Introduction: In Luke 1:78-79, concerning the coming of Christ, Zechariah proclaimed, “Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus Christ is the incomprehensible Light given to remove the veil of darkness that shrouds us from the glorious light of God’s kingdom. Let us consider the need for Light, the source of the Light, the rejection of the Light, and the disbursement of the Light.
I. The need for the Light is seen in the fact that the world lies in total darkness
A. One of the non-canonical apocryphal writers penned that “the world lies in darkness, and its inhabitants are without light.” – 2 Esdras 14:20
B. What is darkness? If you look in a dictionary you find that darkness is the absence of light. Darkness is the opposite of light. Darkness is defined as gloomy, hopeless, dismal, sinister, evil, sullen, angry, secret, mysterious, night, ignorant; unenlightened.
C. The world lies in darkness and death because it has rebelled against God. From the fall of Adam onward the whole world has existed in total spiritual darkness.
D. Romans 1:20-22 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not [c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.”
E. This spiritual darkness is universal.
F. 1 John 5:19 “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
G. Spiritual darkness is spoken of in Scripture, not as a mere passive or negative thing, but as a positive power; the power of darkness is expressly mentioned, and the apostate angels are represented as kept in chains of darkness, as if it imposed fetters on the soul, and truly none can break those fetters, but He who caused the iron chain to fall from off the hands and feet of his imprisoned disciple. - James Buchanan, Enlightening the Mind
H. Visitors to caves in central Tennessee go on tours of the caves. On one of the tours visitors are shown small fish which have lived in the dark caves for generations. We are told that as the years have passed, the fish have literally lost their eyes. They’ve lived in the dark so long that they have suffered a permanent loss of the ability to see. So it is with man in his natural state. He has lost the ability to see.
I. Psalm 82:5 “…They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness”
II. The Source of the Light is God, Who sent the Light into the darkness
A. Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
B. Isaiah 9:2 (NLT) “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
C. Jesus Christ is the complete opposite of darkness. Light and darkness are antithetical contrasts; they are always separate from each other. It is impossible to combine light and darkness. The light is the thesis (the Truth) while the darkness is the antithesis (the Lie).
D. 1 John 1:5 “...God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
E. As the Light of the world Jesus Christ expels the darkness. He reveals what we cannot see apart from the light and enables us to no longer grope blindly in the darkness.
F. Living in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the hired man said wryly," and look what you got!"
G. Light enables one to see reality. Christ enables the blind to see the truth of God. He enables the blind to see the beauty of holiness. He enables one to no longer walk in the shadows but in the brightness of truth.
H. John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
I. John 1: 4 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
III. The Rejection of the Light is by those sitting in abject darkness.
A. John 1: 4, 10-11 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it... He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
B. The world’s spiritual darkness does not consist merely in the absence of external light, but in the blindness of both heart and mind blocking any entrance of the light, even when it is shining gloriously around us.
C. As darkness is the antithesis of light, so Satan is the antithesis of God. He hates and fears the Light. The devil fears the light. A governor of the Bahamas, who was about to return to England, promised to do his best to procure from the Home Government any favor the Colonists might desire. What do you think was their unanimous request: “Tell them to tear down the lighthouses. They are ruining the colony!” The men were ship wreckers, made money from the shipwrecks, and they hated the light. The devil so hates the light that he would tear down every spiritual lighthouse, if he only could. – adapted from Sunday Circle
D. John 3:19- 20 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
E. Jesus is the Light. When He walked this earth, people hated Him because He exposed the darkness of their sin. Today people reject Christ for the same reason – they love the darkness that allows them to continue in their sin foolishly unaware of its short lived pleasure and ultimate destination the eternal darkness of eternal damnation.
F. John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
G. A poor little boy once heard his Sunday School teacher say Jesus was the light of the world. He took her remark quite literally. After class, the boy said to his teacher, "If Jesus really is the light of the world, I wish He’d come hang out in my alley. It’s awful dark where I live."
IV. Christians are to be Light bearers
A. Matthew 5:15-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
B. "There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle." --Robert Alden
C. Dave Branon tells how his daughter Julie and her friend Jenni were driving one evening from their college to a nearby town. Along the way, they passed through a community that had an eerie darkness to it because of a power outage. It was strange—almost frightening—to drive through that blacked-out community. As they left the town behind, they noticed a light up ahead. It shone like a beacon. And when they reached it, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the only light in the darkness was a church. A house of worship was lighting up their world. This is exactly how people should see us as Christians—a bright and inviting light in this world darkened by sin. Jesus brought us out of the darkness, and He said that we as His followers are "the light of the world" Matthew 5:14). And now we are to "walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). It’s a huge challenge that should make us think seriously about how we live. Ask yourself, "Am I a light in anyone’s life? Are my life and words guiding people out of the darkness and into the light of Jesus?" It’s dark in the world—and we have the light. Are we lighting the way? —Dave Branon
D. When we are told that we have been called to walk "as children of light" Paul wasn’t referring only to the way we behave in church on Sundays but how we walk seven days a week twenty-four hours each day.
E. As I was driving this past week I was noticing how beautiful the path of lights along the highway looked against the darkness of the pre-dawn sky. The lights lighting the roadway sparkled like diamonds against a canvas of ebony. The scene caused me to think about the beauty of the night. As I gazed upon the scene I begin to see that the darkness had no beauty. It struck me that what causes a night scene to be beautiful is not the darkness of the night. It is the piercing of the darkness by objects or reflections of light - light punching holes in the darkness. As believers we are called to be hole punchers. We are called to pierce the night with the good news of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. - JF
F. Philippians 2:15 “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”
G. During a sermon, a pastor asked a reflective question to the congregation, "And what is a saint?" A little boy looked up at the stained glass windows of the apostles and blurted out, "People who let the light shine through!" – Kent Crockett’s Sermon Illustrations, www.kentcrockett.com
H. Is the light shining through you?
