In our time together we have been discussing the Tabernacle; the tent in which God (in the Old Testament) came down to have fellowship with His people. And this tent was a foreshadowing of a greater tent yet to come, as John reveals in the opening of his gospel. And in speaking of Jesus, he says…
John 1:1-5 (ESV)-- 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.In the Old Testament, the concept of...
In our time together we have been discussing the Tabernacle; the tent in which God (in the Old Testament) came down to have fellowship with His people. And this tent was a foreshadowing of a greater tent yet to come, as John reveals in the opening of his gospel. And in speaking of Jesus, he says…
John 1:1-5 (ESV)-- 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the Old Testament, the concept of light was very important to the Jewish people. The word “light” appears more than 177 times in the Old Testament (KJV) and 95 times in the New Testament (KJV). That is 272 times. That’s more than the words “wisdom”, “faith”, “joy”, or “praise”. So why do the Jewish people care so much about light? Well, the Jews are obsessed with light because, all throughout the Old Testament, there is a strong connection between LIGHT and GOD (YAHWEH). God is shown to be the creator of physical light back in Genesis when He creates the sun, moon, and stars. In Exodus 10:21-23 God withdraws that light from the land of Egypt. It says…
Exodus 10:21-23 (NIV) The Plague of Darkness-- 21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
The darkness does not touch the Israelites. Why? Because God (the source of light) is with them. And after this, God also uses light to guide his people in and through a pillar of fire in the wilderness; also, God is described in the Old Testament as being the source of spiritual light for His people, through whom all things; all wisdom can be made known. His light illumines the world so that you can see it as it really is. But it says that those who are in sin are lost in the dark (as the Egyptians were) because they do not have the light of God that can reveal to them wisdom, truth, and the most meaningful path for their lives. Those who follow God are in the light and those who reject Him and His wisdom are described as foolish persons who stumble around in the darkness.
So the Israelites were in the light as long as they followed God. And throughout their history, those times that they were strongest were when they were living in obedience under God. And times of darkness and confusion always came during times of disobedience to God and His Word. This is why the writers of scripture (in their praises to God) so often include this concept of light. I mean, just look at a handful of verses from the Old Testament:
David writes in 2 Samuel 22:29, in His song of praise (NIV)— 29 You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 18:28 (NIV)-- 28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 19:8 (NIV)-- 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm 27:1 (NIV)-- 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?...
Psalm 36:9 (NIV)-- 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Psalm 56:13 (NIV)-- 13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Psalm 89:15 (NIV)-- 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)-- 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (And here of course we move into a description of the person of Jesus.)
Isaiah 42:6 (NIV)-- 6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
And what is amazing is that this concept of God being connected with light shines all the way through the New Testament as well. (PAUSE) NOW can you see why the Pharisees might have gotten a little upset when Jesus called Himself The Light of The World? I mean Yahweh is the light for His people, which was represented by that lampstand in the Tabernacle. And here is this carpenter’s son, from Nazareth, the nowheres-ville of Israel who is claiming to be The Light of The World. Wow!!!
Now what does Jesus mean by calling himself The Light of the World? He means that it is only though him that you can make sense of your life; it is only through him that you can see the world as it really is, past all of the lies and deceptions; it is only His presence in your life that can guide you into becoming the person He created you to be. He is the only foundation upon which a life can stand. If you reject Him, you embrace falsehood, darkness, and death. But if you cling to Him, you will be embracing truth and light and life.
C.S. Lewis made a marvelous statement that I think summarizes what Jesus is saying in calling himself the Light of the World. He says, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
And that is what Jesus is getting at, and what God has been trying to communicate to His people all throughout the Old Testament. Christ is the only lens through which we can see the world as it really is and interact with our world as He originally designed us to. Only through Him can our lives finally make sense and He be allowed to do the healing in our hearts necessary to restore us into the people He created us to be.
You know, I often think about the difficult task that Christian Psychologists in secular environments often have with the people they try to counsel. Not being allowed to mention Jesus, I wonder how they can ever hope to bring lasting change in a person’s life. Because you can’t openly point out what is often the problem: sin. So how can you apply the antidote if you are not even able to label the disease? We know that sin is darkness; it produces a darkened life; a life of chaos. And no drug can cure it; no therapy can undo it, though both have their place. The only way to expel darkness is to bring into your life the One of whom it says…
John 1:4 (ESV)-- 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
When we bring into our lives the one who is life itself; the one who is the Light of the world, it is then that we can have victory over every temptation and every addiction. It is more than a hope. It is a promise. Because you know the amazing thing about light? Darkness cannot overcome it. When you walk into a dark room and flip on the switch, there is no battle the light has to fight in order to defeat the darkness. No; merely by virtue of the light shining, the darkness is immediately expelled. The darkness can’t do anything but disappear. This is why John says in verse 5…
John 1:5 (ESV)-- 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John wants us to understand that the power of the Gospel is that when you bring Christ into your life, you bring into your life the very presence and power of God. And it is His presence in your life that can give you victory over darkness. But you cannot have victory; lasting victory without Jesus. Therefore we must come to Him. And more than that, we need to point others to Him so that they might find light and life. We have to be witnesses of the light.
There is a story of a mining explosion in West Virginia {involving a number of men}. The explosion plunged the trapped men into total darkness. When the rescue team managed to get a light through to them, one of the young men finally said, “Well, why don’t they turn on the light?” They all looked at him in amazement, and then they realized that the explosion had blinded him. In the darkness, he did not know that he was blind. The light revealed to him and to them that he was blind.”
Well, in the same way, the light of God’s Law reveals our blindness and need of redemption. [God designed the law as a means to demonstrate the unrighteousness of man in order to show the need for a Savior, Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:19-20; Gal. 3:10-14, 21-26).] And Jesus’ role is to reconnect us to the Father. This is why John says in…
John 1:18 (ESV)-- 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God {(meaning Jesus)},[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] he has made him known.
Christ’s ultimate mission was to (in Himself) reveal the Father to us and then (through His death on the cross) make payment for our sin and open the way for us to return to and be reconciled with the Father. And so Jesus and the cross are central to all of this. And yet it says that many did not receive Jesus. John writes…
John 1:12-13 (ESV)-- 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John, in all of His writing it seems, wants to point us to the amazing glory of God and that invitation by that same God into His family. And that is really the central thrust of John’s entire Gospel; to bring us into belief in Jesus so that we might become children of God. The purpose statement for the Gospel of John is found in…
John 20:31 (ESV)-- 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Do you have the fullness of Christ’s life moving in and through you today? John opens his Gospel here by pointing us to the marvelous reality that the God of the Cosmos; the Creator of the Universe; the One who is Holy; the One who is Transcendent; cares about each and every one of us and seeks to make us His adopted children. Have you accepted that invitation this morning? I know the Word has been made flesh; but has He been made flesh in your life? Is He in you and have you allowed His light to consume all your darkness? If not, invite Him to do so. And then you will experience the life-giving light of His presence.
