“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. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 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.”
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Jesus has just finished telling the parable of the Sower and the Seed. It’s a parable that tells the story of people’s different responses to his teaching.
Later, in giving the parable’s explanation to his disciples, Jesus let them know that his words unveil for them the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But not so for others. Some – like the hard ground, the rocky soil, the weed-choked garden of the parable – remain unresponsive to his teaching. Indeed, he said the very reason he spoke in parables was “so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand” (Luke 8:10). The parables themselves would keep the truth veiled from those who were unreceptive.
It's a dire word. Tragic. The good news of the Kingdom of God is kept at arm’s length. The eyes of those who need to see are blinded. The ears of those who need to hear are stopped up.
But there is hope. In these three short verses which follow (verses 16, 17, 18) Jesus gives the fuller picture. The secrets of the Kingdom are like a lamp that has been lit in the lives of these disciples. It’s not meant to be hidden. Not at all. The good news is meant to be shared widely and broadly, even with those who cannot yet see. For who, in their right mind, would light a lamp and put it in a jar or stash it away under a bed. It would be hare-brained. No, a lamp is meant to illuminate the room, giving light to all who come in. Be like that, Jesus is saying. Indeed, in speaking this brief parable about the lamp, Jesus is giving his disciples their mission. They are to share the light of the Kingdom. They are to let it shine.
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” Yes, during his own ministry his parables kept the Kingdom’s truth veiled from some. But the upcoming, ongoing mission of the disciples would sound it abroad. They would declare the good news gladly in all the world, to all peoples. So that the people walking in darkness could see a great light – so they could see and understand.
And so, in the Book of Acts, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and ascension, we see the disciples starting in Jerusalem, declaring the good news to the very community who had turned a deaf ear and blind eye to Jesus’ teaching. He had come to his own, but his own had not received him. Yet, that is where the good news of the Kingdom was first proclaimed. “There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed.” The Apostle Paul was himself one of those who, though seeing, did not see – but he was brought face to face with the risen Lord Jesus. From that point on he, too, declared the good news, making it his pattern to start in the synagogues of the communities he visited, so that the message of the Kingdom revealed in Jesus could be "brought out into the open.” Many believed.
But still, as in the parable of Sower and Seed, there is the necessity for those who hear to truly embrace the Gospel, deeply and fully; to be good soil, rather than hard-packed, rocky, or weed-choked. So, Jesus concludes these verses by reasserting how crucial it is to listen carefully and well. The one who listens and receives will be given more. They will step deeper and deeper into God’s Kingdom. But the one who does not receive the Kingdom will ultimately discover that what he thinks he possesses is actually nothing at all.
This then is the season for declaration. A time for all who have received the good news of Jesus to let their light shine through deeds and words, in every way, in every corner, in every life. The invitation is being given. The Lord himself urges us to shine forth. The Gospel message must not be concealed.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
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Lord Jesus, thank you that the light of the glory of your Gospel has touched me. Now, shine your light in and through me that others may also receive. To your further glory. Amen.
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Reflect:
The old Sunday School song says, “Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light … You in your small corner, and I in mine.” Where is the Lord asking you to shine? How?
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Photo by Anastasia Pirri on Unsplash
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