Jesus, gazing at His disciples spoke with deep sincerity,
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”. – Matthew 5:14-25
What a glorious privilege! You and I have been given the role of being Light bearers on this earth! This is our capacity!
What does that mean though? If you and I are Light bearers then we should dig deep into the Word to get an understanding of what that means to us.
Together, we are going to examine the following portions of scripture to seek for truth – the 3 parables in Matthew 25… specifically the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins, the Golden Lampstand in the Holy Place in the Temple, the bride – the Lamb’s wife, eternal life and the thread that connects them all – the Light.
The Light
John 1:4 – In Him (Jesus, the Word) was life, and the life was the light of men.
V9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
NB. Jesus gives to every man BUT not all men take what is offered. So then who has the Light?
John 8:12 – Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.
NB. He doesn’t say the one who knows about Me, He says the one who follows Me.
How do we recognize a follower of Christ?
Luke 9:23 – Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him DENY himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
V24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
The follower of Christ is the one who has denied themselves to do the will of God, and therefore to the follower Jesus says:
Isaiah 60:1-3 – Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise over you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Light, has come to dwell within us and by the power of the Holy Spirit and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to show forth His glory!
We are the receptacle which carries the glory of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:27 – To them (His saints) God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Ancient Jewish wedding
At this point, I briefly want to share with you the symbolism found in the Ancient Jewish wedding at the time of Jesus’ first coming, which I have taken from a book by Ina van Vuuren called “I do”.
The Ancient Jewish wedding is a wonderful parallel of the betrothal of the church and the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the things in the book that is pertinent to our discussion is that the young maiden keeps an oil lamp constantly burning on her windowsill, which she sees to diligently. The groom can arrive at any moment and the burning oil lamp is a sign that she is still waiting for him.
The Lamb’s wife
Revelations 19:7-9 – Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Revelations 21:9-11 & 22-23 – Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God.
V22 -23 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
We see here the following truths:
- The bride has made herself ready (how?) she is dressed in fine linen and the linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
- The Father prepared these righteous acts beforehand (Ephesians 2:10).
- The glory of God is emanating forth from her. She is a Light bearer. Christ is in her, the hope of glory.
The Bridegroom, who cannot be unequally yoked knows her because they are one.
Now let’s take a look at the parable of the 10 virgins…
Parable of the 10 virgins
Matthew 25 consists of the Parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents and the judgment of the nations. Each one is a warning from our Lord and should be taken seriously.
- The parable of the ten virgins – warns about being ready for the return of the bridegroom.
- The parable of the talents – what have you done with what He has given you?
- The judgment of the nations – what did you do for others?
We are going to concentrate on the first parable.
Matthew 25:1-13 – read.
This is what we see in this parable:
There were 10 virgins – ALL waiting for the bridegroom.
The 5 foolish virgins had lamps but no oil. No oil = no light.
The 5 wise had lamps and oil and light.
They ALL heard the cry that the bridegroom was coming.
They ALL trimmed their lamps but the 5 foolish had no extra oil and their lamps were going out. They left to try and buy oil and while they were gone, the bridegroom came.
When they cried out to the Lord to let them in, He answered saying, “Assuredly, I do not KNOW you.”
Seemingly, the only difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish was the lack of oil or readiness.
However, according to the Lord, he said He did not know them. By contrast then it is obvious that He KNEW the wise virgins.
We could conclude that if the 5 foolish virgins had known Him then they would have been ready… but to get a deeper understanding let’s have a look at the lamps.
A lamp is a container and has a wick, it has no ability to produce light without oil.
The oil has to be set alight by an external source.
The light is only the result of the oil that has been set alight.
The 5 Wise have a container, they have bought and brought oil, they have something to light the oil and therefore, they have light.
The 5 foolish have a container, no oil, maybe something to light the oil BUT no oil, no light. The Lord did not say to them though that they couldn’t come in because they had no oil, He said that He didn’t know them.
What then is the connection between the oil and knowing Him?
The Golden Lampstand
In the Holy Place in the temple, it was the job of the priests to make sure that the Golden Lampstand always had oil and that the oil was always lit to give off light before the Holy of Holies – Ex. 27:20-21.
- The Golden Lampstand was the item created to carry the oil, but of itself it had no ability to produce light without oil.
- The oil was the ‘harvest’ that came from the pressing of olives that had been given by the children of Israel as an offering but it had no ability to provide light without being set alight.
- Only once the oil was set alight by the priests could it provide light.
The priests have:
The container.
They have oil from the sacrifice or offering.
They have something to light the oil with.
Therefore they have Light.
The Light bearers
Having looked at the examples that the Word has provided we understand the following:-
You and I, (the ones desiring to be the bride), as the Light bearers provide the container, the receptacle.
When we bring our lives as an offering, as we sacrifice our will to do His will…this pressing of our lives, (picking up our cross) this sacrifice provides us with the oil that will keep the ‘Light’ burning…once it is set alight. Without it being set alight, the oil will just be oil, it requires the fire.
This is ALL that you and I provide in this whole deal…the receptacle and the surrendered will (the oil).
Who then provides the fire to set the oil alight?
Lighting the oil
John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11 declares that Jesus is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit AND fire.
In Acts 2:1-4, the Holy Spirit fell upon each one as tongues of fire.
Fire lights the oil and does what? It is the catalyst, it brings forth, exposes or reveals the Light!
The Holy Spirit as the Teacher is the revealer of the Son and the Father. Through this revelation, He is shedding light – to reveal the Light. He is the Guide and we are to follow His leading. (Rom.8:14).
He is also the one who anoints us with the ability to do the will of the Father once we surrender. Through our obedience to His leading, He exposes the King of kings and Lord of lords. We obey, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Light and the Light glorifies the Father.
Warning… it’s not just about doing good works…it’s about doing the works that He prepared beforehand. These works will glorify Him…they will draw attention to the Light! The Holy Spirit is leading us into those works.
Matthew 7:21-23 – Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
Again, when it is a good work prepared beforehand by the Father, the Holy Spirit is the catalyst for glorifying the Lord through that work…If it is our own good work, it glorifies us…
Lastly, as we surrender to His will and we employ our talents for those that need Him, we are wise virgins and most importantly, The Lord knows us because what we do for the least of them we do it unto Him. You have been ministering for Him AND to Him… This is not about condemnation!!!
You are a Light bearer…a Light bearer. Wherever you go, you are a carrier of the Light. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
If the Light (Jesus) is shining through your life it will produce good works (fruit – both inner and outer) that will glorify your Father in heaven.
John 15:8 – By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Remember the bride – the Lamb’s wife?
Revelations 21:9-11 & 22-23 – Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God.
V22 -23 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
She had the glory of God emanating forth from her being…much fruit…the fruit of the Vine.
The theme for this year seems to be about producing an abundance of fruit or evidence by which the Father will be glorified. Time to arise and shine! Time for resurrection of dreams, faith, courage and true purpose. The world NEEDS the Light!!!
There are too many wounded, disappointed Christians, going through the motions, but their Christian experience lies dead…
Bruce Wilkinson in his book ‘”Secrets of the Vine”, wrote the following – “I settled for a spiritual experience often characterized by disappointment, doubt, and even anger. Looking back, I see that I was still thinking about a God who would help me win on my own terms. I had failed to lean close and listen.
But over the years, I was drawn back again and again into that lamp lit circle, and what I finally heard there has brought freedom and joy into my life. Now I understand what God wants from me – a fruitful harvest for Him. And now I see how He has been at work all along in my life to bring that about.”
The question is – why are we content to settle for a life that does not in any way reflect the life that Jesus promised us?
John 14:12 – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
This is His promise to us, so why have we settled for ordinary, un-noticeable lives?
He said that when the Holy Spirit has come upon us, we would be witnesses (bringing evidence of the truth) of Him throughout the world…why then have we become content to live unremarkable lives?
The reason is that in this world, we have been conditioned by the enemy not to expect too much from life. We are ordinary people, living ordinary lives and one day we’ll die. But hey! We’ve been saved! OR Tried that, failed…it’s obviously for others OR I’m just one of the insignificant ones, this is for the bold and fearless…LASTLY, its fear…the devil has made us afraid to stick our neck out!
The TRAGEDY is that the enemy has stolen our vision, our understanding of who we are, and most importantly – that it’s not about us! NO! It’s about CHRIST IN US, the hope of glory, the One who already HAS the victory!
This is what happened to the children of Israel when they saw the giants, they looked at themselves FORGETTING that it was GOD who would defeat their enemies. We cannot allow the same to happen to us.
Do you remember the movie The Matrix? This movie is about humanity that is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality called The Matrix. This simulated life has been created by intelligent machines so that they can use the bodies of humans as an energy source.
The enemy, the god of this world, throughout our whole life, has painted a picture for us, a simulated reality that strips us of the life that God has created for us, so that he – the defeated enemy can use our ‘life’ to rule and reign here in the darkness.
God, the one who created you and I, however, has a very different idea of what our story looks like! For you and I to SEE our story, we need to come and sit at the feet of the Author, our Story Teller. We need to be still, look up and listen…and feed on that truth, feed on that truth, feed on that truth!
It all starts off with this most important revelation – He loves you and you are on His mind. He is calling you, His child…there…into the secret place with Him.
He has much that He wants to share with you…Again…it’s time to be still…sit…and listen intently.
Don’t listen only for a word that is the solution to your current problem…listen for what He wants to say…Seek Him first…
Numbers 13:33 Of course you may be content to live a ‘grasshopper mentality’ life. You will make grasshopper decisions, have grasshopper expectations and never live the life that God designed you for. Why? Because it’s easy…it’s safe. It requires no faith or effort. You will live a life controlled by fear and pride.
And one day, the only reward you’ll have will be REGRET.
OR you could draw close to Him and let Him open the eyes of your understanding and let Him take you on a remarkable journey, fuelled by His vision and knowledge about you, empowered by His grace, He will enable you to live the life of a Light bearer!