Matthew 6:22

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

 

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

 

“The lamp of the body, it is the eye. Therefore, if your eye, it may be unblurred, your whole body – it will be lustrous” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus finished His thoughts about earthly treasures as opposed to heavenly treasures. He now provides a general precept concerning the issue of moral clarity. He does this by beginning with the words, “The lamp of the body.”

 

A lamp is something that provides illumination, not the light itself. Some versions, not understanding the analogy, say, “The light of the body.” Unless they are using the word light as a synonym for lamp, the metaphor is faulty. The thing that provides illumination to the body, according to Jesus’ next words, “it is the eye.”

 

A lamp is used to search out things in the darkness. It is also used to provide illumination to the one who has it. One may have a good lamp that illuminates everything. Or the lamp may provide any amount of light, even to a sliver that illuminates almost nothing.

 

The eye (the lamp) is what sees the world around us and provides that information (the light) to the mind, where it is processed. From there, the mind and body react to what has been taken in. In Scripture, light is that which is good. It is particularly used as a metaphor for moral goodness. That is then contrasted to darkness, which includes wrong thinking, moral impurity, etc.

 

When the eye, which is equated to a lamp, focuses on that which is good, there will be a result. The more focused it is, the greater the result. As such, Jesus continues with, “Therefore, if your eye, it may be unblurred.”

 

The Greek word is haplous. It is found only here and in Luke 11:34 in verses parallel to this account in Matthew. The word means “without folds” and, thus, single. It is the antonym of the Greek diplous, which means double. Literally, it signifies uncompounded or single.

 

Thus, there is a sense of simplicity in the word. There is nothing complicated or obscured. Therefore, the word unblurred gives a sense in regard to the eye as well as a state of morality. In such a state, meaning having a lamp that is unblurred, “your whole body – it will be lustrous.”

 

The word is phóteinos. It is that which is brilliant, meaning shining. In this case, the adjective lustrous gets the sense. It signifies reflecting light evenly and efficiently without glitter or sparkle. As such, it is not blurred light, but even and shining. The things one focuses on are what provide light to the body through the lamp, the eye.

 

If one focuses on that which is morally impure, meaning that which is darkened, that is what the body will respond to. The eye will take that in and then provide blurred illumination to the body. If one focuses on what is good, meaning that which is single and without impurity, the eye will sense that and send light to the body, thus it will be lustrous.

 

Life application: Jesus just got done speaking about earthly treasures as opposed to heavenly treasures. There is no reason to assume He has completely left that thought. Rather, He is saying that if we focus on earthly treasures, we will not be providing ourselves with moral purity.

 

Our thoughts will be corrupted and we will have no light to pursue that which is heavenly or to be lustrous in ourselves. The saying, “You are what you eat” gets the point across. Paul says elsewhere, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14, 15).

 

If the things we focus on are morally impure, we will not have the light coming to us to make us lustrous. But Paul says we are to shine as lights in the world. How can we do that while focusing on the world and not on the heavenly? In storing up heavenly treasures, we will then be able to reflect what has come into us in the way of light.

 

Read your Bible, look at what is good and morally right, consider Jesus, live in faith, etc. These things will lead us to true heavenly treasure and allow us to then shine as lights in the world.

 

Glorious God, help us to focus on that which is good, honorable, and glorifying of You. May we consider Jesus and His perfection and then strive to emulate Him. He walked among the wicked, and His eyes saw their deeds, but He remained pure and holy. Help us to be this way as well when we interact with this fallen world. In turn, we can then shine as lights to those who so desperately need it. Amen.