Have You Seen the Light?

John 1:6–13 ESV

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Introduction: The Greek philosopher Socrates once said, "Oh that someone would arise, man or god, to show us God." His student, Plato said: “Unless a god man comes to us and reveals to us the Supreme Being, there is no help or hope.”

About 400 years later, along comes a man named John who declared:

John 1:18 ESV

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

And now, here we are, just a little over 2000 years later, December 24, 2023, celebrating the birth of Christ. What a time to be alive!

This morning, in lieu of the traditional Christmas texts, I felt like we needed to examine a different kind of Christmas text - one that is the foundation for those things that Matthew and Luke recorded for us in their gospels.

This text points us to the true light that came into the world, Jesus.

The world is in desperate straits. It is full of darkness—the darkness of sin and despair, of sickness and death, of corruption and hell. The darkness looms over the whole world. This is the problem dealt with in the present passage.

Yet, there is a beacon of hope in Jesus Christ, who emerges as the genuine Light capable of dispelling the darkness.

The Light Revealed (vv. 6-9)

John begins this section of chapter 1 by introducing us to John the Baptist. We first learn about John in Luke chapter 1 when Gabriel appeared to Zecharias.

Luke 1:11–15 ESV

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

John was the forerunner of Jesus Christ who was predicted to come to prepare the way for the Lord. Isaiah first prophesied of him in Isaiah 40:3-5

Isaiah 40:3–5 ESV

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

John tells us that John was sent from God. John uses the word Apostellō from which we get the word apostle from.

John came as a witness - to bear witness about the true light, Jesus.

As a witness, John didn’t seek attention for Himself, but he pointed people to Jesus.

The Holman New Testament Commentary says, “A good witness does not attract attention to himself but to the person or facts which he represents.”

That is what you and I should be doing, by the way. We ought to always point people to Jesus. We should never draw attention to ourselves. There is nothing in us worth exalting.

Illus. You and I are like turtles on top of a fence post. If you ever see any, you best believe that someone else put them there.

Notice what it says in v. 8, “He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the Light.”

There were those who questioned whether John was the Messiah. You can read about that in John 1:19-23

John the Baptist freely admitted that he was not the Messiah.

John 1:9 ESV

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Christ is the true light…

True here is used in the sense of real or genuine. There are many imitation lights in the World, Jesus is superior to them all because he is the real thing.

As the true light, He is pure and clean, just as light is pure and clean.

As the true light, He illuminates the pathway that we should trod.

As the true light, He reveals the darkness of the human heart.

As the true light, He cuts through the darkness and eliminates it.

As the true light, He protects us from stumbling.

The Light Rejected (vv. 10-11)

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Christ himself, the Word, had no beginning and has no end; He existed from all eternity. As far as the human mind can go back, the Lord Jesus was there.

This idea of the eternality of Christ is continued in v. 10 when John writes, “He was in the world.”

This is not a statement about something that happened in the past, nor the present, nor the future. It is written in such a way as to denote a continuous existence.

We think of Christ’s First Advent frequently at Christmas but need to also recognize that he was already in the world as the Word and had always been in the world and was its creator.

Thus, “He was in the world and the world was made through him...”

If Jesus created the world, he most certainly could not be a part of the created order as some religious groups try to claim. Therefore, he had to be God. The primary focus of the gospel of John is the divinity of Christ.

But something went wrong…you see, even though he was in the world and the world was created by him, the world didn’t know him!

Romans 1:20 ESV

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

The reason why the world didn’t know him was because in their unrighteousness - their sin - they chose to suppress the truth.

John 3:19 ESV

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.

The characteristic reaction to the Word coming to live among us is one of indifference.

But the real tragedy is shown here in v. 11

John 1:11 ESV

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Jesus, born a Jew, was not received by his own people, the Jews.

While the world was given a general revelation of the existence of God, the Jewish people were given hundreds of prophecies through Moses and the prophets that pointed to Christ’s advent, but they chose to reject Him as the Messiah.

Why? It is understandable that the world rejected him, but his own religious community? The ones who believed the Bible?

How could the very ones who had been given a prophetic picture of Christ turn right around and reject him?

It was a matter of the heart. The world is charged with ignorance, but Israel is charged with unbelief.

It has always been a matter of the heart. When people are presented all the truth about Jesus…the Bible…the Gospel and still reject it, it’s a matter of the heart.

Steven Cole commented on these verses: “He wasn’t the kind of Messiah that they envisioned or wanted. They were hoping for a political Messiah who would deliver them from Rome’s power and provide peace and prosperity. They didn’t see their need for a Savior from sin.”

The heart of a man’s problem is the problem of a man’s heart.

I could present the most reasoned defense of the gospel possible to someone whose heart was hardened to the gospel and still not convince them to receive Christ. Until the Holy Spirit opens and changes their heart, they will not believe.

The Light Received (vv. 12-13)

VV. 12-13 are in complete contrast to vv. 10-11. John shifts his attention away from those who rejected Christ to the those who have received him.

The “but” makes all the difference in the world. Spurgeon said, this was a blessed “but” This “but” turns our attention away from the tragedy to see the triumph.

As many as - think, whosoever will - As many as received Him, to them he gave the right - the privilege - to become children of God.

Don’t be deceived my friend, no one is a child of God by natural birth - only by the new birth! You must be born again. You do that be receiving Christ by faith.

John Piper says "Receiving Jesus means that when Jesus offers Himself to you, you welcome Him into your life for what He is.

• If he comes to you as Savior, you welcome his salvation.

• If he comes to you as Leader, you welcome his leadership.

• If he comes to you as Provider, you welcome his provision.

• If he comes to you as Counselor, you welcome his counsel.

• If he comes to you as Protector, you welcome his protection.

• If he comes to you as Authority, you welcome his authority.

• If he comes to you as King, you welcome his rule.

As Spurgeon puts it "Faith is described as 'receiving' Jesus. It is the empty cup placed under the flowing stream; the penniless hand held out for heavenly alms."

Illus. J. Vernon McGee - Think about this…I’m here standing beside this chair. It looks sturdy and in good condition. I believe - I have faith - that this chair will hold me up. But at this point, my belief is only a head knowledge. That is where some of you are today…you say, I believe the teachings of Jesus. I believe the sermon on the mount. I’m going to do my best to live by the teachings of Jesus.

But that is not what it means to believe on Christ and receive him by faith. Suppose I put my faith into action by sitting in the chair. I put my full weight in the chair because I have faith that it will support me. I rest in the confidence that the chair is going to support me. That is true faith.

Is Christ holding you up? Is He your Savior? It is not a question of standing to the side and saying, "Oh, yes, I believe Jesus is the Son of God." The question is have you trusted Him, have you believed into Him, are you resting in Him? This chair is holding me up completely. And at this moment Christ is my complete Savior. I am depending on Him; I am resting in Him.

Believers are receivers. What do they receive? Adoption in to the family of God and the right to become a Child of God. Receiving Christ puts us in a position to claim our inheritance as His child.

Romans 8:15–17 ESV

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

And in verse 13, we see and even deeper truth…we don’t become a child of God by our blood line. That is what the Jews believed. Because they could trace their lineage back to Father Abraham, they thought that made them a child of God.

So no one can say that they are a child of God just because your parents were believers. Your great, great granddaddy might have donated the land that the church is built on, but that does not make you a child of God.

My children are not children of God because I’m a pastor…they are children of God because of their own faith.

Furthermore, we can’t will ourselves into the family of God. In fact, prior to being born again, our will is contrary to the will of God. No amount of wishful thinking can make me a child of God. I might wish I were the son of a millionaire but that doesn’t make it true.

Third, it is not by the will of man - in other words we do not become a child of God by any amount of human effort. It is bay faith alone through grace alone.

It is of God alone that we are his children. Have you been born of God? If not, turn away from your sin and turn to Christ.