The Light of Men
John 1:1-9
December 5, 2010
Introduction
Last week we looked the “wonder” of Christmas as we looked at the different responses that Zechariah and Mary had to the messages from God through the angel Gabriel about the babies that were about to come their way.
My plan this week was to look at different prophecies of the Old Testament that point to Jesus and especially His birth, but as the week drew on, I was increasingly convinced that what God wanted me to focus on this week is this whole idea that Jesus is the light of the world.
I wondered if maybe it was just the fact that the Living Christmas Tree musical is called, “Hallelujah! Light Has Come.” But then I kept hearing other references to Jesus as the light of the world coming at Christmas, and I figured maybe God was just trying to tell me something.
I’ve missed some work this week due to illness, and sometimes that messes with the old thinker. My guess is that God was trying to hammer that into me for quite some time and I just missed it in the fog of being sick.
So that’s where we’re going this week, and we’re going to dive right into the main Scripture passage I want to use as the foundation for our time is found in…
God: John 1:1-9 (p. 750) –
Before we get into this, I just want to say that I don’t know that I’ll be sharing anything new with most of you today, but maybe just a reminder during this Christmas season that God wants you to have.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Let me stop there for a minute.
This isn’t the main point of where I’m going today, but I think it’s important to point out something here:
Later in verse 14, we find out that the apostle John is talking about Jesus right here.
And He says that Jesus is the Word of God and the Creator.
So Jesus isn’t just a good man or teacher, is He? No – He’s God.
He is without beginning and without end. His time on earth was just a momentary period when God took on human flesh.
Jesus has existed from all eternity and will exist through all eternity.
But two thousand years ago He came to earth as a helpless baby.
So let’s get rid of the notion that Jesus was just some nice guy who roamed around Galilee for awhile saying nice stuff and getting killed in the end, okay?
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Before we get too much farther into the meat of the message, let me read a couple more passages regarding Jesus and the light.
Matthew 4:13-16 –
13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
John 8:12 –
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Obviously Jesus equates light with good, and darkness with evil, bad, and death.
And just as obviously, Jesus wants us to live in light – His light.
What does light do? It does lots of things, but let me talk just about three things that Scripture says about light – specifically about the light of God through Christ and the Scriptures.
I say both because this passage says that Jesus is the Word of God, right? Right.
So let’s look at the first thing light does:
1. It exposes sin and error.
John 3:19-20 –
19 “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
Any guesses why most crimes are done at night? Because it’s dark, right?
Relatively few crimes occur during the day, because the cover of darkness is an advantage.
During the day witnesses might be able to better identify the person, their clothing, their vehicle, or other things that bring that person and their crime to light.
Sin likes that same kind of darkness – both literal darkness at night or in a darkened place, and spiritual darkness of ignorance and willful decision to go against God’s laws.
Sometimes in our ignorance we don’t understand just how hurtful and offensive sin is to God, but the light of Jesus shines and shows us so we can turn from it with His help.
And it’s not just sin that needs to be exposed, it’s error as well.
Error regarding who Jesus is, what He said, and what He did cause people to go astray all the time.
As you might imagine, I get lots of different opinions of who Jesus is and what He came to do.
And you might really be surprised at how many people who would call themselves Christians get it wrong.
Their ideas of Jesus don’t come from Scripture, but from society and what they think is reasonable based on their own perceptions of what’s right and wrong.
It’s scary.
I keep telling people that if you want to know Jesus, you need to go the eyewitness testimonies. Read what people who hung out with Jesus said about Him and recorded what He did and said.
When you get the information from the primary source, then the information is going to be correct, not filled with error.
Scripture sheds the light on the errors many people have about Jesus – who is the true light that gives life to all men.
Closely tied to the idea of light exposing sin and error is the idea that…
2. It reveals truth.
Light doesn’t just shine to show error. It’s not there just to show the bad stuff. It’s also there to show us truth.
I pointed that out a bit on the last point, but I want to reinforce it here.
The way a lot of people use the Scriptures is to just point out the bad stuff they see in society and in particular people.
But they forget that it’s not enough to just point out the error, we need to point them to the truth so they can leave the error.
It’s not enough to say, “You’re wrong.” You need to show them the right stuff.
Anybody can point out error – but if you’re not prepared to show them the light of truth, then you’re only doing half the job, and you run the risk of leaving them still in the dark.
We need to point them to the Jesus of Scripture.
Jesus is the light and He is also the truth.
We need to show them how to find truth in Jesus.
Here’s the third thing light does that I want to talk about today.
3. It lights our path.
Psalm 119:105 –
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Want great advice on how to have a great marriage?
Go to the Scriptures.
Want to learn how to have solid business relationships?
Go the Scriptures.
Want information on how to be a good boss or a good employee?
Go to the Scriptures.
Want to be the best parent you can be?
Go to the Scriptures.
The Scriptures light the way for us to have all those things.
God’s Word shows us the way we need to go to live lives that please Him and open us up to His blessings.
His Word is a light that shows us the way.
My wife is remodeling our basement so we can house more foster children and hopefully adopt a sibling group.
It’s a great thing – especially the downstairs bathroom that she’s turning into a Minnesota Twins themed room. I’m loving it. The walls are baseball colored, and the shower curtain and rugs are Minnesota Twins colors, I’ve got a Minnesota Twins clock in there, it’s awesome.
Anyway – the problem with the remodeling right now is that I’m not used to where all the new walls are.
I like to save money by not turning on lights if I don’t absolutely have to, especially in the basement.
Combine that with new walls, and you’ve got a painful excursion to the basement.
So I’ve got to turn on the light. And then I go, “Now I remember where that wall is…”
The light in the basement shows me where to turn and where to go straight and where a laundry basket might be lurking waiting to trip me up.
That’s what Scripture does. It shows us the right way to go. It also shows us the pitfalls of going off that path.
And here’s the beauty of God’s Word – of Jesus, the living Word of God: it’ll never steer you wrong. Ever.
You can trust it to lead you correctly. Every time in every situation.
Jesus doesn’t want you to stumble or fall. His Word will keep you from doing that if you’ll follow it.
You: I don’t have a real application point for you today.
But my hope is that as you see all the Christmas lights around, you’ll find yourself reflecting on the fact that Jesus is the light of the World.
And He does more than light up a room, He can change your life by shining His light into your life to show you your need for Him to do His work in you – to get rid of the darkness and help you walk in the light.
We: Folks, let’s shine the light of Jesus to those around us this season.
Have fun with all the shopping, the tree, the food, and all that stuff.
But please – let the light of Jesus shine in and through you as you do those things.
The world needs the light of Jesus, and it’s our job to bring it to them.
Let’s pray.
