John 8:12, John 9:5, Matthew 5:14
(this sermon is based on a previous sermon of mine “Jesus, the Light of the World”. It has been adjusted and updated to suit the church in Kabul, Afghaninstan)
Introduction
Leading up to the celebration of Christmas, our cities are filled with festive lights. We see the popular German tradition of Christmas trees set up in houses, stores, offices and even on churches all decorated with beautiful ornaments and adorned with all the colors of the rainbow. The lights add that extra sparkle. They grab your attention by adding bright colors to an otherwise dark tree. Similar lights may be found decorating the roofline, railings and bushes of houses.
I remember growing up in the desert of West Texas where we don’t get much snow to decorate the landscape. In my home town there is a subdivision where all the houses, both sides of the street, are owned by one man. He rents the houses for reasonable rates, but there is a catch. As part of the lease, he requires every one of the houses to be decorated with lights for Christmas. He holds a contest every year to see who has the best light show.
Each year, the lights are more and more elaborate. Each year parades of cars tour that street on Christmas Eve. Each year we
“ooh-ed” and “ah-ed” at how wonderful the lights were. They were absolutely gorgeous with varying themes, brilliant colors, brightly lit houses and yards and even a full size Santa’s sleigh with reindeer and an old fashioned telephone booth to talk to red suited man himself. But, all the lights and decorations of those houses are not even a speck of light compared to the Light that entered the world over 2000 years ago.
All of these decorations and displays add a level to the festive holiday. In fact, we’d probably really miss these decorations at Christmas. But all of them pale in comparison to the Light of our savior Jesus, and the brilliant display he brought into this dark and sinful world. Jesus is the Light of the world.
The World is a Dark and Sinful Place
As early as the first chapter of Genesis, God had to separate the darkness from the light. Shortly after creation, Adam and Eve rebelled by eating the forbidden fruit. Since that time, our world has been a dark and sinful place. The darkness is all around us.
Sin and darkness are synonymous. Each blinds us to what is good and pure. In the dark, we don’t know what dangers are around us, we don’t know where we are, and we don’t know where we are going. The dark keeps us away from God and we’re unable to find the path that leads to Him. The dark and sinful world is selfish and self-centered, corrupt and immoral.
The same sinful world that the Israelites embraced is the same world around us today. The darkness that found our forefathers still finds men and women today. Since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, people were looking forward to a messiah. They were looking for a savior to erase the sins of the past and renew their relationship with God. They were looking for someone to remove the darkness and replace it with light.
Jesus is the Light of the World
Jesus is the source of light and salvation they were looking for. The Apostle John pointed out that the light shines in the darkness and darkness cannot overcome the light. He was talking about the coming of Jesus into this sinful world and the timeless message that he would proclaim to all of creation. Jesus came to shed light in the darkness. He came to offer Himself in our place. He came to replace the darkness with His light. Just like the plants require sun light to survive, we require the Son’s Holy Light for our life in salvation. Light is life.
Christmas is really the celebration of that light. It’s the remembrance of Jesus coming into the world to light a path for us and to show us the way to salvation. The true light, which enlightens everyone, came into the world.
The Light shows the path
Carrying a flashlight on a dark night is a very useful thing. Just like a light can reveal a path home on a dark and stormy night, Jesus is able to reveal the path to salvation through the dark and sinful world we live in.
Where the law of the Old Testament focused on what we shouldn’t do and how we shouldn’t act, Jesus showed us the other side of the coin. He put a spot light on the truth by showing us what we should do and how we should act. Jesus showed us an attitude and not just an action. He showed us the way to salvation through a change in heart.
He always said that to follow Him would be a difficult thing. After all, the world is filled with darkness around every turn. It’s looking to deceive us and bring us away from the path to eternal life and instead fill our lives with un-necessary focus on material things, self-centered emotions and the increasing of status or wealth in society. That’s not what’s important! Relationships are important. Relationships between us and God and between us and all other men and women. Jesus showed us this revelation in His life and His ministry as well as His miracles.
These relationships set us on a journey. Christ is the center of that journey down the path he has prepared for us. Christ is not just the direction we must travel. He’s also the destination we need to reach. Jesus is the example and the path that we must follow. It is the decisions that we make and the direction that our lives take. In all respects, it is the road that we follow through our own lives.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Christmas is a reason to celebrate because Jesus came into the world and gave us a path to follow. He came so that we could reach from out of the darkness and find the light.
The Light reveals the truth
In reaching out from the darkness, we see that the Light reveals the truth. Using light to study something can unearth a truth that we would have otherwise not noticed. We need light to show what is around us.
A friend of mine told me this story once. In a younger, college days, he used to play in a band. Often, the performances were in bars and nightclubs. There was one particular nightclub that he used to play at, normally at very late hours. He remembers how good the hot sandwiches were at that establishment and how often he used to order this meal in the middle of the night.
Later in life, he left went on to become a manager of a technology company. At lunch one day, he decided to stop by the same nightclub, which was open at the time. But, things were a bit different as this was not the middle of the night. Where previously he had enjoyed his meal in the dark, now the lights were on and he could see clearly. He ordered his favorite food, but instead of a delicious meal, he saw a very greasy sandwich. To add to the damage, he now noticed a dirty floor, tables that hadn’t been cleaned in a long time and a grill caked with grime. Had the standards changed? No. But the light showed the place for what it really was. It revealed the problems that the darkness hid.
Similarly, Jesus reveals the world for what it is. He shows us the problems that are in the world and gives us the opportunity to avoid them in the future.
The light reveals the truth, even if we don’t want to see it. The Light reveals things, hidden things. Without the light, we won’t know just how bad our situation is. Without the light, we can’t see our sinful self. Without the light we can’t see the sin that’s in and around us. Without the light, we can’t see that we need a savior. It shows us the error of our past and the path to righteousness for the future
Christmas is a reason to celebrate because Jesus came into the world and revealed the truth that is all around us.
The Light is the standard
The truth is that the Light can be a standard as well as a means of revealing the truth. Traveling at over 299,000,000 meters per second, the speed of light is a constant used to determine distance, reveal time frames and discover hidden natures of energy. The speed of light has become a benchmark standard used to study the universe. Scientists tell us that nothing exceeds the speed of light. This is the cosmic speed limit.
Through the use of the speed of light, we are able to determine the great distances of the stars, planets and other space objects. We are able to look at the historical explosions of stars as the light takes many, many years to reach the Earth. Through the speed of light, we are able to explore more about God’s creation.
Similar to this more scientific standard, Jesus is the benchmark standard for everything that is pure, righteous and morale in society today. Just as light has no absolute measurement that is faster, the world has no standard purer, more morally upright or more self-less than the example Jesus set out for us.
Through the standard that Jesus set up for us, we are able to learn so much about ourselves. We are able to see how we often focus on ourselves rather than others. We see how we are able to live for God’s glory rather than ourselves. We are able to see how to love rather than hate. Jesus came into this world to show us how to live, how to act, and how to behave. Jesus is the standard we are to follow. Jesus is the moral compass to guide our actions.
Conclusion
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Christmas is the celebration of the light coming to the world to wash away of the sins of all mankind. He is the redeemer. He is the messiah that was predicted from old.
He led his life as a mediator for our sins. By following him, we are assured of sharing in the eternal kingdom. We are to believe in Jesus as the one and only true and living way. His sacrifice was once and for all time. Ultimately, there is only one way, to eternal life and that is through following Jesus.
Jesus shows us the way by defining the path we need to follow. He shows us the direction we need to take. Jesus reveals the truth of the world around us, showing us the pitfalls we need to avoid and the actions we need to take. He is the moral compass who reveals the dangers in the world around us and shows us the righteousness of God who loves us. Jesus is the absolute standard and the goal of what we should be striving for. But, it is a standard that only one man was able to achieve. Jesus is our savior. Jesus is our example. Jesus is the light of the world.
Tonight is a candlelight service. On the altar is a Christmas wreath and at the center of the wreath is the Christ candle. This evening, we will light all of our candles from the Christ candle in celebration of Jesus as the Light of the World. Tonight we celebrate his coming. Tonight we celebrate the joy of the Light.
Jesus reveals the path, shows us the truth and sets the standards for us to live by. Jesus truly is the Light of the World.
