The Disaster Of The Dark Lamp - Matthew 6:22-23 Series

Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and eating destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and eating do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Introduction

Randy Alcorn has a great way of summing up the principle in verses 19-20. “Imagine you are alive at the end of the Civil War. You are living in the South, but you are a Northerner. You plan to move home as soon as the war is over. While in the South you have accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now, suppose you know for a fact that the North is going to win the war and the end is imminent. What will you do with your Confederate money? If you’re smart there’s only one answer. You should immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency - the only money that will have value once the war is over. Keep only enough Confederate currency to meet your short term needs. As a Christian, you have inside knowledge of an eventual worldwide upheaval caused by Christ’s return. This is the ultimate insider trading tip: Earth’s currency will become worthless when Christ returns – or when you die, whichever comes first.” We have been studying through the Sermon on the Mount and last week we began the section on what righteousness in Christ’s kingdom looks like when it comes to dealing with earthly treasures. And Jesus begins that section by alerting us to the fact that everything you have is about to become worthless. One hundred percent of your assets that are not converted into eternal currency will be lost. That is the first reason why we should not have anything at all in our earthly treasury. The second reason is in verse 21 – where your treasure is there your heart will be. That really makes it a serious issue because being a Christian is being married – your heart belongs to God alone. So giving your heart to anything in this world is adultery against God. Now, in verses 22-23 Jesus gives us a third reason not to have our treasure on earth. The third reason is this – you should not allow money or anything else in this world to become a treasure in your heart because of the disaster of a dark lamp.

What is Light?

What?

Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

Now if you are like me, that is one of those verses you read and then say, “What? What in the world kind of random, out-of-the-blue statement is that? I thought we were talking about money and possessions – what does this have to do with that? Or is Jesus just abruptly changing the subject here and moving on to a new topic?” I don’t think Jesus is moving to a new topic, because the very next verse goes right back to money and possessions, and He keeps on that subject through the end of the chapter. So what in the world do verses 22-23 mean?

The goal is light in the body

Let’s begin by making sure we see the main point, so we don’t lose the forest for the trees when we dig into the details. I would venture that the main point is the first statement: The eyes are the lamp of the body. That is the first thing He says, and the rest of it just expands on that statement. So the main point that Jesus wants us to get is that the eyes are the lamp of the body. So the goal is to have the kind of eyes that result in the body being full of light. Whatever Jesus means by the body being full of light – it is a good thing, and being full of darkness is a bad thing. And it is your eyes that will make the difference.

So what does it mean to have your body be full of light? It sounds to me like Jesus is using the term “body” here in the same way He did back in chapter 5 when He said…