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What is being said here. Does the eye and light symbolise something or can it be taken literally?

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2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted


Here are some scriptures that I feel support this view:

"For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10 ESV).



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Thanks chief, your answer was an eye opener. In other words the eyes symbolize our intention/will & light symbolize the Holy spirit. BTW it seems that this is your first post here...Welcome to Hermeneutics.stackexchange –  CODESIGN Oct 11 '13 at 8:44
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1. Context

Matthew 6:22-23 is sandwiched between two passages explicitly about wealth, and the three passages together form a unit with 6:25-34 which is related to possessions and the necessities of life. The logical flow is:

  1. 19-21 Do not be short-sighted (seek treasure that will last)
  2. 22-23 ?
  3.    24 Do not be double-minded (you cannot serve God and money)
  4. 25-34 Do not be anxious (seek righteousness and your material needs will be met)

This indicates that we should at consider the possibility that there is a link to wealth in 22-23 as well.

2. Internal logic

The phrase "The eye is the lamp of the body" can be interpreted in two ways. Either the eye, belonging to the body, shines outward (like the headlight of a car), or the eye is the light that enlightens the body itself, ie it shines inward. The latter interpretation is key to understanding Jesus' logic because the condition of the eye/lamp is what determines whether the "whole body will be full of light/darkness".

3. Metaphors

The two remaining exegetical questions concern the two metaphors used:

  1. What does it mean here for the eye to be either 'healthy' or 'bad'
  2. What is the meaning here of 'darkness' and 'light'

4. Light and darkness

There is a general association between light and good, and darkness and evil, throughout scripture.

The only other mention in the Sermon on the Mount fits the pattern of light corresponding to what is good:


5. Healthy or bad eyes

The NET Bible translation notes indicate that the word used for 'bad' can also mean “evil”. This allows the possibility that Jesus is consciously alluding to Proverbs 28:22:


... because the phrase 'A stingy man' is literally 'A man whose eye is evil'

6. Conclusion


  1. These verses are about wealth like the surrounding context.
  2. Jesus is alluding to a Hebrew proverb and idiom concerning those whose 'eye is evil' or 'are stingy'
  3. If a man is stingy (ie seeking after worldly wealth for himself), he is poisoning his soul. seeking after what is good instead improves his internal condition.
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