Luke 11:33

Luke 11:33 says, No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.  Jesus said that no one would light a candle then hide it where it couldn't be seen.  The gospel of Christ is the light of thy world and was meant to be shined into the world and not to be hidden from the world.  Verse thirty-four adds, The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.  Jesus then said that the eye is the light of the whole body.  We know if it is light or dark because of our eyes.  Jesus then said that what we focus on is important.  If we keep our eyes on the Light, Jesus Christ, we will be full of His light, but if we focus on evil, our whole body will become full of darkness.  Verse thirty-five continues, Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.  Jesus warns us to not be filled with false light.  Something that we might think is illuminating may really not be from God.  Verse thirty-six concludes, If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.  Jesus tells us that if we have His light shining in us, it lights the whole body.  If we are truly faithfulful to God, there will be no little nooks and crannies that aren't filled with the light of Christ.  Verse thirty-seven states, And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.  A Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him, and Jesus accepted his invitation.  Jesus did not reject the scribes and Pharisees, but they rejected Him, just as He doesn't reject anyone today because of who they are.  Verse thirty-eight adds, And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.  When Jesus sat down to eat, the Pharisee marvelled that Jesus had not washed first.  This was more of a ceremonial washing, a religions ritual, than a purely cleansing of the hands, and Jesus chose not to do it.  I believe we can equate it to some people having certain ways that they worship, and looking down on others who do not worship the same way.  Verse thirty-nine declares, And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.  Jesus told the Pharisee that the Pharisees liked to look good on the outside, the image they presented to the world, but inside they were full of darkness.  The light of Christ was not in them.  There are still people today who profess to be religious leaders, and they may be but the light of the gospel is not in them.  We may fool people with outward signs of being a follower of Christ, but we will never fool God.  Verse forty adds, Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?   Jesus called them fools for not seeing that God Who makes all things clean on the outside also makes all things clean on the inside.  Cleaning up our outward appearance is never enough.  Verse forty-one continues, But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.  Basically,  Jesus said that if the Pharisees were more concerned about helping those in need than they were about ritual cleansing, then they would be made clean.  We can go through all the rituals that we believe to be associated with worshipping God, but if we do not help those around us when we can, then we are not following God's leadership.  Verse forty-two says, But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Jesus said the Pharisees tithed, but they passed over the judgment and love of God.  Going through the rituals of following God will not save us if we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  When we have that personal relationship, then all that we do will be lit up by the light of Jesus Christ.  Verse forty-three adds, Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.  Jesus pronounced further woe on the Pharisees because they wanted to be idolalized by people, and not because they were simply sinners saved by grace.  If we are serving God for the praise of people, then we are no better than the Pharisees in Jesus's day.  Verse forty-four continues, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.  Jesus further pronounced woe on the scribes and Pharisees because they were like unmarked graves that people walked over without realizing it.  They were leading people away from God and the people didn't realize it.  We must make sure that we aren't hypocritical in our worship of God, and we certainly must make sure that we never lead others astray.