Luke 8:16-18

Applebury's Comments

The Parable of the Lamp
Scripture

Luke 8:16-18 And no man, when he hath lighted a lamp, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but putteth it on a stand, that they that enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is hid, that shall not be made manifest; nor anything secret, that shall not be known and come to light. 18. Take heed therefore how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath.

Comments

that they that enter may see.The purpose of the lamp is to let the light shine so that people may see. The parables of Jesus were intended to give light to their pathway. They were not to obscure the truth for anyone who wanted to understand.

By placing the parable of the lamp after the parable of the sower, Luke suggests that the Word of Godthe seedwas like a lamp to give understanding to all who are willing to accept it. See Psalms 119:105; 2 Peter 1:12-21.

For nothing is hid, that shall not be made known.What was hid from the disciples by the parable was made plain to them by the explanation which Jesus gave.

Take heed therefore how ye hear.The disciples were to hear with the intention of understanding and being enlightened by the lesson Jesus taught. That person who hears only to criticize will not be helped.

for whoever hath, to him shall be given.See Matthew 13:12-13 for a similar statement. To the one who has a desire to understand, more will be given, that is, the matter will be explained so that he may understand. But the one who did not have the desire to understand will soon forget that he had heard the parable, for it had no meaning to him.

In this connection, Matthew quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 which seems to suggest that some had deliberately closed their eyes and stopped their ears so that they wouldn-'t hear and understand.