Jesus Came to Bear Light
Advent 2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsAs one of the bearing messages, Jesus came bearing light.
Notes
Transcript
Some 600 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 9:2
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
Tonight is the culmination of Advent. It is a special time as we recall God sending His one and only Son in the form of a man to save those who trust in Him.
We have even spoken of those who trust Christ as having “seen the light.” Certainly this is a metaphor for knowing Christ, for Christ is spiritual light. But not everyone sees this light.
In an Opinion section of the New York Times dated December 23, 2016, skeptic Nicholas Kristof asks the late Rev. Tim Keller:
“I deeply admire Jesus and his message, but am also skeptical of themes that have been integral to Christianity- the virgin birth, the Resurrection, the miracles and so on. Since this is the Christmas season, let’s start with the virgin birth. Is that an essential belief, or can I mix and match?” (New York Times, December 23, 2016)
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
I appreciate the way Keller responds:
“If something is truly integral to a body of thought, you cannot remove it without destabilizing the whole thing. A religion can’t be whatever we desire it to be. If I am a member of the board of Greenpeace and I come out and say climate change is a hoax, they will ask me to resign. I could call them narrow-minded, but they would rightly say that thee have to be some boundaries for dissent or you couldn’t have a cohesive, integrated organization. And they’d be right. It’s the same with any religious faith.”
I tend to agree with the late Dr. Keller. You have to believe the whole enchilada, or nothing at all. And by believing it all, you would be one who has “seen the light.”
Tonight, let us look at the final installation of what Jesus came bearing. In John’s gospel, we see how...
Jesus was God’s illumination to a dark world.
Jesus was God’s illumination to a dark world.
It is important to note that John gospel is the most theological of the four. It answers the question of why Jesus came to earth. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, it would appear that the concern is answering what. They record details and events.
And although John has its own set of details and events regarding the life of Christ, in contrast, John is more concerned with your understanding of who Christ is. There is more theology in John’s gospel than in the others. This is not to say that John’s is more important. It is just given to us with a slightly different perspective.
And we read of this theological perspective in verse nine of chapter one. John 1:9-10
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
Our first question should be, what did John mean when he described Jesus as “the true light?”
John uses the term light in different ways. The Greek term is φῶς, which means the element and sphere of the divine (BAGD, 3rd. ed.)
It is used in John’s first epistle just five times, almost exclusively speaking of God as being the source of all righteousness. For instance, 1 John 1:5
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
In his writings outside of his gospel, John uses φῶς 16 times. Of these occurrences, light is used to describe spiritual truth which comes from God, of which Christ embodies.
John states that Christ is the light of the world in many places such as John 9:5
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
And,
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
John uses light to describe that substance coming from God which exposes sin and displays righteousness in the world. This light which comes from God enlightens a dark and error-filled world.
When Jesus said that he was the light of the world, he was stating that he was divine, being sent by the Father to teach us of God and the truth, because He is God and the truth.
Consider the impact that Christ had made on the world. As one candle lit in a dark room makes a tremendous difference, so it is with Jesus in a morally and spiritually dark world. When you think of it, our entire system of ethics owes its standard to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The late D. James Kennedy wrote:
“The truth is… had Jesus never been born, this world would be far more miserable than it is. In fact, many of man’s noblest and kindest deeds find their motivation in love for Jesus Christ; and some of our greatest accomplishments also have their origin in service rendered to the humble Carpenter of Nazareth.” (Kennedy, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?, xi).
I am a big sports’ fan, as many of you are. Occasionally we see athletes wear a bracelet or face paint with the letters W.W.J.D.. This means that the teachings of Jesus have some influence on their way of living.
What about you? Have you not been motivated to do a good deed because of the character of Christ or His teaching? Has not Jesus had some type of influence on your life? If so, you have benefitted from His light.
But we also discover that...
Though still dark, the world is a better place because of Christ.
Though still dark, the world is a better place because of Christ.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
At Christmas time, we may receive that impression that Jesus becomes a part of everyone’s holiday. In reality, thi is not true.
Our Scripture says that Jesus came to His own, but even they did not accept Him. This is seen by what Jesus encountered when he visited His hometown of Nazareth and taught in the synagogue there.
The questions he got are given to us in Mark 6:2-3
2 “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Christ did not encounter rejection in his hometown only, but there came a time when the crowds stopped following Him. John 6:66 tells us:
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Or John 7:5 tells us that His own brothers did not believe in Him.
5 For not even his brothers believed in him.
And on the night of His betrayal, even the twelve scattered when He needed them the most.
Today, many people still take offense at Jesus. As loving as He was, you will never find in His teachings that He condones sin or approves of all we do or say. He is not a passive person.
Part of His purpose was to make people feel uncomfortable; to move them from point A to point B with God. He either moved you to repentance or you fell away.
The things of religion can warm your heart for a time. But when a sinner is brought face to face with a holy God, some walk away while others surrender themselves to Him for life and salvation.
John Flavel was a English Puritan Presbyterian minister (d. 1691) in 17th century England. He would preach messages that were not afraid to make people uncomfortable. One day, an elderly farmer by the name of Luke Short, recalled a sermon that he heard Flavel preach. Mr. Short was nearing 100 years old. But so overcome with conviction and being afraid of dying under the curse of God, that he committed His life to Christ.
On another occasion there was a young man who entered a bookstore in England asking for something worthwhile to read. The shop owner gave him a copy of Flavel’s treatise “On Keeping the Heart.” At first, the young customer scoffed, but eventually took it, only to return in a months’ time saying that God used it to save his soul!
What will you do with the message of Jesus? Will you listen and heed and apply? Will you answer His invitation to come and follow? Or will you be offended and turn aside, disregarding His care and love for you?
How you respond to Jesus says something about your love; your worship and what/who you consider to be of utmost importance.
12 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.”
That statement, made in the temple courts during the feast of booths, was a time when all of Jerusalem was aglow because of the light coming from torches, commemorating the time when God guided His people in the wilderness.
Jesus is pointing to Himself as that ultimate light. It would be an arrogant statement if it were not the truth! Jesus is the light of the world!
Christmas comes and goes every year, and yet we are faced with the same dilemma. Kennedy stated:
“The greatest tragedy of the Christmas holiday each year is not so much its commercialization (gross as that is), but its trivialization. How tragic it is that people have forgotten Him to whom they owe so very much. (Kennedy, What If Jesus Had Not Been Born?, 1).
A sailor was once left in charge of the helm, with directions from the captain to keep his eye on a certain star, and steer the vessel directly towards it, which he promised faithfully to do. The captain went below, and fell asleep.
After awhile he awoke, went on deck, and found the vessel sailing in a course exactly opposite to that in which he had directed the helmsman to steer. “What does all this mean, Patrick?”
The sailor replied, “Captain, ye must pick me out another star, for I've sailed clear by that one!”
Just so, many have turned their back on God, and Heaven, and light, and peace, and think they have sailed by all the revelations of God, and want someone to pick them out another star.
