Luke 11:33

The Lamp of the Body

33 No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light. ¹

Luke 11:33 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:33

No man when he hath lighted a candle
These words are often repeated by Christ on different occasions, (See Gill on Matthew 5:15) and (See Gill on Luke 8:16) and here seem to design the free, open, and clear ministry of Christ, who excelled Solomon in wisdom, and Jonas in powerful preaching. It being as a candle, which, when lighted, no man

putteth in a secret place;
as under a bed, ( Mark 4:21 ) where it cannot be seen, and its light be of any use:

neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which
come may see the light;
intimating, that Christ and his disciples did not preach in corners, or in private houses, and secret places, but in the streets of the city, and in the temples and synagogues, the public places of worship: and therefore the Jews were the more inexcusable, that they did not attend to the ministry of the word; and this would be their condemnation, that light was come among them, and they preferred darkness to it, ( John 3:19 ) .

Luke 11:33 In-Context

31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

33 No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.

35 Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 6:22–24)