I am a Jesus pusher!!! “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (Matthew 5:15). The Greek word ‘luchnos,” translated “a lamp,” refers to a portable lamp or illuminator rather than a candle. The New Testament period’s typical lamp was a small clay vessel, popularly called a Herodian lamp. It was about three inches long, two and one half inches wide, and one and one half inches deep, made to hold olive oil, which was poured into the lamp’s central opening. Small flax, cotton, or hemp wick was placed in the spout. When the wick became soaked with oil, the user would light it, and the lamp produced a tiny flame. The lamps placed on lamp stands throughout the home gave sufficient light.
There is no need for argument or proof of Jesus’ statement. The logic of the statement is clear. No one would purchase a lamp, fill it with oil, and maintain its light to hide it under a measuring basket. Such an action would defeat the purpose for which the lamp existed, and the owner of the lamp wasted his time in the preparation. The purpose of the lit lamp was visibility. The application to our lives is unmistakable. We are lamps, destined and designed by God to give off light, placed on lamp stands for visibility, not so people can see us, but that our visibility might extend throughout the house. We give visibility to the presence of Jesus. We are Jesus pushers!!!