Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 4 Study # 2
June 16, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:
The point of the parable of the Lamp is that Jesus came to provide understanding so that His disciples would not be dissuaded from their task by reason of their ignorance of "hidden truths" that they do not understand.
Introduction: In our study last week we spent our time dealing with the significance of three main questions: what is the significance of this parable in the light of the one that precedes it and the other that follows; what is the reason Jesus chose "The Lamp" to be the major focus of this parable; and, what is the identity of "The Lamp"?
- I. The Larger Issue of All of the Parables.
- A. This issue is given a very broad identity in 3:14.
- B. This issue is developed in the parables in a way that strongly suggests that the preparation of the Twelve revolves around two major "problems".
- 1. The first is the "problem" of ignorance of the message that they are to preach: their message is involved with "The Mystery of The Kingdom of The God".
- 2. The second is the "problem" of the possibility of a diminishing of motivation to fulfill the task.
- C. The particular issue of the parables has mostly to do with the second of these "problems".
- 1. In the first parable, the element of "The Mystery" that is revealed is both the reality of the variety of the responses of men to "The Seed" because of the conditions of the landing places, and the encouragement to "sow the seed" in spite of the reality of the first three responses.
- 2. In this second parable, the element of "The Mystery" that is revealed has to do with "the reason The Lamp comes" as an encouragement to the Twelve to apply themselves to the task.
- a. This is no small matter: how many times do believers refrain from sowing the Word because of a fear that they will not be able to answer the inevitable objections that come?
- b. And, what is the reason for that fear?
- 1) The first "reason" is the recognition of the fact that we are ignorant so that we will run into questions we cannot answer.
- 2) The second "reason" is that we have a deep commitment to the preservation of our reputation before men that tends to force us into silence if we know we may be unable to answer their objections [this is the problem of the "evil eye" that keeps us in the dark: Matthew 6:22-23].
- II. The Particulars of the Issue of This Second Parable.
- A. The identity of "The Lamp" in terms of the larger background.
- 1. "The Lamp" is a follow-up to the initial parable in regard to the identity and function of "The Word" (the identification of the "seed" that is sown) so that "the seed" is now "The Word" and "The Word" is "The Lamp".
- 2. "The Lamp" is a part of the larger biblical themes of "Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet" (Psalm 119:105), "In The Beginning Was The Word and The Word Was God" (John 1:1), "The Word Became Flesh and ... We Beheld His Glory" (John 1:14), Jesus, as The Word, is "The Light of The World" (John 8:12), Jesus, as the Word/Light, is "The Lamb That Takes Away The Sin of The World" (John 1:29, 36), and Jesus, as that "Lamb" is "The Lamp of the New Jerusalem" (Revelation 21:23): Jesus is The Lamp.
- B. "The Lamp" as "He Who Makes Manifest What Is Hidden".
- 1. The point of Jesus' question about the purpose of the coming of "The Lamp" is whether its/His "purpose of function" is to keep hidden things from being revealed.
- 2. The issue of "manifestation" is emphatic (repetition of verb/adjective in 4:22).
- 3. Thus, for the disciples, Jesus is raising the question of whether He ever "comes" for any other purpose than to "make hidden things manifest".
- a. This is designed by Jesus to get the Twelve to embrace their identity as the "you" to whom "The Mystery of The Kingdom of The God" is "given" (4:11).
- 1) With this identity, they can boldly pursue the task without concern for the realities of "unfruitfulness".
- a) "Unfruitfulness" as a "lack of persuaded audiences" is not because of their lack of clarity regarding "hidden things" (Note Revelation 22:11).
- b) "Unfruitfulness" as a lack of ability to explain all of the answers to the objections is not their problem (Note 2 Peter 3:15-16).
- 2) With this identity, they can overcome the temptation to yield to the pressures of those whose attitudes guarantee their own unfruitfulness.
- b. This is also designed by Jesus to get the Twelve to embrace the light for further understanding.
- 1) This raises the question of the "what?" that is "hidden".
- a) The "thesis" of hidden things is elemental to Jesus' teaching in parables: He said the parables were designed to keep "those who are without" from understanding.
- b) Thus, the mysterious "truth" regarding "The Kingdom of The God" is what is "hidden".
- 2) But Jesus' teaching in parables was "the coming of The Lamp to make manifest what is hidden".
- a) "Hiddenness" was never intended to keep people from the truth.
- b) But, as Jesus said, "if your eye is evil, your whole body will be filled with darkness" (Matthew 6:22-23).
- c) Therefore, we understand that "The Lamp comes" to build understanding.
- i. Note Daniel 12:4 and 12:8-10.
- ii. Note Isaiah 46:9-10 in light of the difficulties of prophetic utterances before history makes them plain.
- iii. Learning Hebrew: English words make no sense until there has been a gradual process of enlightenment.
- iv. The major "problem" is the difficulty of infinity revealing anything to finitude and the downline reality that learning is "line upon line, precept upon precept".
- C. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear".
- 1. There is this "condition": "ears to hear" has to do with the prior development of the attitudes necessary for learning to take place ("clear eyes" (Matthew 6:22) and "unstopped ears" (Isaiah 35:5 and Zechariah 7:11).
- 2. And there is the process indicated above in B.3.b.2)c)iv.
