The Sermon on the Mount: What do you see? What you want to…

In the fifteenth of the series on the Sermon on the Mount, we look at not only what we see in the world around us, but how we perceive it, and what Jesus says about that. Click here for the recording of this 6/22/25 Service, and you can fast-forward to 29:35 to get to the start of the sermon.

Our text comes from Matthew Chapter 6.22-23

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

Facts about the eye…

• Unique: Each person's eyes are unique, similar to fingerprints. 

• Two Eyes: Humans have two eyes, which provide depth perception and 3D vision. 

• Color Perception: The eye can distinguish over 10 million colors. 

• Brain Connection: Over 80% of the brain is dedicated to processing visual information. 

• Facts about the eye, 2/3

• Upside-Down Images: The images formed on the retina are upside-down, but the brain corrects them. 

• Eye Muscles: The eye muscles are the fastest in the body, allowing for rapid eye movements. 

• Multi-Purpose Organ: The eye is not only a sensory organ but also a protective barrier, providing a shield for the brain from external threats. 

• Reflexive Blink: The eye automatically blinks in response to bright light or foreign objects

• Eye Size: The human eye is about 1 inch in diameter and weighs around 0.25 ounces. 

• Eye Regeneration: The eye can regenerate some of its cells, such as the lens. 

• Blinking: We blink around 15 times per minute, which helps lubricate and protect the eyes. 

• Eye Color: Brown eyes are the most common, followed by blue and green. (google a/i) 

v22

• Jesus uses the word ofthalmos, and thus is likely communicating on two levels, something he did often; literal, and metaphorical

  • The eye, the organ of sight; by extension: the faculty of mental perception and understanding (stepbible)

  • He calls the eye the lamp, luchnos- lamp, usually of clay or metal, with olive oil to fuel its wick (not a candle); thus, a device meant for illumination- it’s what we use to see;

v22

• Thus, he is talking about vision at two levels

  • Actual visual perception, what we physically see with the eye

  • And how we then perceive and make sense of what we have seen, mental perception

• How we see is at times overly influenced by our own setting, from which we perceive what we have seen; thus, 2 people can see the same video and arrive and opposite conclusions

Is your eye clear?

• Haplous- Good, single; hence, simple, uncompounded; sound, perfect (stepbible)

• If it is, your whole body will be full of light, fōteinos- bright, radiant, lustrous, enlightened, illuminated (stepbible)

• * correct vision leads to correct perception

v23

• If your eye is bad, ponēros- bad, the negative quality of an object; evil, wicked, crime, the negative moral quality of a person or action opposed to God and his goodness; (n.) wicked deed, wicked thing; sometimes used of the Evil One, a title of Satan

• More than bad vision, this word appears to be speaking to those who lack moral quality; sinful

• It is speaking to the way we perceive things

• The whole body, sōma- body, the mass of anything, usually a corporeal tissue, human, animal, or plant; our physical being

• Will be full of darkness, skoteinos- dark

• When you are in the dark, you can’t see

• The darker your darkness, the less you can see

• Some people can’t see what is, because they live in willful darkness- this is narcissistic intentionality

A play on words

• If the light that is in you is darkness, skotos- gloom, punishment, misery; moral darkness

• What kind of great darkness are you in?  In the Greek rendering, Jesus is actually asking a question

• What kind of spiritual shape are you in?

• How bad is your vision?

How this applies to us

1. Each of us is responsible for our own vision.

2. Many of us see too much solely from our own context- “I want, I need, Why can’t I…”; from me to we.

3. I as your pastor, am responsible to positively influence what you see and perceive, by rightly dividing the Word, 2 Tim 2.15

4. Ultimately, your vision is your choice.

5. How you perceive has eternal consequences for you.