A lawyer was prosecuting a drunk-driving case. The man accused of the offense brought in five of his buddies to act as witnesses concerning the night in question. The only catch – they were his drinking buddies. They all swore up and down that he was sober that night. In his closing argument, the prosecuting attorney told a story of five men who were out drinking one night until they were kicked out of every bar in town. As they left the last bar, one man turned to another, flipped him his keys, and said, ‘Here, Wilson, you drive; you’re too drunk to sing.” Afterwards the judge congratulated the lawyer on getting his point across to the jury in such a clear and effective way.
When it comes to discerning biblical truth, I think we’re all susceptible to the same logic as that of the accused. We surround ourselves with our “drinking buddies” named: “Internal bias,” “What I’ve always believed,” “What I’ve always heard,” “What my friends say,” and “I never heard that before.” We believe that we understand the Scriptures because we’re reliant on these witnesses, and yet they are as large an impediment to growing in the truth as those five drinking buddies.
Again this week we are going to be examining a difficult statement of Jesus that many ignore or seek to explain away. Two weeks ago it was Luke 6:37, “Judge not that you be not judged…” And there we noted that not only does the context of Jesus’ words help us understand His meaning, but also there are Scriptural examples where the truth of His words are lived out, as in the case of Zacchaeus’ story.
This Sunday we will see the truth of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:22-23 lived out in His encounter with the rich young man in Mark 10:17-31. I’ve selected the Marcian text rather than Matthew’s account because it is a fuller account and it comes from the memory of Peter.
In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus says:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
What is he talking about? In answering that question it’s important to remember the significance of context. Here Jesus is at the center of the first of five great teaching sections in the Gospel of Matthew. Throughout the Scriptures the principle of “the significant center” sheds light on the importance of these words. (For instance, in our study of Ruth we noted Ruth 2:20 as the center of the book. It is there that the author tells us that Boaz is the kinsman redeemer.) Here Jesus’ mention of “the eye” is central to the Sermon on the Mount. So, what’s he talking about?
As we will see on Sunday, “the good eye” and “the bad eye” are Hebrew idioms that every first century Jew would know. In Matthew 20 Jesus tells us of a vineyard master who hires men at different times of day, but pays them the same wage. And when a worker protests, the master says in verse 15, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Actually, the Greek says, “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” In the Hebrew “the good eye” is ayin tovah – and it means to look out for the needs of others, to be generous to the poor. “The bad eye” is ayin ra’ah – and it means to be greedy and self-centered - blind to the needs around you.
So when you understand the Hebrew idiom, what Jesus is saying in Matthew 6:22-23 fits perfectly into the larger text where Jesus is talking about laying up treasures in heaven and not serving two masters.
We will take all of this true testimony and apply it to the story of the rich young man in Mark 10. The results should be impressive! For what Jesus says and does with that rich young man is what He says and does for all of us “rich folks”. I’ve seen a few new insights in this study that I pray you will see them, too.
In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:
1. What is an idiom?
2. Can you identify a few idioms in English?
3. Can you find any biblical meaning for the one Paul uses in Romans 12:20?
4. How is the Bible any different from all the rest of the books in the world?
5. Check some commentaries on Matthew 6:22-23 and see what you find.
6. What does the man’s posture signify in verse 17 of Mark 10?
7. How common is his question today?
8. What does Jesus mean by His responses in verses 18 and 19?
9. Why does Mark add the statement in verse 20, “looking at him, he loved him…?”
10. How do Jesus’ words in verse 21 correspond to Matthew 6:22-23?
11. What is the message of verses 29-30?
May we all gain a good eye! See you Sunday!
