PARABLE 6 - The Lamp on a Stand

PARABLE 6 — LUKE 8:16-18 — THE LAMP ON A STAND 

16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing done in secret, that will not be revealed, neither anything hid that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen, for whoever has will be given more, and whoever does not have, even what they seem to think they have will be taken from them. (paraphrased by me)

  

Discussion Questions – Parable 6

PARABLE 6 — LUKE 8:16-18 — THE LAMP ON A STAND 

1. In Jesus’ story about the lamp, what does the lamp represent?

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. 

2. Each of the three verses of this parable adds to the meaning of the whole. What do each of the lines mean? NO short answers! Elaborate! 

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 have 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 needs 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 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. 

What might this practically mean? 

· Use your computer the way Jesus would use your computer. No Christian should ever need to worry about another person booting up your computer and clicking your favorite or last 10 Internet web pages visited. 

· There should be no need for secrecy about relationships. Our business dealings, our sexual contacts, our private conversations about other people, and every other relationship could be audited without regrets. 

· No significant discrepancy should appear between who we present ourselves to be and who we actually are. There should be no problem for you to see how I behave in my home or with my friends compared to the way I behave in a church service or in my office. 

· There should be no shame in what type of books or magazines I am reading, or what type of movies or shows I am watching. Good question to ask yourself is: Would I be ashamed to read this or watch this with Jesus? If the answer is yes, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.

These are powerful and pointed teachings in Verses 16-17 from Jesus, but they sure raise a lot of serious questions in our minds. What if our lives are nothing like what has been described? What if we have more secrets than the phone book has names? What if we think the best thing we can do for the reputation of Jesus is hide under a bed so that no one will ever think a Christian could do the things we have done? What if our lamps are flickering at best? 

Good questions! And here is Jesus’ no-nonsense answer in the next verse.

Verse 8:18 – “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” 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?” 

Interestingly Jesus doesn’t state this as a promise but as an obvious fact that everyone should know: “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” 

3. What sorts of things would God have you bring “out into the open?” (Vs 17)

4. Have you ever tried to hide your Christian identity or beliefs from other people? 

5. Do you have to announce that you are a Christian or do others see that right away?

See blog – Are You a Child of the Light?