Christmas In The Dark

CHRISTMAS IN THE DARK

CCCAG — December 21, 2025

Scriptures

Isaiah 9:2

Luke 2:8–14

Supporting Texts

John 1:1–5; Isaiah 60:1–2; Psalm 119:105

INTRODUCTION —

Christmas is in a few days, and for many it comes with expectations.

We’re told it should feel warm and bright,

like a Hallmark movie: twinkling lights, cheerful scenes, families smiling, everything in its place. And when it looks like that, it’s wonderful.

But the truth is, for a lot of people, Christmas doesn’t feel bright at all.

Many enter into this season tired—not just “busy tired,” but soul tired.

Some are grieving.

Some are stretched thin by responsibilities, family strain, medical issues, financial pressure, or anxiety that sits on your chest when the house gets quiet.

Christmas has a way of magnifying what’s already inside us.

Joy feels louder, but so does sadness.

Good memories feel sweeter, but missing someone feels sharper.

If your life is peaceful, you feel it. If your life is heavy, you feel it too.

Let me ask a question- as you have gotten older, has the Christmas Holiday lost it’s luster? Are you quietly wondering, “What’s wrong with me that this season doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to?”

Well, there is some good news- Scripture doesn’t shame you for that. In fact, Scripture meets you right there.

The Prophet Isaiah lived in such a time. Although he lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, In Isaiah chapter 9 he is looking north as he prophesied. He sees the enemy, the Assyrian Empire about to swallow the northern Kingdom, and so the prophet reminds everybody that one is coming that will bring the light of God’s glory to the darkest places.

This is the world Isaiah is speaking to when he says this-

Isaiah 9:2 says: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

Prayer

Let’s look at what Isaiah is speaking to this section of scripture.

Isaiah does not say, “The people walking in perfect peace have seen a great light.”

He doesn’t say, “The people walking in comfort, ease, and stability have seen a great light.”

He says, “The people walking in darkness.”

That means darkness is not the interruption of the Christmas story.

Darkness is the environment in which Christmas begins.

The first Christmas was not a sparkling scene of stability and comfort.

The first Christmas unfolded in a world thick with political oppression, spiritual silence, economic hardship, corrupt leadership, broken families, fear, violence, and uncertainty.

So if your heart is heavy this December, you are not failing Christmas.

You’re standing exactly where the first Christmas happened.

And our message today is this: no matter how dark life becomes, the birth of Jesus Christ breaks the darkness. Not with a motivational slogan, not with denial, not with temporary distraction, but with the arrival of God Himself—

Light entering our night.

Let’s walk through the text together.

I. THE CHRISTMAS STORY BEGINS IN DARKNESS (Isaiah 9:2; Luke 2:1–7)

A. Darkness in Israel (Isaiah’s context)

Isaiah is preaching into a bleak moment. The northern Kingdom of Israel is spiritually cold, morally confused, politically oppressed, economically crushed, and socially fractured. They are living with the consequences of generations of sin, and the fear of what comes next. And it isn’t just political darkness; it’s spiritual darkness. There is confusion about truth, compromise about morality, and an aching sense of distance from God.

Sound familiar?

And Isaiah responds to all of that by saying: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

In other words, God does not wait until the people are walking in sunshine to bring light. God brings light to people walking in the dark.

We often have this backwards. Too often we assume God only moves when we “get it together.”

We think God will show up after we become more faithful, more disciplined, more stable, more “together.”

But Isaiah’s prophecy flips that assumption: God shines in the very place where people are stumbling.

Israel also experienced something that makes darkness feel heavier: silence. Between the Old Testament prophets and the coming of Jesus, there were 400 years of prophetic silence. .

People wondered if God still remembered them. They wondered if the promises were real. They wondered if their prayers were bouncing off the ceiling.

Again, does this sound familiar?

Maybe Not the exact details, but the feeling: “God, where are You?” And Isaiah’s answer is hope: a light is coming.

B. Darkness in Bethlehem (Luke’s context)

Fast forward 730 years to a little town called Bethlehem-

Jesus is born, but, the darkness doesn’t suddenly lift.

Rome controls the land. Taxes are crushing. A tyrant—Herod—sits on the throne. The census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem is not a cute detail; it is a reminder that their lives and even movements are being shaped by a distant power.