Jn 5:33-36
[Jesus said to the Jews,] 33“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. 34I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. 35He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. 36But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”
JOHN WAS A BURNING AND SHINING LAMP: Lamps were used in Palestine before the Israelites conquered the land. They were a fixture of domestic life, used to give light to the house in the evening. They came in varied sizes. Small, handheld lamps were common. In view of their small capacity, carrying a supply of oil was essential, as we see in Jesus’ parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25:3-8). Bigger lamps and lampstands were used to light the Temple of Jerusalem. A seven-branched lampstand called the Menorah was used in the tabernacle.
Lamps and light are positive images in Scripture. The guidance of parents is a lamp for children (Prv 6:23). The Word of God is extolled as like “a lamp to my feet” (Ps 119:105). At the end of the Bible, lamps are no longer needed because the lamp of the new city “is the Lamb” (Rv 21:23) and “the Lord will be their light” (Rv 22:5).
Jesus is the light of the world (Jn 8:12), one who overcomes the darkness. But he also tells the disciples that they are the light of the world, emphasizing on allowing their lamps to shine (Mt 5:15).
Jesus points to John the Baptist as a “burning and shining lamp.” The Greek word kaiomenos (translated as “burning”) is a passive participle, and is better rendered as “kindled.” This means that the light of the Baptist is an initiative of God who sent John to bear witness to Jesus, the Messiah. The witness of John consists in his fearless exposure of wrongdoing and in his pointing others to Jesus. After this, he fades from the scene because as a lamp he thinks it necessary for Jesus, who is the light, to increase and for himself to decrease (Jn 3:30).