Context
The context of a passage is very important and can help in understanding its meaning.
The context for the passage we are about to read goes back to Luke 11:14. Jesus healed a man who couldn’t speak. Scripture says that He cast a demon out of the man and, when the demon was gone, the man could speak. It was an incredible miracle. That verse says, “the multitudes marveled.” It was obvious that something amazing happened.
The next two verses reveal two interesting reactions that different groups of people had about this miracle. One said, “He casts out demons because He Himself is a demon, or the ruler of the demons.” They saw this miracle and interpreted it in the most negative light possible.
Another group of people responded this way: They said, “Show us a sign.” What? Are you blind? Did you not just see what happened? These people didn’t even see the obvious thing that took place right in front of them.
A miracle occurred. One group saw it as evil. Another group didn’t even recognize it at all. Jesus knew their thoughts and He knew what their problem was.
In verses 17 through 28, Jesus deals with those who saw this wonderful event in an evil way. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” He said.
In verses 29 through 32, He deals with the camp that continually demanded a sign, but couldn’t see the nose in front of their face. “A man greater than Solomon is here…” “A man greater than Jonah is here…”There are two problems here: 1- Not seeing God at work at all; blindness. 2- Seeing good things as bad; obscured vision. Both have devastating effects.
Just Married
I was at an evening wedding. By the time that the bride and groom were leaving the wedding it was very dark outside. The wedding party had decorated the car that they were driving away in. As usual, it said, “Just Married” on the back window. There were hearts drawn on the windows, and wedding bells, the name of the bride and groom, and a lot of other stuff.
The people who decorated the car got so enthusiastic and so carried away, that they decorated not just the back window, but also the side windows and the front windows. In fact, there was a lot of very artistic drawing right in front of the driver’s seat. He had a very difficult time seeing out the window on this dark night to drive his new bride away. I could just envision this lovely couple, sprinkled with rice, climbing into their car amidst shouts of congratulations from their family and friends, and all of us shouting and cheering while he pulled away from the curb and plows into some on-coming traffic.
Of course that didn’t happen. But it highlights the dangers of obscured vision.
The light of the body
Now we come to our reading of the morning. In these next verses, verses 33 through 36, Jesus deals with the problem common to both of these groups: They mistranslated reality through their faulty perception.
Luke 11:33-36 (NKJV) cross reference- Matthew 6:22-23
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
What is this all about?
Key words/phrases
The word ‘eye’ in this passage is the word ‘opthalmos’ from which we get our word, ‘ophthalmology’. It means eye, but it also means sight or vision or perception. In the context we are given here, I believe it means not the physical eye ball, but our perception of life, how we see life.
We reread this passage to mean, “The lamp of the body is our perception of life. Therefore, when your perception of life is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your perception of life is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that your perception of life is not darkness.”
Take Heed: Scope
The action phrase in this passage is: take heed. It is in the imperative form, which means it is a command. The Greek word is ‘skope’, from which we get our word ‘scope,’ ‘telescope,’ and ‘microscope.’ It is translated in other versions as: make sure (NLT); consider (RSV); watch out (NASB); see to it (NIV); and be constantly scrutinizing yourself (Expanded Edition). This means that this is not only something that you can control, but something that you better make sure to control.
A LIFE FULL OF LIGHT
Does our vision – our perspective, or how we see life – have an impact on our emotions? You bet it does. What is the relationship between attitude and emotions?
SURVIVAL TIP: Your attitude translates life into emotion.
According to this verse, what determines whether my life will be one of darkness or one of light? It is not the circumstances around me, but how I view these circumstances. It is my persepective or attitude.
Attitude = Perspective
Envision the circumstances of life on one side and your emotions on the other side. The thing that links those two things is your attitude. It is not the circumstances of life that controls your emotions but the attitude which you have about those things.
This is good news. Why? Because the circumstances of life are most often things you can’t change: the weather, the economy, etc. Your attitude is something you can change. If your emotions are dependent on positive circumstances, then you are helpless. If your emotions are dependent on your attitude or perception, then you can influence your emotions. And you do.
Haven’t you ever seen two people with similar circumstances have much different emotions because they view their circumstances differently?
Smells like money
I was in a church in a small town in South Dakota with a childhood friend of my dad. He was a cattle farmer in the area. We stepped outside the church and the wind must have been blowing the wrong way, because there was a very strong smell of cow manure in the air. I jerked back, covering my nose and said, “That smells terrible.” He took a deep sniff and said, “It smells like money to me.” The same smell, two different perceptions.
SURVIVAL TIP: Take every thought captive.
How do we ‘take heed’ to our perception, as this verse says?
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Bringing every thought captive
We have got to take every thought captive. It is not only something we can do, it is something we must do.
This word ‘take captive’ comes from the word for spear and it means literally to lead it at the end of a spear as you would a prisoner. If you don’t take your thoughts captive, they will most likely take you captive. I see many people who let every thought that comes into their head lead them around as if they are on the end of a spear.
Take every thought captive. It is your prisoner. Interrogate your thoughts as you would a prisoner. Ask these questions:
Does this thought agree with God’s word?
Does it honor God?
Does it lead to obedience?
Do I have all the information?
Does it bring light or darkness?
If a thought comes into your head that can’t answer yes to these questions, then keep it captive. It is a prisoner of war. Some thoughts will try to rip you off. Don’t let them.
Don’t pick this pocket
Back in June of this year there was a story in the paper about a poor old man, 72-year-old Bill Barnes, in a gas station convenience store and a young man of 27 decided to rob him. Bill was scratching of a losing $2 lottery ticket when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 cash.
He immediately grabbed the young man’s wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened. According to witnesses, there was blood everywhere.
Bill Barnes is a retired iron-worker, he served in the Marines and was regional runner-up in Golden Gloves boxing competition. “I guess he thought I was an easy mark,” Barnes told the Grand Rapids Press.
Barnes said he’d probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home. “I wouldn’t want my wife to give me heck [changed word] for lettin’ that guy get my money,” he said with a smile.
Don’t be an easy mark. When bad thoughts and bad attitudes try to pick your pocket, let them have it!
SURVIVAL TIP: Set Your sights on light.
It’s a funny thing about looking for good or looking for light in any situation. If you’re not looking for it, the chances are you are not going to find it. If you’re looking for it, and looking hard, then you’ll probably find it. If you can’t see it, you can still have confidence that it is there. The more light you see the more it is easier to see more and more light.
Looking for crawdads
It is like standing on a bridge over a creek and looking for crawdads. You can stare into the creek and swear that there are none in there. But if you keep looking, after a while you will see one moving around on the rocks in the bottom… and then another one… and then another one. Pretty soon, they are all over the place. But if you don’t look, if you don’t set your sights on them, you won’t see any of them.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
This is my confidence. Whether I see it or not, God is working for my ultimate good. That truth is the basis for my attitude, and for how I chose to see things.
Not ‘the power of positive thinking.’
Let me make something very clear: This is not a ‘power of positive thinking’ kind of message. I am not a ‘power of positive thinking’ kind of guy. The power of positive thinking says if you think positively enough you can make positive things happen to you. That way I get to define ‘positive.’ I don’t believe that.
Better than visualizing something you want to make it come to pass, (which is a form of manipulation), is looking for God’s good purpose in every circumstance. Not that everything is good, but all things work together for good.
You are part of a bigger story.
No matter what information you may have about your life, whether it is good or it is bad, you do not have all the information. You are part of a bigger story. It is God’s story.
Psalm 139:16 (NKJV)
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
In writing these words, King David recognized that his life was not chance or random, but the days were fashioned for him before he was ever alive. And these days were written down in a book. His life was just one part of this Great Book that God was writing. God knit together every day of David’s life and then He knit David’s life together with other lives, and other lives to make one beautiful and continuous story.
CONCLUSION
Do you trust God? Do you trust Him enough to choose to have good perception of life? You won’t change the reality of your circumstances that way, but you sure can change your attitude, your emotions, how you treat others and how you move forward.
What do you give up? Self-pity. I cling to a bad attitude because it allows me to say, “Woe is me! Look how bad I have things!” Trade in a life of darkness for a life full of light. It is a good trade.
The context of a passage is very important and can help in understanding its meaning.
The context for the passage we are about to read goes back to Luke 11:14. Jesus healed a man who couldn’t speak. Scripture says that He cast a demon out of the man and, when the demon was gone, the man could speak. It was an incredible miracle. That verse says, “the multitudes marveled.” It was obvious that something amazing happened.
The next two verses reveal two interesting reactions that different groups of people had about this miracle. One said, “He casts out demons because He Himself is a demon, or the ruler of the demons.” They saw this miracle and interpreted it in the most negative light possible.
Another group of people responded this way: They said, “Show us a sign.” What? Are you blind? Did you not just see what happened? These people didn’t even see the obvious thing that took place right in front of them.
A miracle occurred. One group saw it as evil. Another group didn’t even recognize it at all. Jesus knew their thoughts and He knew what their problem was.
In verses 17 through 28, Jesus deals with those who saw this wonderful event in an evil way. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” He said.
In verses 29 through 32, He deals with the camp that continually demanded a sign, but couldn’t see the nose in front of their face. “A man greater than Solomon is here…” “A man greater than Jonah is here…”There are two problems here: 1- Not seeing God at work at all; blindness. 2- Seeing good things as bad; obscured vision. Both have devastating effects.
Just Married
I was at an evening wedding. By the time that the bride and groom were leaving the wedding it was very dark outside. The wedding party had decorated the car that they were driving away in. As usual, it said, “Just Married” on the back window. There were hearts drawn on the windows, and wedding bells, the name of the bride and groom, and a lot of other stuff.
The people who decorated the car got so enthusiastic and so carried away, that they decorated not just the back window, but also the side windows and the front windows. In fact, there was a lot of very artistic drawing right in front of the driver’s seat. He had a very difficult time seeing out the window on this dark night to drive his new bride away. I could just envision this lovely couple, sprinkled with rice, climbing into their car amidst shouts of congratulations from their family and friends, and all of us shouting and cheering while he pulled away from the curb and plows into some on-coming traffic.
Of course that didn’t happen. But it highlights the dangers of obscured vision.
The light of the body
Now we come to our reading of the morning. In these next verses, verses 33 through 36, Jesus deals with the problem common to both of these groups: They mistranslated reality through their faulty perception.
Luke 11:33-36 (NKJV) cross reference- Matthew 6:22-23
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
What is this all about?
Key words/phrases
The word ‘eye’ in this passage is the word ‘opthalmos’ from which we get our word, ‘ophthalmology’. It means eye, but it also means sight or vision or perception. In the context we are given here, I believe it means not the physical eye ball, but our perception of life, how we see life.
We reread this passage to mean, “The lamp of the body is our perception of life. Therefore, when your perception of life is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your perception of life is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that your perception of life is not darkness.”
Take Heed: Scope
The action phrase in this passage is: take heed. It is in the imperative form, which means it is a command. The Greek word is ‘skope’, from which we get our word ‘scope,’ ‘telescope,’ and ‘microscope.’ It is translated in other versions as: make sure (NLT); consider (RSV); watch out (NASB); see to it (NIV); and be constantly scrutinizing yourself (Expanded Edition). This means that this is not only something that you can control, but something that you better make sure to control.
A LIFE FULL OF LIGHT
Does our vision – our perspective, or how we see life – have an impact on our emotions? You bet it does. What is the relationship between attitude and emotions?
SURVIVAL TIP: Your attitude translates life into emotion.
According to this verse, what determines whether my life will be one of darkness or one of light? It is not the circumstances around me, but how I view these circumstances. It is my persepective or attitude.
Attitude = Perspective
Envision the circumstances of life on one side and your emotions on the other side. The thing that links those two things is your attitude. It is not the circumstances of life that controls your emotions but the attitude which you have about those things.
This is good news. Why? Because the circumstances of life are most often things you can’t change: the weather, the economy, etc. Your attitude is something you can change. If your emotions are dependent on positive circumstances, then you are helpless. If your emotions are dependent on your attitude or perception, then you can influence your emotions. And you do.
Haven’t you ever seen two people with similar circumstances have much different emotions because they view their circumstances differently?
Smells like money
I was in a church in a small town in South Dakota with a childhood friend of my dad. He was a cattle farmer in the area. We stepped outside the church and the wind must have been blowing the wrong way, because there was a very strong smell of cow manure in the air. I jerked back, covering my nose and said, “That smells terrible.” He took a deep sniff and said, “It smells like money to me.” The same smell, two different perceptions.
SURVIVAL TIP: Take every thought captive.
How do we ‘take heed’ to our perception, as this verse says?
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Bringing every thought captive
We have got to take every thought captive. It is not only something we can do, it is something we must do.
This word ‘take captive’ comes from the word for spear and it means literally to lead it at the end of a spear as you would a prisoner. If you don’t take your thoughts captive, they will most likely take you captive. I see many people who let every thought that comes into their head lead them around as if they are on the end of a spear.
Take every thought captive. It is your prisoner. Interrogate your thoughts as you would a prisoner. Ask these questions:
Does this thought agree with God’s word?
Does it honor God?
Does it lead to obedience?
Do I have all the information?
Does it bring light or darkness?
If a thought comes into your head that can’t answer yes to these questions, then keep it captive. It is a prisoner of war. Some thoughts will try to rip you off. Don’t let them.
Don’t pick this pocket
Back in June of this year there was a story in the paper about a poor old man, 72-year-old Bill Barnes, in a gas station convenience store and a young man of 27 decided to rob him. Bill was scratching of a losing $2 lottery ticket when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 cash.
He immediately grabbed the young man’s wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened. According to witnesses, there was blood everywhere.
Bill Barnes is a retired iron-worker, he served in the Marines and was regional runner-up in Golden Gloves boxing competition. “I guess he thought I was an easy mark,” Barnes told the Grand Rapids Press.
Barnes said he’d probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home. “I wouldn’t want my wife to give me heck [changed word] for lettin’ that guy get my money,” he said with a smile.
Don’t be an easy mark. When bad thoughts and bad attitudes try to pick your pocket, let them have it!
SURVIVAL TIP: Set Your sights on light.
It’s a funny thing about looking for good or looking for light in any situation. If you’re not looking for it, the chances are you are not going to find it. If you’re looking for it, and looking hard, then you’ll probably find it. If you can’t see it, you can still have confidence that it is there. The more light you see the more it is easier to see more and more light.
Looking for crawdads
It is like standing on a bridge over a creek and looking for crawdads. You can stare into the creek and swear that there are none in there. But if you keep looking, after a while you will see one moving around on the rocks in the bottom… and then another one… and then another one. Pretty soon, they are all over the place. But if you don’t look, if you don’t set your sights on them, you won’t see any of them.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
This is my confidence. Whether I see it or not, God is working for my ultimate good. That truth is the basis for my attitude, and for how I chose to see things.
Not ‘the power of positive thinking.’
Let me make something very clear: This is not a ‘power of positive thinking’ kind of message. I am not a ‘power of positive thinking’ kind of guy. The power of positive thinking says if you think positively enough you can make positive things happen to you. That way I get to define ‘positive.’ I don’t believe that.
Better than visualizing something you want to make it come to pass, (which is a form of manipulation), is looking for God’s good purpose in every circumstance. Not that everything is good, but all things work together for good.
You are part of a bigger story.
No matter what information you may have about your life, whether it is good or it is bad, you do not have all the information. You are part of a bigger story. It is God’s story.
Psalm 139:16 (NKJV)
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
In writing these words, King David recognized that his life was not chance or random, but the days were fashioned for him before he was ever alive. And these days were written down in a book. His life was just one part of this Great Book that God was writing. God knit together every day of David’s life and then He knit David’s life together with other lives, and other lives to make one beautiful and continuous story.
CONCLUSION
Do you trust God? Do you trust Him enough to choose to have good perception of life? You won’t change the reality of your circumstances that way, but you sure can change your attitude, your emotions, how you treat others and how you move forward.
What do you give up? Self-pity. I cling to a bad attitude because it allows me to say, “Woe is me! Look how bad I have things!” Trade in a life of darkness for a life full of light. It is a good trade.
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