This week we will be discussing parable number 6 found in Luke 8:16 – 18. It is called “The Lamp on a Stand”. But before we go into this discuss, I want to answer the question that might have just came to mind: Did we discuss this Parable three weeks ago from Matthew which was told as part of the Sermon on the Mount? Why yes, yes we did, but this is told differently. There will be a few parables told twice. But why would the same parable be in the Bible twice?
The best way to answer this is that even though the parable is roughly the same they differ on details, but this does not make one accurate and the other not accurate. Jesus was constantly moving from place to place, working without the benefit of mass media. It is not just likely, it is in the highest degree probably, that he told the same stories again and again in slightly different words, that he ran into similar questions and problems and said similar things about them, that he came up with a slightly different set of beatitudes every few villages, that he not only told be retold and adapted parables and similar sayings in different settings, and that he repeated aphorisms with different emphases in different contexts. Today, once a politician has made a major speech, he or she does not usually repeat it. But the analogy is thoroughly misleading. If we come to the ministry of Jesus as first-century historians, and forget our twentieth-century assumptions about mass media, the overwhelming probability is that most of what Jesus said, he said not twice but two hundred times, with (of course) a myriad of local variations.
This also leads to a quick point I would like to make. The Four Gospels were written by the hand of 4 different individuals, but yet the writings are God breathed so why the difference. I will make this point very short then move on to this parable discussion. The book of Mark is known as “The Gospel of the suffering Son of God”, and the book of Matthew is known as “The Gospel of the Messiah”, the book of Luke is known as “The Gospel of the Savior for all people”, and finally the book of John is known as “The Gospel of the Son who reveals the Father”. All four of these gospels gives us one Jesus.
Parable Number 6 – Luke 8:16-18 – The Lamp on a Stand
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
Visualize the setting: in dark houses in Galilee, a small clay lamp burned olive oil drawn up by a wick. It was set either in a high wall alcove or on a small high stand. From dusk on, it was the only source of light for the house. Jesus elaborated on this a little by saying that anyone who came into the house would see the light. Notice he did not say that people would see the lamp, but they would see the light. If the wick was not lit, the lamp would look like a non-descript small flat pitcher. Nobody would notice it.
Jesus used the obvious to teach hidden truths. No one went to the trouble of filling a pottery lamp with oil, fixing the wick, and getting it to burn, only to hid the lamp in a pottery jar and under a bed. The lighted lamp has a purpose: to light a room. The same is true with the word of God. God does not give his word to be hidden among a secret few or to be the cause of concern because no one can understand it. What God speaks and what God teaches, he will explain to the right people at the right time. Listen to God’s Word in such a way that he can open it up to your understanding, not in such a way that you will find only what you look for.
Each of the three verses of this parable adds to the meaning of the whole.
Verse 8:16 – “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”
All of us has lamps at home and where we work. We have table lamps, floor lamps, reading lamps, decorative lamps, flood lamps, spot lamps, ceiling lamps, and even closet lamps. But, I doubt if anyone has an “under the bed lamp.” No one turns on a lamp and then hides it under the bed, and this was especially the case in Jesus’ time when all lamps burned with flames. Lamps are for light. That is what lamps do.
Here, Jesus is talking about his followers, his disciples back then, all Christians now. He is telling us to brightly shine. Let everyone see the light of Jesus Christ through us. Our Christian faith is not some private, secret, hidden thing. It is designed to be open, public, and brilliant.
Sometimes we misunderstand how this works. We think that shining brightly for Jesus requires special training in evangelism, theological education, an outgoing personality and exceptional spiritual courage. This is not so.
Lamps don’t need classes or a formal education to light up. They don’t need fancy engineering to do the job. Just hold a match to the wick and light it and it gives off light. The only way to stop a lamp from giving light is to intentionally shut it off or put it in a jar or under a bed. These are not natural or normal things to do. If you don’t stop a lamp from burning, it will always give off light.
Christians shine like Jesus. We can’t help it. The only way for a Christian to not love like Jesus, talk about Jesus, and be like Jesus is to make a special effort to turn off. We have to hide our faith on purpose.
All a Christian need to do is let the light of Jesus shine. Let other people see the changes. Let others know how much you trust God. Tell them about the new perspective. They might see that you give away money you would have kept in the past. You are kind when you might have been cruel. You tell the truth when you could have lied. You have a new set of sexual ethics and behavior. You pray and read the Bible. You have a joy that glows even through your darkest days.
What you are doing is “putting your lamp on a stand so that those who come in can see the light.”
Verse 8:17 – “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”
This sounds a little like a warning or even a threat, but it is not. Jesus is simply stating a fact. There are few secrets. Sooner or later the secrets we thought we could keep are brought out in the open for others to see and know. Most of them are exposed in this life. But if there are any left over, God will expose them for everyone to see at the judgment to come.
This teaching of Jesus has been painfully demonstrated in one political crisis after another; not just in the U.S., but around the world. What was intended to be kept secret became front page news. What’s true for presidents, governors, and prime ministers is true for us. There are no permanent secrets.
This is not to say that there should be no privacy. That is not what Jesus is saying. There is a place for privacy and we should all be careful to respect the privacy of others. What Jesus is saying is that Christians should live lives as if we are open books. We should think as if our thoughts can be read. We should speak as if everyone can hear what we say. We should act as if our whole lives were televised to the whole world. Assume full disclosure.
Verse 8:18 – “Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
This verse is not talking about money or possessions. Jesus is talking about the powerful word of God in our lives. God gives every Christian his word. It is like seeds planted in our souls. If we use what God gives us, he gives us more. If we don’t use what God gives us, he doesn’t give us any more. The principle is simple: use it or lose it!
What happens to our muscles if we exercise? We grow stronger and stronger. What happens to our muscles if we don’t exercise? We grow weaker and weaker. What happens to our minds if we keep learning? We get smarter and smarter. If we don’t keep learning, we become dumber and dumber. What happens if we build relationships? We have more and more friends. If we neglect relationships? We have fewer and fewer friends. What happens if we live by faith? We get more faith. What happens if we don’t live by faith? Our faith shrinks. What happens if we live by God’s word? Our lamps brightly shine, our lives can be open books, and we become more and more like Jesus. If we don’t live by God’s word our lamps are hidden, our lives are secret, and we are less and less like Jesus.
The issue is not how much God has given us so far, it is what we do with what God has given! My question to you is really the question I have for myself, what are you doing with what God has given to you? The question is not so much “What do you have?” The real question is, “what are you doing with it?”
Do you think you have heard the Word and grown? Be careful. If you listen faithfully to God and hear his teachings, you will receive more. Failing to listen to him will cause you to lose even what you think you have. Hearing the Word of God brings change. You either mature or go backward in your Christian experience. Do you have ears to hear? Only one type of soil produces maturing Christians. That soil is a good heart attuned to God as he reveals the meaning of his Word to you.