Sermon Tone Analysis

*Luke 11:33-36*

*How’s your eyesight?*

v    Re-Orient us…

Ø     Jesus is teaching a crowd after he casts out a mute demon from a man

§        Jesus is slandered by some in the hard-hearted crowd

·        “By Beelzebub he casts out demons”

§        He responds to their slander

·        “A house divided will fall”

§        He is tested by some in the hard-hearted crowd

·        “Give us a sign”

§        He then gives them the sign to look for…

·        Sign of Jonah

¨     He has answered their stubborn hearts by shedding light

 

v    Our text today gives the conclusion to this interchange

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*READ 11:33-36*

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*Uses metaphor of lamp in 2 ways…*

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v    *V.

33 ~~ Jesus’ teaching is like lamp*

Ø     Many people apply this verse improperly…

§        We are to be lights for Jesus that are not to be hidden

·        And while that is true, that is not what this text is saying

¨     That is the meaning of *Luke 8:16ff*, *Matt 5:14-16*

Ø     This text is about the receptivity of the Gospel light

 

v    Here the lamp ~/ light metaphor is not us, but his teaching

Ø     Jesus’ likens his teaching to a lamp that is lit in 2 ways:

§        In Purpose

·        Jesus’ teaching should not be hidden

¨     /No one lights a lamp /*(teaches)*/ and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl…/

Ø     The purpose of any teaching is to illuminate the mind

§        The purpose of Jesus’ teaching is to illumine the mind spiritually

·        *John 1:1-4*

¨     /In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men./

/ /

§        Jesus’ teaching is the light of men

·        The light of his teaching should never be concealed

¨     Always in the open

¨     Always offered

¨     Always on top of the table, never underneath

¨     Always at full disclosure

¨     Illustration::

Ø     I find it very interesting that the cults do not use broadcast TV like Christianity does

§        Teaching of Jesus is out in the open

§        Nothing to hide

§        Letting the light of his teaching shine

·        Interesting that Mormons & Jehovah Witnesses have not utilized this medium

¨     Because their teachings are not out in the light

§        Matter of fact, all cults are built around secrecy

·        Jehovah’s Witnesses closed services

¨     No windows in sanctuary

·        Mormons

¨     Gain secret knowledge as you climb the ranks

·        But not Christianity!

¨     There is nothing that *Billy Graham* knows that you and I do not

¨     There is nothing that *John Stott* knows that you and I do not

¨     There is nothing that *D.

James Kennedy* knows that you and I do not

 

Ø     However…

§        There are always those who want to put the light of Jesus’ teaching under a bowl

·        Create a secrecy within Christianity

¨     Been there from the beginning of the church

Ø     Secret knowledge or gnosticism is what Paul was combating in the Colossian church

§        *Col** 1:21-23*

·        /Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—//// //if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant./

/ /

Ø     This is the Gospel…That’s it

§        Nothing hidden about it!

§        There will always be those who want to hide Jesus’ teaching under a bowl

·        But Jesus’ teaching is like a lamp

¨     And the purpose of a lamp is to illuminate

 

Ø     Jesus’ teaching is like a lamp in another way…

§        In Effect

·        The effect of a Lamp is to make what is in darkness known

 

William Wimmer writes…

On a warm, summer night, my wife and I were traveling in our car with Micah, our three-year-old son, who sat in the back seat.

After many miles of driving in the darkness, we came to a stop in a remote area.

The bright­ness of the traffic light revealed all* *of the dirt, dead bugs, and insects on our windshield.

Micah said, "Look, how dirty!"

My wife and I didn't think much of his comment until a moment later when we drove away from the light and back into the darkness.

Upon re-entering the darkness, we could no longer see the mess on our windshield, and Micah quickly piped up and said, "Look, the glass is clean!"

Before the light of the gospel comes, the dirt within us is hidden in the darkness.

But when the light of Jesus’ teaching shines on the windshield of our hearts, it reveals the filth of sin we'd collected on our journey.

Jesus’ teaching, then, is the light that shows us how sinful we really are.

v    In this interchange with the hard-hearted crowd

Ø     Jesus has just turned on the lamp

§        He has just shed an amazing amount of light on the windshields of their hearts

·        And so he turns to them and in effect says…

¨     *How’s your eyesight?*

Ø     Do you see the dirt?

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*RE-READ v. 34 ~~ Changes metaphor to eyes being “lamp of body”*

 

v    The eye is an amazing organ

Ø     The eye muscles are the most active muscles in the whole body

Ø     Eyes are composed of more than two million working parts

Ø     Eyes can instantaneously set in motion hundreds of muscles and organs in your body

Ø     The eye is the only part of the human body that can function at 100% ability at any moment, day or night

Ø     The external muscles that move the eyes are the strongest muscles in the human body for the job that they have to do.

§        They are 100 times more powerful than they need be.

Ø     The eye can process 10 bits of information per second