The Word, the Life, the Light
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Big Idea
Big Idea
Tension: Why has darkness not overcome the light?
Resolution: Because the light of life is the Word by whom all things were brought into existence and who was God and was with God.
Exegetical Idea: Darkness has not overcome the light because the light of life is the Word by whom all things were brought into existence and who was God and was with God.
Theological Idea: Darkness has not triumphed over the light, because the light is the Son of God.
Homiletical Idea: Darkness has not triumphed over the light, because the true light is the Word.
Outline
Outline
Front Matter
a - This is the Gospel according to John. There is of course only one gospel. The gospel is the saving events of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. But the one true Gospel is told by four different authors in four complementary ways. So that like a diamond has many faces that show the same diamond from different angles, so we are blessed with four gospels that show us four distinct angles on our blessed Lord Jesus.
b - The Gospel of John is written by the apostle John, the Son of Zebedee. John also wrote three letters and the book of Revelation. Together these are known as the Johannine writings.
c - The Gospel was probably the last of the four gospels to be written. Calvin says it very well, “the three former exhibit his body, if we may be permitted to use the expression, but John exhibits his soul.” While Matthew, Mark, and Luke build up the tension to the climactic recognition of the identity of Jesus as Messiah, Lord, Son of God, God himself, John starts off the gospel by clearly recognizing who this Jesus is.
d - The Gospel of John tells us very clearly why it was written. It says in 20:31, that it was written so that you might believe. It was written so that we might have faith. It was written not only so that we might start believing, but so that we might continue believing.
e - The Gospel of John is particularly treasured by the Eastern Churches and to those churches who have suffered a history of persecution. <Story of Dr. Weinrich>
<Read Text>
Intro - It was one of the darkest days of my life. <Story of Tim>
… And maybe some of you can relate to the darkness of this world. Maybe some of you have wrestled with the darkness of this world, maybe someone has betrayed you or hurt you, or maybe you don’t need to look out there to look for darkness, maybe you look inward and see the darkness of your own heart and you can say without blush, “There is a bottomless darkness to the human heart.” How can this darkness not crush everything that comes into sight? How can darkness be defeated by light?
In a very important way, the Gospel of John was written so we might know that light will win. And to accomplish that, it points us back, way back, to the beginning, and before the beginning.
The Word
The “Word” - The λογος was a Word widely used in the ancient world. It was used by the Ancient Greeks to describe the creative principle of the Creator God called the Demiurge. But it was also used by the ancient Jews to describe the way God created the universe. And in Genesis 1, we know that God created by speaking. We also see in Ps 33:6, the OT says that God created all things by the Word. So John is using language to appeal evangelistically to people from either Greek or Jewish backgrounds. It is very similar to Paul’s appeal on Mars Hill in Acts 17. It would be very similar to if you had a friend who had a background with AA and you said, “You said you worship a higher power, let me tell you about the true highest power.”
In the beginning - This language is reminiscent of the Old Testament creation story. The first words of the Bible are what? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” So by using this phrase “in the beginning”, we are brought back to the very first few chapters of the Bible.
We see this is confirmed in vs. 3. As if there was any doubt about this, he says “all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing that was made.” Notice how redundant, and repetitive, and clear this is. He’s saying that God made all of heaven and earth by the Word.
Now, John says that the Word was “with God.” And this is very precise language. One author says that the way John states this makes it clear that this is a personal relationship. In other words, the Word is not an impersonal force. He is a person himself. He is with God as a person is with another person.
Then, we see that not only is he with God but he himself is God. He was in the beginning with God. Now, John is a thoroughgoing monotheist. He only believes there is one God. At four different points, he is says that there is only one God (10:16, 30, 17:11, 20-23). But, what John believes is that within the one God, there is a multiplicity of persons. That there are three persons in one God.
Which means that John believes this Word pre-exists Creation. That he is before Creation. That he was there in teh beginning. When God was saying, “let us make man in our image” that is a divine communication with himself. As Jesus says clearly himself in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am.”
Now, as we’ve seen, John is not doing anything out of the ordinary in this. John’s simply pointing out what the Old Testament itself says. THere’s nothing in the statement that God has a Word that he created all things by which is out of sorts with the Old Testament itself. John’s just reading his Bible. But-spoiler-this Word, John is going to argue is Jesus. We see this clealry in John 1:14... And when we see that John makes this connection between the Creative Word of the Lord in the OT, it is impossible to not have the way we perceive the Old Testament to be radically changed. And after reading John, when we go back to read the Old Testament, we start to see Jesus everywhere. And as we’re walking through John, we’ll see John repeatedly pushes this logic for us. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Life
In him was life - What does John mean by this? Does he mean that John believes that Jesus is the animating force of all mankind? Well John uses the words life, or “live” some 43x in his gospel. And only in three of those instances does he use the words “life” to mean “live” in a kind of general way. But again and again and again, John writes things like this:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
When John says that Jesus is the life, I think he is specifically saying that Jesus is the source of eternal life. In other words, that to be in Jesus, to be united to him, to dwell with him is to have life, eternal life. In him is life.
And this can only happen because he has suffered death. Again and again, Jesus is portrayed as the Passover lamb. John tells us that he is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the one who bears our curse and takes it straight to the grave. He is the one who has born our griefs and our shame.
And of course, the Gospel ends with what? The resurrection of Christ. I think the Gospel is pointing us forward to the resurrection from the very first words. Because the God of life cannot be bound by the grave. Death cannot conquer the King of Ages. The Grave cannot hold down the one who is.
The Light
We see that this life is the “light of men.” it is the life that gives light. It is the life that makes men to see light.
One of the themes of the gospel of John is the theme of spiritual blindness, the language Jesus uses to describe true faith is true sight. John 12:36 <cf John 9>
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
What we see here is that it is the light, it is the life, the resurreciton, the Word that causes people to see. The same Word who created the World, the same life that death could not hold down, makes the blind to see. It makes them to be born again so they can believe in him and receive him (1:9-13)
This is why to follow him is to walk in the light. Once you see the light, you cannot help but walk in it.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
And we see that “the light shines in the darkness.” It does not say that the light “shined” past tense. No the light “shines” present tense. The light is not a bonfire that someone pours lighter fluid on and it flares up and burns out. NO it is a fire that never goes out, whose source is eternal and before the world began, it is a light that never ever will be extinguished because he has never not been the light. It is a light that continues to give faith. That continues to show us the way. That continues to guide the ship in the storm, to light the path for weary feet, to comfort the anxious. It is the light that continues to shine.
And therefore, teh world “has not overcome it.” Notice how while the light shines in the present tense, the darkness has not overcome it in the past tense. That darkness exhausted itself by trying to squelch the light, cover it up, smother it. Darkness threw itself with all the force and all the might and all the power it could muster on the cross... But the light still shines. <emotional high point>
Which means that the dark things of htis world, the brokenness, teh abuse, the inustice, the selifshness, the wickedness, the things that fester in our souls, the things that go unpunished and unchallenged, nothing, dark has or can overcome the light. The light still shines.
Application:
Look for the light - Maybe you’re here and you’re not a Christian. And you’re wondering, What if I’m not a Christian, does this mean anything for me, I’d say look for the light. Doesn’t the fact that your response to all the darkness and all the suffering that you feel this compulsion within you to look for the light, make you wonder, “Maybe there’s something to this?” I would say if you’re not a Christian, you should be looking for the light. Because the Gospel of John is going to tell you that there is a light, and his name is Jesus. And if I was you as an unbeliver, I would think, if even there is the slightest chance that this is true, I really think I should look into it.
Believe in the light - Which means, you should believe in the light. Take the scales off your eyes. See him for who he is.
Keep believing in the light. - You should keep believing in the light. Persevere in the faith.
Walk in the light - If you believe in the light, you will follow his commands.
Confess your sins - If you are harboring or hiding sin, you are not walking in the light. If you have unconfessed sin, you are not walking in the light. (1 John 1:5-9)
Darkness has not overcome - So I don’t know all of you as well as I’d like, but I know just from my story and from those of you who have been kind enough to share with me, that in this room we’ve tasted something of the darkness of this world. And here’s what I will tell you - darkness has not and never will overcome the light.