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In Luke 8:16-18, Jesus says that a lamp is made to be set on a lampstand. In context, He is talking about the Word that He preaches, and the fact that it both illuminates and exposes. A light on the lampstand means that "nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light" (v. 17). I suspect that there is some allusion here to the most famous lampstand in Scripture, the tabernacle menorah (Exodus 25). The lamp was set up to shed light in the holy place, but in a real sense the lamp was covered over in a container and put under a basket (the tabernacle). It was hidden. But nothing is hidden that shall not be revealed, and the light of the menorah is going to shine out once Jesus has torn the temple veil. There's a link here with Jesus claim that He brings judgment on earth: Jesus came to expose things to the light, so that nothing can hide in dark corners anymore.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, September 22, 2003 at 02:15 PM
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