Light Shined in the Darkness
(Or, Christmas Light)
John 1:4-13
Introduction: Many of you who plan to, by now, the second Sunday of December, have already put up your Christmas decorations. Our church is beautifully decorated for the season, and we all enjoy it. The Coastal Maine Botanical Garden one mile from where we lived in Boothbay, decorates for the season with over 750,000 lights! If we are intentional about it, we can not only enjoy the beauty of what we see around us, but we can allow these things to point our hearts and minds to the true Light of Christmas, the Light that came into the world in the fulness of time, the Light of the World, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Prophet Isaiah wrote,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2).
Then just a few verses later he said, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” (9:6). A child born, a Son given. God had a plan which he revealed in little glimpses by the prophets through the ages, that in the fullness of time He would send forth His Son… Light would shine out of darkness! God said through Isaiah,
"I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison…” (Isa 42:6-7).
More emphatically than the other Gospels, John picks up on that picture of “light and life” coming through the Messiah. We are taking a larger part of John’s Prologue this week in our Advent series, since the theme of “light” and “darkness” ties these verses together, and it really is a key concept in the Fourth Gospel. In John 8:12 Jesus reveals that He is that Light… “I AM the Light of the world…” He will repeat the idea again quite emphatically (see John 9:5; 12:35-36,46). Light was coming into the world! It is an unusual phrase to our American ears perhaps, but when a woman gives birth in Brazil, they use the expression, “dar à luz,” i.e., “give to the light.” An interesting contrast: Mary gave birth, but she didn’t “give to the light,” rather through her the promised Child who was born, He came into this present darkness, He is the Light of the World! He is the Light, and as we consider these verses in John, we’ll see…
The Big Idea: We are witnesses that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world, to provide the way out of darkness into the Light of Life for all who believe! Consider…
1) The Arrival of the Light, as the light shines in the darkness (4-5);
2) We’ll see that God chose human witnesses to testify to the light (6-8);
3) The Light shines on all, drawing some, exposing unbelief in others (9-11); and
4) The invitation, will we believe, and receive the Light of Life (12-13)?
I. The True Christmas Light: The Light shines in the darkness! (4-5).
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John uses “light” 23 times, first in this context. We can consider the broader context of the Gospel to understand more fully how the Word, Jesus, is also the Light and the Life.
John 3:19-21, 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.
John 8:12, 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life…" (see also 9:5).
John 12:35-36, 35 So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
John 12:46 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
So, for John, clearly “light” and “life” go together. The Light of the World is also “light” and “life.” The idea is repeated in part in 1:5, with a challenging twist. The second part of v.5 poses an interesting translational issue. You see it clearly if you put the older 1984 NIV translation alongside the ESV…
NIV John 1:5, The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
ESV John 1:5, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Which is correct? I would say it seems likely that both are! John loves to intentionally use double entendre to invite the reader to ponder over the fuller meaning of what he is saying. The classic example is John 3:14-15 where Jesus is talking about Moses “lifting up” the snake in the wilderness, and He says that the Son of Man must also be “lifted up.” Physically yes, on the cross. But in also metaphorically, in the sense, “exalted.” John emphasizes the Cross as the exaltation and vindication of the Lord. Here in John 1:5, the translators of the NET Bible try to deal with the two senses of the Greek term by using translating, “the darkness has not mastered it.” In the notes they explain that could have the sense of an athlete “mastering” their opponent, or it could have the sense of a student “mastering” his lesson. The darkness of this fallen and corrupt world could not overcome the Light. Jesus is in control, His will and work will be accomplished. No power of Hell or scheme of man can stop what God is doing. Jesus is building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!
It is also true that those in darkness cannot understand the Light, until their eyes are supernaturally opened. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, still in darkness, asking questions. and Jesus had to ask him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and you don’t understand these things?” (Jn 3:10). As Paul said to the Corinthians, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… and he is not able to understand them…” (I Cor 2:14). That sounds like quite a challenge perhaps. Those to whom we witness are deaf and blind to the truth. In fact, they are dead in their trespasses and sins! But so were we, right? With God nothing is impossible. Some will believe! *The Big Idea: We are witnesses that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world, to provide the way out of darkness into the Light of Life for all who believe!
II. God chose to use humans to bear witness to the Light (6-8).
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
John the Baptist “came as a witness to bear witness about the Light.” John will come back into view later in this chapter, but here it is explicitly stated that John was sent by God with a mission: to bear witness about the light. From the context of the chapter, we know this is John the Baptist. It seems that John, the writer of the Gospel, felt he could assume that, since it is the only “John” mentioned (this Gospel is the only one that doesn’t name John the apostle, the brother of James). It is noteworthy that the Baptizer be “sent,” the verb has the idea of one sent on a very specific mission, to witness, or testify, about Jesus, the Light of the world. The verb “to witness” or “testify” appears only twice in the other Gospels, but it appears 33 times in John. The noun “testimony” or “witness” appears in the other Gospels only three times, all in Mark, but 14 times in John. This is the language of a court room, but even as we get to the so-called “trial” of Jesus in the Passion Narrative in John, we’ll see that Jesus is not on trial. The people who hear and see him are the ones on trial. Their response will indicate whether they are in the light, children of Light, or if they are in darkness.
Later in the Gospel, after the resurrection, Jesus will say to the disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” That was spoken specifically to the disciples. Still, we know that Jesus had in mind the mission that they would initiate, which would continue until his return. Remember in the High Priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus prayed for the disciples, but he also said, “…I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…” The mission continues! In this Gospel, in fact in all the Gospels, the writers, under the inspiration of God, are presenting the evidence,. the eyewitness testimony, that proves the case for Christ… He is the promised Messiah, the Rescuer, the One to whom the Scriptures pointed. The evidence is clear. The response to the “Light” demonstrates where we are, in the Light, or still in darkness.
Here in our passage we are reminded that John the Baptist, as the forerunner to Jesus, had a very specific role, announcing that the coming of the Messiah was at hand. The disciples, the apostles, had a very specific, foundational role in bringing the message to the early church while the New Testament documents were still being written. But the mission continues, and we are his witnesses. We don’t save anyone, but we can testify to God’s grace in our life, and hopefully our manner of life will be a part of that. And most importantly we hold forth the Word of Life. The Bible is God’s Word, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. *The Big Idea: We are witnesses that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world, to provide the way out of darkness into the Light of Life for all who believe!
III. The Light shines on all, some are enlightened, others, exposed (9-11).
…The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
I highlighted the word “world” above just to show it was used four times in vv.9,10. Here I think the ESV gets the translation correct that John points to the coming of the true light into the world. That will become explicit in 1:14 when he says, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” I don’t think John is just saying that the Eternal Word was coming into the world, but he wants us to understand that He came on purpose, into this fallen world, this world under the curse, this world still in darkness. It is almost beyond our capacity to understand – the Eternal Word, who was with God, who is God… who is holy and without sin, willingly, intentionally, entered this sin-cursed world, knowing, in fact planning, exactly how the story needed to unfold. Let’s make a couple of observations. First v.9 says, “…the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world…” An earlier edition of the ESV said, “the true light, which enlightens everyone…” I think that is misleading, since when we get the John 3 we’ll see that the light shines on all, but not all are “enlighten.” Some people, indeed most people, “love darkness rather than light.” It is analogous to the response of people to the Word of God, for some it is a lamp to their feet, a light to their path. They hear the word and believe. Others reject the Word. The response to the Light, the response to the Word, reveals their heart. Light reveals truth, light exposes sin.
John will emphasize the irony, here at two levels. First, the Creator entered creation, to offer peace, to give hope, and ultimately to make a way for sinners to be reconciled, and the world did not recognize Him! It seems like the next phrase is getting even more specific, “he came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” It seems likely He is talking about the Jewish nation, especially the leaders, who were the recipients and guardians of the Word written, the ones who knew and experienced God care and provision through the ages, who had the promises of a Redeemer, and when He came they did not recognize Him. Even so, a remnant believed, and some will yet believe. Jesus is building His church! *The Big Idea: We are witnesses that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world, to provide the way out of darkness into the Light of Life for all who believe!
IV. Will you believe, and receive the Light of Christmas? (12-13). Hear God’s word,
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.
In a real sense, these two verses are the heart of the prologue. It seems to me in the structure of the prologue, and in the message of the Gospel as a whole, this is the reason John is writing. He’ll say it explicitly in 20:30,31,
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.
This is why Jesus came into the darkness of this fallen world. So that through faith, people could understand correctly and more fully who Jesus is, and by believing, find true life, the eternal life for which we were created. Many reject the Light, but for those who see their sin, and who turn to the Light, turn to Jesus, for forgiveness, they are regenerated, born again! This is the prelude to that nighttime encounter we see between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3. You remember that scene, “Nick at Night.” It is an interesting detail to mention. Why did Nicodemus come at night? Was he fearful of other of the Sanhedrin perhaps? But he comes, it seems the light is beginning to flicker, as he stands and converses with the Light of the World.
What is God saying to me in this passage? *The Big Idea: We are witnesses that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world, to provide the way out of darkness into the Light of Life for all who believe!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? The one Light you need is…
1) Jesus said a bit later, in Jn 9:5, “While I am in the World, I am the light of the world…” That statement seems to anticipate his departure, and our responsibility to point people to the LIGHT of Life. Christ’s mission is our commission. Later in John, Jesus says to his disciples, “...as the Father has sent me, so send I you.” Our task as we walk with him is to point others to the Light. That mission doesn’t stop for the Holidays, in fact this may be a great opportunity to point people around us to the “reason for the season,” the Light of the World, Jesus.
2) We who know Him are His body in the world. Elsewhere, he said to his followers, “You are the Light of the World!” We saw in previous series the importance of our manner of life as an aspect of our witness (NB. I Peter and Philippians). How we live may speak more loudly than what we say. Your manner of life may be what God uses to show someone the reality of New Life in Christ. Let’s determine to live Coram Deo, before the face of God, conscious of His presence, as long as we are in the world.
3) If you have not yet come to the Light, let me ask you in love, what are you waiting for? All have sinned and fall short, ALL. You know the truth about yourself. So does God. Even so, he sent the greatest gift imaginable, his Son, to die for you. This is how God showed His love among us, He sent His one and only Son into the world, that we might live through Him! Admit your need, entrust yourself to Him, confess Him as your Savior and Lord! AMEN.
Comments
Post a Comment