SERMON---LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE---Mt 5:14-15
He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed; and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
—Mark 4:21-25, NIV
Don’t hide your light under a bushel,” I advise someone who might be attracted to an older translation of this passage to take care. It does not mean that they should have a false modesty and take pleasure in revealing their accomplishments. That is not what Jesus means in this passage. It is not meant to be one of those empty headed Tips For Happy Living that passes for spirituality these days. For you see, in the parallel passage in Matthew, Jesus did not say:
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and give you proper credit for all your accomplishments.
—Matthew 5:14-16, Reversed Fractured Version
What Jesus did say is this:
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
—Matthew 5:14-16, NIV
Mark Includes this saying within group of other sayings about the Kingdom, so when read in context we know that Jesus is not telling us how to get credit from other people; What He is speaking of and referring to is His Kingdom. As Christians, we all have received the Light of His Kingdom, but that light is not meant solely for our private instruction. The Kingdom of God is not like a stamp collection, something you do quietly and only offer to show people if when visiting they should happen to inquire about it. The Kingdom of God is like a light that you set out on a stand so the whole room can be illuminated.
PURPOSE
So what is the purpose of lighting the whole room? Is it to enable outsiders to see how clean we are, perhaps to see our new carpet, our qualifications up on the wall or perhaps how beautiful we may look? No, it is none of those things. The purpose of illuminating the room is to let outsiders see the light and marvel at the One who gives it.
If we misuse the light that Jesus gave us to attract attention to ourselves, it will backfire. We are not perfect and we all have faults and have certainly sinned. When we ask outsiders to admire us for our fine character or our family values or our lack of vices, they immediately see beyond our words to our personal failings and they can see nothing but hypocrisy. The light that reveals the décor of our house also shows up the dust under the armchair and the crack in the ceiling. So the gospel we preach is laughed at and treated with scorn. We react by deciding that evangelism is too hard and probably someone else’s gift anyway. We retreat into the shadows of our soul and just like our stamp collection our Christian discipleship becomes nothing more than a holy hobby, disconnected from our lives.
What we have done is take our light and put it under a bowl and when we do this it wont be long before it goes completely out.
We should not use the light to draw attention to ourselves, what we should do is draw attention to the light. It’s like being the first one in the street to have electricity. We invite people in to look and marvel at the light. It is the light we proclaim, not ourselves as revealed by the light. Since we draw their attention to the light, they look past our disheveled household to marvel at the illumination. Then they all go away amazed and determined to get electricity for their own houses. When outsiders see the light of God shining despite our sins and flaws, they will marvel, they will find hope for themselves, and they will be transformed.
So we do not put our light under a bowl, where it will be extinguished, but on a stand so it will illuminate the whole house. Not so that people will see the house, which is a mess, but the light, which is a marvel.
Jesus has no secret truths, no private teachings that should only be passed down to those who are qualified. While it is true that He wanted to keep certain of His teachings secret during His earthly ministry—such as His identity as the Messiah—the secrecy was only temporary until all things were complete. If Jesus’ claims about Himself had gotten out early, it would have hastened the crucifixion and eliminated much of His ministry. By keeping some things secret, He kept control over the timetable of events. But after the Resurrection, there is no more need for secrecy! Today He wants His disciples to reveal all things when they teach. While it is true that there are tricks of the trade, if you will, and pastoral insights that are passed down through the generations of Christian leaders, there are no secret doctrines. If anyone claims otherwise treat them with caution!
There are no secret teachings, neither ancient ones nor modern ones nor newly discovered ones. Spiritual frauds, both ancient and modern, can seem quite compelling, especially if you don’t have the technical knowledge to analyze them sufficiently, and it is often hard to resist their claims. But one thing is very clear. Any claim that you are worthy to receive a secret teaching is an appeal to your vanity, because it tells you that you are somehow better or at least more eligible than others. This alone reveals the spiritual fraud, for the Spirit of God never appeals to your vanity. Scripture says:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
—Philippians 2:3, NIV
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a lighthouse that sat on a rocky shore and helped ships get through the water safely without hitting any big nasty rocks. One day the lighthouse operator became sick and a temporary substitute was put in charge of the lighthouse. While he was there tending the lighthouse a big storm blew up and sand and branches and all kinds of things were flying around in the wind. The temporary lighthouse keeper got out a big piece of canvas and covered up the lantern so it would not get wet or damaged in the storm. That night a ship blew upon the rocks and sank with all hands. Sounds silly, doesn’t it - I mean - who, as Jesus puts it, lights a lamp and then puts it under a bowl?
When we place the lamp on the stand, so that it illuminates the whole room, we reveal all things. Nothing is hidden; nothing is withheld, for all is made public. We must set the mysteries of our faith as a lamp upon a stand, to light up the whole room, so that all may hear, so that all may see, so that all may believe, and so that all may be saved Anon
Shortly after I first gave my heart to Christ a question was put to me that I would like to ask you today - a man asked me - "What are you? Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? I was a little bit slow that day - I couldn’t figure out what he was driving at - so I asked him a simple question in return: "What the heck are you talking about? He said - a thermometer reflects its environment, it shows what the temperature is, if its hot outside - it says its hot; if its cold, it says its cold; it exerts no influence on what’s around it - rather it is influenced by it; but not so a thermostat.
A thermostat has power, it sets the temperature, it changes things.
So - what are you? A thermometer, or a thermostat?
What a great question! It is one that Jesus puts to his disciples "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
