If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

LUKE 11:36KJV
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Luke 11:36 (KJV)

What does Luke 11:36 mean?

Luke 11:36 says that if every part of a person is filled with light, with no darkness at all, then the whole person will be completely full of light—just like a lamp shining brightly and lighting up everything around it. The verse uses the image of a lamp to show how being full of light leaves no room for darkness.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to a crowd, using everyday language about light and darkness to make a point about spiritual clarity and openness. He is continuing a teaching about the eye as the lamp of the body, explaining that when a person’s inner life is healthy and open to truth, their whole life is illuminated. The picture is of a life so full of light that there is no hidden or shadowy part left.

The Greek behind Luke 11:36

  • "φῶς" (phōs, light): This word is used several times in the verse and refers to brightness or illumination, both literal and symbolic. Here, it points to understanding, goodness, or spiritual clarity filling a person.
  • "σκοτεινόν" (skoteinon, dark): This word means darkness or something lacking light. The verse emphasizes that no part should be dark, highlighting the idea of complete openness and the absence of anything hidden or corrupt.
  • "λύχνος" (lychnos, candle/lamp): The word means a lamp or light source, not a candle as we think of today. The image is of a lamp shining so brightly that it leaves no area unlit, stressing the total effect of light in a person’s life.

Why Luke 11:36 matters

  • Luke 11:36 clears up the idea that a person can be partly in light and partly in darkness; Jesus describes a complete filling with light, leaving no room for divided loyalties or hidden darkness.
  • The verse ties directly to the earlier teaching about the eye as the lamp of the body, showing that spiritual perception affects the whole person, not just part of them.
  • The imagery of a lamp shining everywhere helps readers picture the kind of transformation Jesus is describing—one that is thorough and visible, not partial or hidden.

Where else these words appear

“dark” Greek G4652 · used in 3 verses

  • Matthew 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
  • Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

“light” Greek G5460 · used in 4 verses

  • Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
  • Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
  • Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

“shining” Greek G796 · used in 9 verses

  • Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
  • Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
  • Revelation 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

“give” Greek G5461 · used in 11 verses

  • John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
  • Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
  • Hebrews 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;