Jesus the Light
Jesus in Isaiah
Isaiah 9:1-7
December 3, 2006
Wildwind Community Church
David Flowers
Last week we concluded our series on Emotions in the Psalms. I hope that brief series was enough to get you interested in reading the Psalms. Psalms may be more about you than any other book in the Bible.
In keeping with my desire to immerse you for a while in the Old Testament, we begin a new series today called Jesus in Isaiah. Isaiah was one of the most poetic prophets, writing with power and beauty. And it just so happened that Isaiah, in the 66 chapter book named for him, wrote many prophecies that ended up being fulfilled by Jesus. And that brings us to Advent season, 2006. We’re going to spend the weeks of Advent looking at some of those prophecies.
Let me begin by getting you into the world of Isaiah. My guess is that the vast majority of you have spent little or no time in Isaiah. The OT books of prophecy are a lot to take on. They speak of historical events that are far removed from us, and we often don’t know whether or not, and when, the prophecies came true. I don’t think this is the time to get into deep scholarly detail about the book of Isaiah, but before we move into our text for today, I do want to try to help you get a feel for how the words of Isaiah might have felt in the ears of the people who heard them twenty-seven hundred years ago.
The prophets of the Old Testament spoke of terrible things; of wars and disease and disaster that would come upon the nations to whom they spoke. Life was very different for people back then. People lived with the constant threat of war. I mean, you think we live under a threat now because of terrorism, we don’t really understand what it means to live under constant threat. People wonder why the Old Testament contains so much bloodshed, but the answer is simple. War was a way of life. It’s not pretty, but it’s true. War was the climate of the time. The Old Testament prophets spoke into this climate.
It is not a dramatization to say that the people of this time were stalked by death. At any time a foreign power could assemble an army and overrun the city walls, raping women, killing children, destroying precious landmarks, and dragging people off into slavery. This happened again and again to the people of Israel. The ancient Jews had war-scarred psyches. I guess some things don’t change, do they?
Now although we associate prophets with the idea of predicting the future, a prophet’s role was actually to proclaim God’s impending judgment on a nation if it did not repent and turn to God. [Anytime a preacher today warns people of the need to repent and turn to God, he or she stands in a prophetic role.] It is essential that we read the Old Testament prophets so that we can be reminded that yes, God is love, yes God is good, yes God approaches us with grace, but that eventually we will be held accountable for our actions and choices in this life. Ultimately God will demand obedience. This is critical in a society that is so touchy-feely, so hiking boots and granola, that we cannot bear to imagine God as anything other than a harmless old man who occasionally grants our wishes. But if God seems a bit like James Taylor in parts of the New Testament, he might seem more like Rob Zombie in parts of the Old Testament. The truth is that both God’s love and God’s wrath are beyond our understanding, but we must consider both if we are to get a complete picture of God. Reading the Old Testament prophets restores to us what scripture often calls the “fear of the Lord,” which is a deep respect for God based on the fact that God chooses to bear with us, even though he could just as easily destroy us.
This morning I want to draw your attention to the 9th chapter of the book of Isaiah, verses 1-7, and I want to use this text to talk to you about Jesus, the Light-bringer. But you cannot understand the brightness of the light until you grasp the darkness of the darkness. Even in this prediction of a coming light, you can hear the drums of war beating, feel the dread and the fear that was commonplace for the people of this time.
A country drenched by war and violence, cloaked in the shadow of death. A time when there was little hope of lasting safety. It is in this world that the prophet writes;
Isaiah 9:1-7 (NRSV)
9 But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
4 For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Fade music down rapidly. Lights fade up.
We see in this passage first today that in a dark world, light was nonetheless predicted. Someone said, “Things will not always be the way they are now. One day, God is going to intervene. God will send light into darkness.”
Remember a few weeks ago I said that waiting on God involves struggling, writhing, bold faith, bringing something forth? That’s what we’re talking about here. Isaiah predicted 700 years before the light dawned that one day it would. In that 700 years, things went on pretty much as before. The darkness continued to dominate. Business as usual. No one hoping in those words had any reason to believe the prediction would actually happen. But the fact was that the light was coming, and those who hoped in it did not hope in vain. The story of the gospel, my friends, is that hope never has to be in vain. In the darkest darkness, light will dawn. Help will surely come. This is the waiting on God that requires writhing and dancing and whirling and straining to bring something forth. Whatever darkness is in your life right now does not change the fact that light is on the way. This was true for Israel, and it is true for you. Light was, and is, predicted.
Second, we know that not only was light predicted, but light arrived. The prediction of light was made 700 years before the birth of Jesus. 730 years later, after Jesus had come, died, risen, and gone back into heaven, the Apostle John, in his gospel account of the life of Christ, writes:
John 1:3-5 (NRSV)
3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Jesus said,
John 8:12 (NRSV)
12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Light was predicted, and light came into the world. We don’t celebrate Christmas because light was predicted. We celebrate Christmas because light arrived!
Third, and this is huge, and where I want to stay the rest of the message, is that the light shines in a place of darkness. The light comes into the darkness, but it doesn’t immediately make everything perfect. Our candle didn’t instantly immerse this room in flaming light, but it did bring unmistakable light into oppressive darkness.
The light shines in the darkness, John says. Jesus came into a world of oppressive darkness and brought unmistakable light. Light that could light the way for all people. Light that shines in the darkness, and that the darkness will not be able to overcome.
Jesus, the Light-Bringer was born into a dark world as the light, and the darkness will not overcome the light, but for a time the light will shine in the darkness. For a time we will still live in a world punctuated by darkness. By fear, by death, by disease, by suffering of every imaginable kind. You look around you and see all kinds of evil, all sorts of terrible things, and you wonder if there’s a God how can this be, but the Christian story is not that the light came and immediately banished the dark, but that for now, light and dark live together in the same world. That our destiny in this world is, in fact, for light to gradually overtake darkness. We seem to live in a world where darkness is winning – where the forces of evil appear to be growing in power, but the gospel story is that light has come into the world, and that light one day will completely snuff out the darkness. Gospel means good news, and if I’ve ever heard good news, that’s it. But in the meantime, darkness and light are co-mingled.
We see this even in the Christmas story itself. The birth of Christ, this sweet, beautiful, subtly victorious story is mixed with darkness and tragedy. In an attempt to cast a wide net in which to snare a baby who he believes might threaten his throne, King Herod orders the killing of every male child under the age of two in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. Now we can’t deny the tragedy of this. But even more important is that there is no Biblical reason why we should. It’s right there in black and white. The dawning of the light itself brought black clouds of tragedy into the lives of many. Joy and tragedy. Celebration and sorrow. Delight and despair. Jesus assured us this would be the case:
Matthew 13:24-30 (NIV)
24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 "The owner’s servants came to him and said, ’Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 "’An enemy did this,’ he replied. "The servants asked him, ’Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 "’No,’ he answered, ’because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’"
The weeds and the good seed are allowed, by God, to grow up together, to intermingle, until the time of the end designated by God. No one knows when that will be, but one thing’s for sure: Christianity does not propagate a perfect vision of the world. Unfortunately, many Christians do. “Everything is perfect in my world because of Jesus. I live my life in victory because of Jesus. Jesus has answered all the difficult questions of my life.” Now although these statements are true on one level, they are extremely misleading. Is everything perfect in life because of Jesus? Well, in a sense Christ directs us to the things that really matter. The more we know Him, the more we love God, the less we are attached even to our own lives, so we really get to where we can bear increasing pain and loss and difficulty and say that our internal world is still perfect because of Jesus. That’s true. But is EVERYTHING perfect? Everything inside maybe – sometimes. But certainly not everything around us, and that’s what people are looking at. Christianity does not propagate a perfect vision of the world. Do we really live our lives in victory because of Jesus? Again, kind of yes, and kind of no. Do we know that ultimately all the battles of life will be won, that Christ will be the victor over them all, and that we will prevail if we are with Him? Of course. Does that mean we will never lose a few hard battles in this life? Of course not. Christianity does not propagate a perfect view of the world. Has Jesus answered all the difficult questions of our lives? Well, if the idea that you’ll know the answers one day in heaven seems like an answer for you, then I guess so. If not, then clearly no – Christ does not answer all the difficult questions of life. Christianity does not propagate a perfect vision of the world. Unfortunately, many Christians do.
Christ-follower, you have never been asked to bury your head in the sand and ignore your pain, deny your doubts, stuff the anger you may sometimes feel toward God. Yes, the light has dawned. Yes, we celebrate the dawning of the light at Christmastime. Yes, because of the dawning of the light, good seeds are being planted in this world. Seeds that are growing and coming to life inside all who sincerely seek God. Yes the light will not ultimately overcome the darkness. But for now, you find yourself among weeds, in the midst of evil. For now, you are light in darkness. For now, things around you might look much the same as before.
Christ-seeker, skeptic, you should not embrace the idea that Christianity involves entering into any state of perfection, or that you are being asked to delude yourself into believing things about the world that are untrue. I assure you, when at last you stumble upon authentic Christianity, the world will seem grittier and more real to you than ever before. The tragedy of life will seem all the more tragic. The joy will seem more joyful. The falls from grace of those you respect will become more painful. The world’s need for redemption will become more urgent. All of this is what can be expected to happen in the life of the person who believes the light has dawned, and yet daily brushes up against darkness. If you continue to open yourself to Christ, your lot in life will be to live with this tension. Believe me, in the world we live in, it’s much harder to believe light has dawned and light will one day prevail than it is to believe that the status quo is what you can continue to expect.
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. The weeds grow among the good seed, and are allowed to do so. This is God’s redemption story. The good news is that we, the people living in darkness, have seen a great light. That on us who still today live in a land of deep darkness, on us a light has shined! 700 years before the dim light of a Galilean stable cut through the thick country darkness, Isaiah predicted the birth of a light-bringer. Two thousand years after his birth, we celebrate the dawning of light in a dark world. Who knows how many more years it will be that the light will shine on in the darkness, before finally overcoming the darkness for good.
But if you are a Christ-follower today, if you have heard, and believe, and are daily living out, the reality of Jesus, Bringer of Light to a dark world, you have a role to play in overcoming darkness. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
You are the light of the world. You – are the light of the world. Look at this picture: Isaiah predicted a light would one day dawn in Galilee, where seven-hundred years later a baby named Jesus was born. This baby grew up and said, “I am the light of the world.” He taught us how to live, how to create conditions in our own hearts where light overcomes darkness, where love replaces hate, where joy replaces hopelessness, where service replaces selfishness, where wisdom replaces foolishness. Then he said,
John 15:4 (NIV)
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you…
His best friend, John, who recorded those words of Jesus, said about him:
1 John 1:5-7 (NIV)
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
The gospel message is not that because of God there is no darkness in the world. The gospel message is that you, on a personal level, because of Jesus and what he said in his teaching and what he did in his life and in his death and resurrection, can walk in the light. I want to say that again. The gospel message is not that because of God there is no darkness in the world. The gospel message is that you, on a personal level, because of Jesus, can walk in the light. While the darkness gathers around you, you can be light. While the world looks increasingly hopeless, you can be a container of hope. While things around you go from bad to worse, you can cultivate goodness and light. In doing so, you are part of the gospel story which happens one heart, one life, one soul at a time. Light was predicted. Light came. Light came into darkness. And one day light will prevail. Do you want to be part of that? Will you stand as I pray?
God, thank you for sending Jesus to be light in a dark world. Thank you for a few weeks to celebrate all Jesus has meant in our world, and in many of our lives. Jesus, thank you for being light in a dark world, and for enlisting us as light-bringers. May our lives be lights to those around us. Amen.
