The parable of the candle under a bushel represents one of Jesus’ most famous sayings. It appears in Matthew 5: 14, Mark 4: 21, and Luke 8: 18. In Mark, the parable concerns the “king’s return.” In Luke, the parable relates to the synagogue leaders’ rejection of Christ. To appreciate the full meaning and significance of this parable, students must study the Gospel according to the New Testament and examine Luke’s presentation of this story in its various versions.
The parable was originally presented as an illustration of how God allows some things to be rejected, but allows others to be accepted. For instance, God lets the woman who was a witch have no children, but He lets her receive one when she is cast into the furnace. Similarly, He allows the serpent in question to enter into the woman’s body, but He shuts the mouth of Jesus so that He can speak to the woman. In this account, the reason for the furnace is used to point to the rejection of Christ by those who believed Him.
However, there is much more to this account than simple exegetical intent. As indicated, the story begins with the stanza “a candle will not go out from their light” indicating that a candle will not go out when God has something special to share. But what exactly does the word “special” mean? The phrase is an allusion to the fact that only certain things are revealed through the word of God.
To understand why the candle is under a bushel, it is helpful to look closely at what the imagery means. In the first place, it is important to remember that the candle is the source of light. When God gave us the Word of God, He gave us the ability to walk into another person’s heart and take that person with us. Once we have come in, we have been filled with the Spirit of our heavenly Father. So when God wishes to shine a candle into the darkness, He uses the imagery of a candle to reveal the truth of His presence and to set the stage for what He wants us to feel and to learn.
When we enter a person’s darkness, we must keep our eyes upon the flame of Jesus because His light is the very light that unites our bodies and makes us one. In other words, God wants us to be one. As He has promised, “behold, I am the One that supplies light” (MT 5:12). That is why He placed the candle there, so that we would see that God is indeed the One Who supplies light.
The image of a candle under a bushel serves to remind us that we have a role to play in the life of someone else. When we accept Christ as our personal savior, we immediately place the candle beneath a bushel. We then become instruments of God’s love and mercy. God’s kingdom is at hand. Open your eyes and find the flame of Christ’s kingdom within you!