The Light Of Christmas

“The Light of Christmas”

Last week we looked at God’s view of the Christmas journey out of John’s Gospel chapter one. In verses four and five it says, “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.” (John 1:4-5 NKJV)

This got me thinking about the light of Jesus, and so I’d like to share with you in our message today, “The Light of Christmas.”

Have you noticed that the closer Christmas gets, the lights become a little brighter, especially in the stores, and that’s because the brighter and more colorful the lights, the more attention they draw.

But the brightest light of them all was over 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. It wasn’t the star in the sky, but the star that lay in the manger. The light of the universe came down and shone for a short wile amongst His creation.

In speaking of the coming Messiah, the prophet Isaiah said,

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2 NKJV)

Then Isaiah gave the well-known prophecy about the Messiah saying, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV)

In describing this marvelous event, the Apostle John said that Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning with God, and who was God, and in whom there was life and that life was the light of men, and that this light then came down and dwelt with us.

And so the light of God Himself, Jesus, came down and shone upon humanity.

After Jesus forgave the woman of her adultery, He said,

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NKJV)

Jesus using the phrases “light of the world,” and “light of life,” is not without significance. In the end, Jesus is going to be the only light shining.

In the end there will be no need of either the sun or moon, but the glory of God will illuminate the entire world, and Jesus is that light. Just as Jesus was the light in the beginning of Creation, so will He be the light of the new heaven and earth. Jesus truly is the Bright and Morning Star.

“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16b NKJV)

And so, it is to this darkened sin filled world that Jesus said,

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness (John 12:46 NLT)

Now, there are several attributes of light that I would like to share with you that are relevant to our lives.

1. Light Attracts Attention

Our eyes are immediately drawn to light. When you enter a dark room and there is a single light source shining, like a lamp or candle, your eye is immediately drawn to it. It will be the fist thing you see. When you are outside at night, when a bolt of lightning flashes across the sky, your eyes are immediately drawn to the light. Isaiah, when speaking about the coming Messiah, said the same thing in the Scripture we looked at a moment ago. Let’s look at it again.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2 NKJV)

This was a prophetic word of how the Messiah is going to light up the world when He comes, and all who live in this sin darkened world will sit up and pay attention. In other words, people are going to be attracted to His light.

Now, considering the timing and the conditions surrounding Jesus’ birth, it attracted a while lot more attention than anyone would have thought.

• His parents were poor, and no one really notices another child being born to poor parents. It wasn’t like they were rich and famour, or of royal nobility.

• He was born away from His home. There were no family members to brag about Him to neighbors and friends.

• He was born in a stable with animals as roommates in a small insignificant town called Bethlehem. In fact, He wasn’t even born in in the town, but rather on the outskirts.

• He was born at night when everyone’s asleep.