has been brought to his senses by the new birth will seek to hide his faith in Christ. On the contrary, he will display his devotion to Christ by living for Him in broad daylight.
The next verse in Luke eleven calls us to self examination. (Luke 11:34-35 NASB) "The lamp of your body is your EYE; when your EYE is clear, (That is, healthy and working properly.) your whole body also is full of light; (A healthy eye lets good information in to the rest of the body. With a healthy eye one can identify beauty, danger and paths of safety.) but when it is bad, (When your eye is not working right or is blind.) your body also is full of darkness. (Your hands will not know how to grasp. Your feet will not know where to step. You will see no beauty and you will walk, to your own hurt, into the face of danger.) {35} "Then ( Or, therefore.) watch out that the light in you (That which you believe to be light.) may not (Really) be darkness.
"Watch out!" Watch out for what? Watch out, be careful, look closely at what you think is light and truth. For what you think is light may in fact be the blackest darkness. That in which you hope for salvation and acceptance with God may not be that which will save you from the wrath to come. "Watch out!"
The Jews believed they had light. They said "we see" as in understood the truth about things. They believed they would be accepted by God on the basis of their performance and relations. They trusted in their ancestry, circumcision, and keeping the Law. This was and remains their light, their hope of salvation. Problem is, their light is really the blackest darkness for they do not have Jesus, the only mediator between God and men. The works based religions of the world are all in the same condition. Those who trust in Baptism call darkness light. Those who trust in the Lord's Supper call darkness light. Those who trust in anything but Jesus alone for the salvation of their souls walk in darkness and are blind leaders of the blind who will all fall in the ditch together. Therefore, Jesus says, "Watch out!" "Watch out!" Without true light, without a clear eye for Jesus you will stumble through life and finally fall into Hell itself. "Watch out!"
Why do people think they see when they are really blind? It is because they have been robbed of sight and of a sound mind by sin. It is because they are blinded by the Devil himself. In some cases, the blindness of men is a judgement from God. Those who refuse to see and accept truth are sometimes, by God, rendered incapable of seeing and that permanently. Hear the word of the Lord.
This text contains the exchange between Paul and Christ at Paul's conversion. (Acts 26:15-18 NASB) "And I said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. {16} 'But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; {17} delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, {18} to OPEN THEIR EYES so that they may turn FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT and from the DOMINION OF SATAN TO GOD, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.' Those born only once are born with their eyes closed to God's truth or light. They cannot see their sin or the Savior. They are children of darkness by nature and slaves of the Devil. Yet if you ask one of them they will tell you about their particular brand of light or truth and even fight you over it. They believe that the darkness in them is actually light. Jesus says, "Watch out!"
Here is an example of judicial blindness added to natural spiritual blindness. (Romans 11:5-8 NASB) In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. {6} But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. {7} What then? That which Israel is seeking for, (Acceptance with God or Salvation.) it has NOT OBTAINED, but those who were chosen (That is the elect within the Nation Israel.) obtained it, and the rest (Of the Nation Israel) were hardened; (This is a judgement from God for unbelief.) {8} just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY." This judicial blindness is so complete they do not know they are blind. They believe they have light and truth. In reality their light is darkness because they do not have Christ and His word.
(2 Corinthians 3:14-18 NASB) But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains un-lifted, because it is removed in Christ. (The veil, the cataracts on the unbeliever's eyes that won't allow him to see God can only be removed by Christ.) {15} But to this day whenever Moses is read, (Wherever men try to live by the law.) a veil lies over their heart; {16} but WHENEVER A MAN TURNS TO THE LORD, THE VEIL IS TAKEN AWAY. ("I once was blind but now I see. . .") {17} Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. {18} But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NASB) {3} And even if our gospel is veiled, (Cannot be seen or understood by the unbeliever.) it is veiled to those who are perishing, (All unbelieving sinners are perishing. No sinner can understand the Gospel before he is born again.) {4} in whose case the god of this world (The Devil) has BLINDED THE MINDS OF THE UNBELIEVING, that they MIGHT NOT SEE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, who is the image of God. Does the unbeliever know he cannot see? Of course not. He cannot know he lives in darkness until God has caused him to see the light. That only comes by faith in Jesus.
(Proverbs 16:25 NASB) There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. That is, there is something that men call truth and light but in reality it is darkness and leads to death and destruction.
(Isaiah 5:20-21 NASB) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! {21} Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And clever in their own sight! This is a description of every man and woman outside of faith in Jesus. They have their own ideas and choose to follow them instead of Christ according to the Bible. They say I have my own truth I have my own light. But the light in them is really darkness. Christ's counsel is, "Watch out!" Make certain you have Christ, the true light, the only way to God, the only source of truth, the only hope of eternal life. The person who has Christ as Lord and Savior is full of real, life giving, light. Look with me to the last verse in our text for today.
(Luke 11:36 NASB) "If therefore your whole body is full of light, (Christ and the knowledge of the same.) with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." When God by grace heals a persons eye he can at last see and accept truth as truth. This person has been changed from the inside out. He has been born again. One of the grand identifying marks of one who is a child of Light is his love for the Word of God. His darkness has become real light and he loves it.
These words can only be spoken by a true Christian. (Psalms 119:97-105 NASB) O how I LOVE THY LAW! It is my meditation all the day. {98} Thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. {99} I have more insight than all my teachers, (Secular teachers.) For Thy testimonies are my MEDITATION. {100} I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Thy precepts. {101} I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Thy word. (The Christian sees the word of God and strives to obey it because he wants too.) {102} I have not turned aside from Thine ordinances, For Thou Thyself hast taught me. (See John 6:45) {103} How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (God's word becomes the desire and delight of the Christian. He no longer trusts in his own ideas and philosophies. Rather, he looks to the Word to guide him.) {104} From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore (That is why.) I hate every false way. {105} Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a LIGHT to my path.
Is Christ the light that dwells in you? Is His Word, the Bible, your guide for thinking, believing, and living? If not the light in you is really darkness and you will one day stumble in the dark and fall into hell. Hear again the counsel of Christ. (Luke 11:35 NASB) {35} ". . . watch out that the light in you may not be darkness.