Light of the World
Light
is one of the great concepts in the Bible—both in the Old Testament and in the New. In the very
first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, the word "light"—
both singular and plural—appears thirteen times. Please listen to these
familiar words. "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the
darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.....And God
said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from
the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for
years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and
it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set
them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God
saw that it was good" (Gen. 1:3-5, 14-18).
Many times—perhaps most of the time—the Old Testament
uses the word "light" of physical light, just as Moses does in
Genesis 1. But the book of Psalms and other Old Testament books also use the
word of spiritual light. The following verses from Psalms will make that truth
abundantly clear. David affirmed: "The Lord is my light, and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be
afraid" (Psa. 27:1)? The Psalmist prayed: "O send out thy light and
thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy
tabernacles" (Psa. 43:3). The best known use of the word "light"
in the book of Psalms is this: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a
light unto my path" (Psa. 119:105). The word "light" in these
verses has nothing to do with the sun, the moon or the stars. It refers to the
spiritual light God brings into our lives when we live in harmony with his
will.
The book of Isaiah also uses the word "light" of the truth
and righteousness God would send into the world. The great Messianic prophet
pleads with the Israelites: "O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in
the light of the Lord" (Isa. 2:5). Isaiah warned the Israelites about
confusing light and darkness. "Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who
put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter" (Isa. 5:20). Our text today comes from the prophecy of Isaiah. "Nevertheless
the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he
lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, and afterward
did more grievously
afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
The people
who walked in darkness have seen a great light: they who dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined" (Isa. 9:1-2).
Isaiah wrote his book about 750 years before Christ. In
speaking of the great light, could he have had in mind the coming of Jesus
Christ, the light of the world? Please listen to the Holy Spirit's interpretation
of the prophecy from Isaiah. "Now when Jesus had heard that John
was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelled
in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast, in the borders of Zebulon and
Naphtali; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
saying, The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to
them
which sat in the region of and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Mt.
4:12-16).
Although the apostle John makes no reference to the prophecy from
Isaiah, it cannot be doubted that he applied the ideas from Isaiah to Jesus
Christ. In fact, John used the word "light" of Christ more often than
the rest of the New Testament writers combined. Please listen to the introduction
to the Gospel according to John. "In him (that is, in Jesus Christ) was
life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the
darkness does not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was
John. The same came to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him
might believe. He (John) was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of the
Light. That
was the true Light, that lights the way of every man who comes into the
world" (John 1:4-9). Our Lord criticized the people of his day
for failure to recognize the Light. "And this is the condemnation, that
light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one
who does evil hates light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be
exposed. But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought of God"
(John
John affirmed that Jesus Christ "is the true Light, that lights the
way of every man who comes into the world" (John 1:9). In what areas of
our lives does Jesus Christ provide light? Paul does not use the word
"light," but there cannot be any doubt of his meaning when he told
the Corinthians: "But unto them who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:24). The same apostle
assured the Colossians: "In whom (that is, in Christ) are hidden all the
treasures of
wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3).
Through the ages, men have longed to know if God exists and what kind
of being he
is. Strange ideas about God have permeated virtually every culture in the
world.
Jesus Christ came into the world to shed light on who God is. The
apostle John affirmed: "No man has seen God at anytime; the only begotten Son
who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him" (John
It would be impossible in our short study to review all that Jesus said
about God, but let us look at some of Christ's statements. In his great Sermon on
the Mount, Jesus assured his disciples of God's knowledge of their needs, even before
they ask him for his blessings. He then encouraged his disciples to pray:
"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name" (Mt. 6:8-9). He
urged his followers not to worry, but to trust in God to supply their needs.
"Therefore take no thought (literally, do not worry), saying, What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things
do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things.
But seek first the
Our God, Jesus plainly taught, cares for every phase of our lives—our
food, our clothing and our shelter—as well as for our spiritual wellbeing. No
fact makes that truth more meaningful than God's sending his Son into the world
to share our burdens and our experiences. The author of Hebrews explains:
"For we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.
Jesus came into the world to teach and to do the will of his Father in
heaven. Jesus told his disciples: "My meat is to do the will of him who sent me,
and to finish his work" (John
The modern radical feminists and some liberal theologians object to the
Bible's use of the word "Father" when speaking of God. They claim that
some religious organizations have used the word as an excuse for abusing and oppressing
women. That may be true in some cases, but it provides no excuse for not referring
to God as Father. Jesus called God "Father" when he prayed. In his high priestly
prayer, he said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may
glorify thee...O righteous Father, the world has not known thee; but I have
known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them
thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in
them, and I in them" (John 17:1, 25-26). If Jesus Christ addressed God as Father
and taught his disciples to do so, the radical elements in our culture are
barking up the wrong tree when they criticize us for calling God "our
Father." Do you remember the
words of Jesus as he was at the point of death? "Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit" (Lk.
Many of the Old Testament prophets predicted the coming of the
John the Baptist, the great prophet who prepared the way of the Lord,
came "preaching in the wilderness of
Although Jesus did not specifically affirm, "the church is the
kingdom," what did he mean when he informed his disciples: "Upon this
rock I will build my church," and then promised: "I will give unto
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven" (Mt. 16:18-19)? Was Christ building one institution—the church—and
giving the apostles the keys to another institution—the kingdom? The church of our Lord
is the kingdom of almighty God (Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:9).
It is almost certain that all thinking people from the time of Adam and
Eve until today
have wondered if there is life after death. In my more than sixty years of preaching, I know I
have mentioned heaven or eternal life thousands and thousands of times. The
Golden Text of the Bible could hardly be plainer in its promises of the life to
come.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even to must the
Son of man
be lifted up: that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have
eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him
might be saved" (John
I shall not take time today to discuss the light Jesus Christ has
brought to bear on the moral values God demands of his children. I shall read just one
passage. The apostle Peter asked Jesus to tell them a parable. He said,
"Are you also yet without understanding? Do you not understand, that whatsoever
enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out in the draught?
But those things that proceed from the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile
the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things that
defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man" (Mt
Since Jesus is not physically with us today, how does his light
illuminate our world? The Bible leaves no room for doubt. Christians are the light of
the world. All of us are familiar with these stirring words. "You are the light of
the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light
unto all who are in the house. Let your light so shine, that men may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 5:14-16). The light
of Jesus must shine through faithful Christians. In his letter to the Ephesians, the
apostle Paul employs the same language. "For you were sometimes darkness,
but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light." Paul pled
with some
of the Ephesians: "Wherefore he says, Awake thou who sleepest, and arise
from the dead,
and Christ shall give you light" (Eph. 5:8, 14). Paul called the
Thessalonian Christians "children of light" (1 Thess. 5:5).
In First John, the inspired apostle uses the word "light" six
times. John assured Christians: "If we walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). When we take into consideration
the tenses of the verbs in this verse, it reads: "If we continue to walk
in the light, just as he is in the light, we continue to have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son continually cleanses us
from all sin." Please listen to four other verses from this same little book.
"Again, a new commandment I give unto you, which thing is true in him and
in you: because the darkness is
past, and the true light shines. He who says he is in the light, and hates his
brother, is in darkness even until now. He who loves is brother abides in the
light, and there is no occasion of
stumbling in him. He who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he is
going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes" (1 John 2:8-11). I plead with you to walk in the light of the
gospel.
Winford Claiborne
The
International Gospel Hour
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