Matthew 6:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Having spoken of the bringing the understanding into captivity because it was not easy to be understood of many, He transfers it to a sensible instance, saying, The light of thy body is thy eye. As though He had said, If you do not know what is meant by the loss of the understanding, learn a parable of the bodily members; for what the eye is to the body, that the understanding is to the soul. As by the loss of the eyes we lose much of the use of the other limbs, so when the understanding is corrupted, your life is filled with many evils.

He expresses that if your thoughts are consumed by material concerns, you have snuffed out your light and cast a shadow over your spirit. Just as a healthy eye brings light to the body, while a weak eye leaves it in shadow, so too does anxiety cloud the mind. When the mind is obscured, the spirit is also overshadowed, and this darkness extends to the body as well.

But acts which are known to be in themselves sins, are not to be done as with a good purpose; but such works only as are either good or bad, according as the motives from which they are done are either good or bad, and are not in themselves sins; as to give food to the poor is good if it be done from merciful motives, but evil if it be done from ostentation. But such works as are in themselves sins, who will say that they are to be done with good motives, or that they are not sins? Who would say, Let us rob the rich, that we may have to give to the poor?

When the eye is tainted with malice, the body becomes shrouded in darkness. This is not due to any defect in the Creator, for all that God has made is good (Genesis 1:31). Instead, it stems from the corrupt and wicked nature of the person possessing that eye. Therefore, dear reader, when you encounter the notion of the evil eye, recognize that it refers not to the physical eye, but to the malevolent thoughts harbored in an unilluminated heart. Should the physical eye become clouded due to severe affliction, such as pus or intense headache, it does not render an individual devoid of the blessings awaiting in eternity.

If the light within you is darkness, meaning if your acts of charity, which should shine and bring justification, are tainted by sin, then how much greater is the sin involved in actions that truly bring darkness. Adultery and blasphemy can only be assessed from a singular perspective, as they are merely sources of transgression; however, almsgiving presents a dual aspect: when given for the sake of human recognition, it leads to wrongdoing, yet when the hands of the benefactor are extended to a brother in need out of love, it elevates one’s soul towards God.

This is an illustration drawn from the senses. As the whole body is in darkness, where the eye is not single, so if the soul has lost her original brightness, every sense, or that whole part of the soul to which sensation belongs, will abide in darkness. Wherefore He says, If then the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! that is, if the senses which are the soul’s light be darkened by vice, in how great darkness do you suppose the darkness itself will be wrapped?

If the light within you, which represents the intellect intended to illuminate and direct the soul, is obscured, meaning it is shrouded in darkness, how profound will the darkness of the soul be, stemming from its passions, when the light that was meant to illuminate it is overshadowed.

Otherwise; from the office of the light of the eye, He calls it the light of the heart; which if it continue single and brilliant, will confer on the body the brightness of the eternal light, and pour again into the corrupted flesh the splendor of its origin, that is, in the resurrection. But if it be obscured by sin, and evil in will, the bodily nature will yet abide subject to all the evils of the understanding.

The Lord instructed them, saying: ‘As you are the light of the world, if you remain steadfast and do not waver, the entirety of the world will be illuminated. However, if you, the light of the world, allow yourselves to be overshadowed, that darkness, which represents the world, will prevail.’ Thus, the Apostles, transformed into lights, became beacons for those who had faith, illuminating their hearts with the divine light of the Spirit that had also enlightened them.

Following the profound teachings imparted by our Lord and Savior to His disciples, He declared in today's passage as your hearts have discerned: “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.” The “lamp of the body” refers to the understanding of the mind and the faith of the heart. If these are pure and radiant within us, they will surely illuminate our entire being.

The eye, which governs the entire body and illuminates the face, functions like a lamp for all its members, establishing itself in a position of honor as if it were in a royal seat, inheriting the highest authority among the senses. Just as the sun is central to the universe, so is the eye to the body. Clearly, if the sun were to disappear, chaos would ensue; likewise, if the eye were to vanish, so too would the feet and hands, leaving the entire body nearly incapacitated. I bring this up to illustrate that the teacher serves as the eye within the Church's body. If he radiates light, shining forth the virtues, then the entire body he oversees will also be illuminated. Conversely, if he embodies darkness through unworthy actions, the whole body will be engulfed in shadow.

Otherwise; if the light that is in thee, that is, if what we have begun to do well, we overcloud with evil purpose, when we do things which we know to be in themselves evil, how great is the darkness!

Otherwise; faith is likened to a light, because by it the goings of the inner man, that is, action, are lightened, that he should not stumble according to that, Thy word is a light to my feet. (Ps. 119:105.) If that then be pure and single, the whole body is light; but if defiled, the whole body will be dark. Yet otherwise; by the light may be understood the ruler of the Church, who may be well called the eye, as he it is that ought to see that wholesome things be provided for the people under him, which are understood by the body. If then the ruler of the Church err, how much more will the people subject to him err?

It is stated, “If your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:23). Here, the Lord mentions the eye in singular form to refer metaphorically to the mind, since an individual does not have merely one eye. He concludes with the statement, “your whole body will be dark,” indicating that if one of the two physical eyes fails to see, it does not imply the entire body is blind. Furthermore, the Lord did not phrase it as “if it is unhealthy,” but rather as “if it itself is unhealthy,” clearly suggesting a state of affliction that occurs within a soul consumed by sinful desires. Thus, He adds, “If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” (Matthew 6:23).

When the eye is clouded in darkness, the entire body is shrouded in that gloom, leading a blind person to wonder what actions may be taken. The effects of physical blindness are so tragic that it is unlikely anyone would hesitate to give up their assets to restore their sight. Similarly, God has bestowed upon the soul an intellect that acts as a lamp, enabling all its faculties to operate as intended. When a Christian's mind is purified from its intrinsic darkness through the waters of baptism and strengthened by genuine faith in Christ, and when it maintains this purity by faithfully obeying the Lord's commandments, all the capacities of the soul—its inclinations, desires, and deeds—are aligned toward its true good.

If your eye is unhealthy, meaning it is damaged and afflicted, your entire being will be shrouded in darkness; every action you undertake will appear disordered, like those that occur at night in shadowy surroundings. Your actions, therefore, will be indistinguishable between light and darkness, just as they are when your eyes are clear. If the eyes, which serve as the illumination for your body, are shrouded in darkness, how much further will the actions of your body be dimmed and imperfect due to that darkness? What is the significance of these teachings from our Lord? What truths do these terms convey? A lamp serves as a guide; thus, "Thy law is my lamp unto my feet" (Psalm 118:105) can be interpreted to mean that Your law guides my path.

If your vision is clouded, if your perspective is impaired or unclean, your entire being will be shrouded in darkness; you won't even recognize your own body. Therefore, if the light within you is actually darkness, what does that say about the darkness? If we hinder the mind, how shall we perceive? By obstructing the source, you desiccate the stream; similarly, should you allow your mind, which is meant to be illuminated by the light of true faith, to be shrouded by attachments to worldly pursuits, what then will this impenetrable darkness, this entanglement of passions, be that surrounds your soul? “When the helmsman is swept away by the waves, when the lamp is dimmed, when the captain is captured,” as Chrysostom puts it, what hope is left for those under his guidance?

When the heart, intended to radiate light throughout a person’s entire existence, becomes overshadowed and even propagates its own darkness, how much more diminished will the other facets and aspects of humanity be, which ought to draw their illumination from the heart? In this context, the heart is understood as the seat of spiritual perception or discernment (cf. Matthew 5:8, Isaiah 6:10) and also serves as the origin of desires. It is essential to safeguard the heart from worldly cravings and passions, ensuring it remains a channel for divine light and authentic knowledge of God.

The dimming of this higher spiritual faculty, whatever it may be, skews the entire functioning of the soul, leading individuals to struggle in clearly perceiving their surroundings and pursuing what is genuinely valuable. Instead, they become fixated on worldly and sensory matters, as opposed to the eternal and spiritual (cf.: Chrysostom, Theophylact). If the light... darkness. When the eye is impaired—clouded, and if the intellect, which should be illuminated, is overshadowed by something that prevents it from grasping what is truly divine and valuable to the soul, how does one define this darkness? What insight can the natural mind offer in isolation, without the guidance of divine illumination?