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). This imagery indeed links with our condition of helplessness (Matthew 5:3). The oil within the lamp is not mentioned by Jesus and is not a part of the image He suggested. However, He highlighted this factor in the Parable of the Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The issue of this parable is not one of visibility but of readiness. Jesus ended the parable with this statement, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13). In this parable, there is no possibility of being ready for His coming without the oil. The parable points to the lack of oil for the foolish virgins and the abundance of oil for the wise virgins. The only difference between the two groups was oil. This parable is a description of the “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 25:1). The lamp needs oil, or its destiny is not fulfilled. The lamp is helpless; it is to be filled and sourced with the oil. It is in this linkage that light is produced.
In our passage, the helplessness of who we are without Him is the context. It is because of our linkage with Jesus that the Kingdom of Heaven is formed. Grasp the logic of His proposal. The need for light is present. The lamp is purchased and carefully filled with oil. The wick is trimmed and soaked with the oil. All of this is for one purpose and destiny; it is to give forth light! To hide such a lamp under the measuring basket would violate the purpose for which the lamp existed. We must see Jesus! We are Jesus pushers!!!