The Light Has Arrived

John 1:7 KJV 1900

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

Explain the arrival of something good!

The birth of a child

The graduation from college

The wedding day

Its a good thing

But what if your closest family and friends ignored it

They did not care to come or even worst they made fun or ridiculed it

Illustration - make up good story - friends and family reject it , close friends just ridiculed it

John and Mary

marriage

wedding

children graduating from college

Jesus ministry will now be explained

In this text - we see that the light of Christ is brought to the world....

Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary II. The Divine Light in Evidence (1:6–13)

John moves smoothly into his next introductory theme: the light. Looking back at those early days when the Lord Jesus first showed himself, the apostle John now recalls the ministry of John the baptist and marvels at the speed with which Israel’s rejection of the announced messiah developed. It will be one of his major concerns in this gospel to show belief and unbelief developing side by side. His prologue gives us an initial glimpse of this

John moves smoothly into his next introductory theme: the light.

Looking back at those early days when the Lord Jesus first showed himself, the apostle John now recalls the ministry of John the baptist and marvels at the speed with which

Israel’s rejection of the announced messiah developed. It will be one of his major concerns in this gospel to show belief and unbelief developing side by side. His prologue gives us an initial glimpse of this[1]

The light is introduced and by in large is rejected....

The very thing they need is ignored or out right tejected....

John is sent to describe the light and to point men to Jesus

Illustration -

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - wrote letters to his family while in prison for the insurrection during WWII. One letter described the decision to join the resistance to the Nazi and Hitler. he described that even if they were successful his life would never be the same. This one decision would define him. He was executed just one month before the fall of the Nazi regime. This one decision would define him.

Can you imagine one decision that would define your life.....

Has this every happened to you?   Somebody is asking you for something.  You put it right in front of them, or give them the answer.

And yet they don’t see it.  Or, they still don’t hear it?

Somehow it doesn’t register.

It’s because they have a belief.  Either they believe you don’t have the answer or that you can’t have the answer or you can’t have the answer right here, right now.   Or they believe the answer needs to look like something else.

Schotomas are Mental Blind Spots

There’s a name for these mental blind spots.

It’s a schotoma.

And, we often build our own schotomas.

These blind spots can keep us from seeing things right in front of us.

In the book, Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement, Tony Robbins talks about schotomas and how these mental blind spots can keep us from seeing things right in front of us.

Beliefs

Beliefs are powerful stuff,  They limit what we can see or don’t see.   They filter our perceptions and they are always in motion.   That’s why sometimes suspending our disbelief can help us see new possibilities.

Via Unlimited Power:

“So again, what are beliefs?  They are preformed, pre-organized approaches to perception that filter our communication to ourselves in a consistent manner.”

I don't see the light because I dont believe it ever existed

Robbins shares an example of how you can’t find the salt because you believe you can’t find the salt.

Via Unlimited Power:

“Imagine the following situation.  Someone says to you, ‘Please get the the salt,’ and as you walk into the next room, you say, ‘But I don’t know where it is.’  After looking for a few minutes, you call out, ‘I can’t find the salt.’  Then that someone walks up, takes the salt right off the shelf in front of you, and says, ‘Look, dummy, it’s right her in front of you.  If it was a snake, it would have bitten you.’  When you said, ‘I can’t,’ you gave your brain a command not to see the salt.  In psychology, we call it schotoma.”

If You Don’t Believe It, You Won’t See It

They say “seeing is believing,” but in a lot of cases, it’s actually the believing that enables the seeing.

I am asking you this moment to open to your mind to the power of the Gospel.

“Remember, every human experience, everything you’ve ever said, seen, heart, felt, smelled, or tasted is stored in your brain.  When you congruently say you cannot remember, you’re right.  When you congruently say you can, you give a command to your nervous system that opens up the pathways to the part of your brain that can potentially deliver the answers you need.”

What you believe or don’t believe might hurt you.

What somebody else believes or doesn’t believe about you or what you’re saying, might hurt you, too.

Sometimes the best way to break out of the loop, is to ask a question, or a different question, or to interrupt the pattern.

I The Light Explained

John 1:6–8 KJV 1900

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

The light is right in front of you

The Messenger (1:6)

The witness in verse 7, of course, is John the baptist, the messenger, the “man sent from God” (1:6). John the baptist was both a priest and a Nazarite.

There are only three lifelong Nazarites mentioned in the Bible: Samuel, Samson, and John the baptist.

He was “sent from God.” No one can be sent from God who has not first been with God. .

He was “sent from God.” No one can be sent from God who has not first been with God. John the baptist, muses John the apostle, came straight from the presence of God. That was what gave him his authority and power.

God sends people to us every … a coworker,a friend and/or parent .....

Illustration – sent from someone to tell a message.

Auburn University – deliver the messages to different departments … the message was not mine but I was the deliver …. i was sent to deliver

The Motive (1:7) - Witness does not argue the case he says what he has seen or knows.

John had a motive, a reason for his actions. He “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe” (1:7).

A witness is not the same as an attorney. A lawyer argues his or her case, tries to prove a point, tries to influence people to make the desired decision.

A witness is called solely to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Witnesses are called to testify to what they know.

John the baptist knew that Jesus was the light and he testified to that fact.

3. The Method (1:8)

“He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (1:8).

A good illustration in nature is in the relation of the moon to the sun, in the light each sheds on the earth.

The moon is a dead world in space, a massive chunk of lifeless rock. It has not a spark of fire, not a glimmer of light of its own. The work of the moon is to be a giant reflector in the sky, to pick up the light of the sun and relay that light to the earth. The moon is not the light.

It is poised in space to bear witness to the light. Out there beyond the darkness of the world and of the night is the sun.

The sun is a vast orb of burning gas, a kind of nuclear furnace, blazing away, pouring out a continual stream of light. The moon’s function is only temporary, for the day is coming. The sun sheds its light directly on the earth, dispelling its darkness in a way the moon could not do.

Such was John the baptist. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.

Bottom line he was there to explain the light and its meaning

He was fulfillment of prophecy of the the one crying in the Wilderness ....

He was to explain that all men might believe! vs 7

Barry Phelps - my 11 grade math teacher explained … math in a way that I never forgot ....

God want us to do the same ....

Who are you called to to explain the light to ...

we are the light

1 Peter 3:15 KJV 1900

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Colossians 4:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Illustration and challenge here.....

Acts 10:30–33 KJV 1900

30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. 33 Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

acts 10.

II The Light Rejected

John 1:9–11 KJV 1900

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

john 1.

DARK - NEED A LIGHT TO GET OUT ..... NOPE i AM GOOD

YELLOWSTONE - NEED BEAR SPRAY ..... FOUND SOMEONE WITH BEAR SPRAY AND FOLLOWED THEM

The apostle John’s thoughts go back to Jesus. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

Every man. Every person. All without distinction. All have some light. Those who have received no written revelation have the light of creation and conscience.

God gave the Jews the added light of covenant and commandment.

Now God has given the world the light of Christ.

No one escapes one or another of the sources of light God has made available.

The Holy Spirit sees to that. God holds people responsible for the light they have.

In lands that have known the full blaze of the light of Christ, people are without excuse.

God is working right now at this very moment opening light into your heart:

Through circumstances

Through people

Through health

The light is attempting to shine ....

Sewers in Philadelphia - the rats his from the light .... they would go to extreame locations to avoid light .....

What have done to avoid light

God’s convicting - ignore and change the subject

A friensds testimony ignore

A tragic event in life - fall apart rather than call unto God.

The Light Resisted (1:10–11)

Nothing seemed to astonish John more than the resistance to Jesus. Looking back to the beginning of things, John was still amazed at how quickly and how completely people, both Jews and gentiles, turned away from the light.

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV 1900

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV 1900

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

The Lord was resisted not only by his creatures; worse still, he was resisted by his own countrymen (1:11). “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

He walked a hedgerow and plucked a blade of grass. He had created it; he knew about its structure, about photosynthesis, about the mystery of a plant’s pollination and germination, and all its complex chemistry. He walked beside the sea of Galilee; he knew the topography of that lake, every deep and shallow place, every pebble on the bottom, each and every fish darting through its waves. The world was made by him; he knew all about astronomy and chemistry, physics and biology, mathematics and medicine. He knew every law now known to science and every law not known to science, not because he had studied them but because he was the author of them all. He looked at the world through the eyes of a man but somehow, in the mystery of his being, he had infinite understanding of all things.

The creator trod those Galilean fields and walked Jerusalem’s streets. Wisdom, love, and power looked out of his eyes, and were felt in the touch of his hands. He was in the world, the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. To John, that was a supreme tragedy and irony. People rubbed shoulders with God, yet were too blind to see.

That is, he came to the Jewish people, and they had no use for him. He had been preparing them for that coming for centuries.

The Lord was resisted not only by his creatures; worse still, he was resisted by his own countrymen (1:11). “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” That is, he came to the Jewish people, and they had no use for him. He had been preparing them for that coming for centuries. The prophets had foretold it. Their regathering to the promised land from the Babylonian exile had heralded it. The cold, deadness, and formality of their religion echoed the need for one who could breathe life into dead bones. John the baptist had arisen to announce the imminence of his coming. But Jesus was not the kind of messiah they wanted.

The prophets had foretold it.

Their regathering to the promised land from the Babylonian exile had heralded it.

The cold, deadness, and formality of their religion echoed the need for one who could breathe life into dead bones.

John the baptist had arisen to announce the imminence of his coming. But Jesus was not the kind of messiah they wanted.

Thus, too, the Lord Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not.[1]

Joseph was set apart from his kinsmen, the children of Israel, by the unique position afforded him in the family, as was evident from his coat of many colors. He was set in deliberate contrast to his kinsmen, his goodness and obedience standing in stark relief to the evil and wickedness of the others. As a result he was hated, the more so because of his dreams, which spoke so clearly of his pre-eminence and coming exaltation. The Old Testament historian tells that they envied him and could not speak peaceably to him. At last they conspired against him, sold him for the price of a slave, and delivered him into the hands of the gentiles—and that, after he had come to them from the immediate presence of the father.

Wow after all that they said no!

Thus, too, the Lord Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not.[1]

Reasons people reject Christ in our culture:

1) Some people do not think they need a savior.

These people consider themselves to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (). Those who reject Christ will not be able to stand before God and successfully plead their own case on their own merits.

2) The fear of social rejection or persecution deters some people from receiving Christ as Savior.

John 12:42–43 KJV 1900

42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: 43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The unbelievers in would not confess Christ because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

The unbelievers in would not confess Christ because they were more concerned with their status among their peers than doing God’s will. These were the Pharisees whose love of position and the esteem of others blinded them, “for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

3) For some people, the things that the present world has to offer are more appealing than eternal things.

We read the story of such a man in . This man was not willing to lose his earthly possessions in order to gain an eternal relationship with Jesus (see also ).

Matthew 19:16–23 KJV 1900

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4) Many people are simply resisting the Holy Spirit’s attempts to draw them to faith in Christ.

Stephen, a leader in the early church, told those who were about to murder him, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (). The apostle Paul made a similar statement to a group of gospel rejecters in .

Whatever the reasons why people reject Jesus Christ, their rejection has disastrous eternal consequences. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” than the name of Jesus (), and those who reject Him, for whatever reason, face an eternity in the “outer darkness” of hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” ()

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

III The Light Accepted

John 1:12–13 KJV 1900

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary 3. The Light Received (1:12–13)

The Light Received (1:12–13)

The light, however, was not only revealed and resisted. It was received. John then gives one of those marvelous gospel texts that are such a marked feature of his writing, texts that distill into pure concentrate the essence of God’s plan of salvation for humankind. They are natural stopping places in the onward march of redemption as recorded by John.

“But …” On, those revealing buts of the Bible. They are small hinges on which great truths and destinies swing. “He came unto his own, and his own received Him not. But …” Thank God, that was not all the story. By John’s old age the ranks of the redeemed were already reaching around the world. Millions had been born again. Here John gives us what we can call the formula for the new birth. He describes the spiritual birth of the child of God (1:12).

“But as many as received him, to them gave he the power [the right, the authority] to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on his name.” We must note the three verbs: believe, receive, become—putting them in their chronological order. In the case of a human birth, two factors interact in the equation of life: the human and the divine. Human beings do their part, and then God performs a miracle and life is created in the womb. A child is born. As it is with a natural birth, so it is with the new birth. We do our part, God performs the miracle, and life begins—spiritual life, divine life, eternal life. A new child is born into the family of God. The process revolves around those three verbs.

First we must believe, believe on his name. The name is not mentioned here but there is no doubt as to what that name is: Jesus, the name John more than anyone else uses. Matthew uses that name 151 times, Mark 13 times, Luke 88 times, but John, no less than 247 times. John, more than the other evangelists, confronts us with the Lord’s deity, yet keeps his humanity before us from beginning to end. But, while reminding us over and over again of Jesus humanity, John never lets us forget that he was more than human.

So, we are to “believe on his name.” Why his name? Well, his name is the key to our salvation. When he was about to be born, the Lord sent a messenger to Joseph with the command, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). To believe on his name is to believe in what his name signifies; it is to believe that Jesus can save me from my sins. And that presupposes that I know myself as a sinner in need of a Savior.

It is a great step to arrive at the point where I believe in his name. But that in itself does not put me in the family of God. The second part of the equation (stated first because of its primary importance) is to “receive him.” It is to “as many as received him” that he imparts new life. It is not enough to believe that Jesus is a Savior, not enough to believe that he is the Savior. He must become my Savior. The only way that can happen is for me to receive him. That step simply involves inviting Jesus, the one who saves people from their sins, to come into my heart and life as Savior and Lord, to live and to reign in my innermost being.

How does believing and receiving make one a child of God? Well, that is our part. When we do our part, God performs the miracle. He says, “Become!” And we become a child of God. He imparts new life. The Holy Spirit comes in and indwells the human spirit, bringing with him the life of God. The lifegiving power of God flows in and regenerates our human spirits. We have life from above. We share the divine nature. We become children of God.

By way of comparison and contrast, John next describes the supernatural birth of the Christ of God. The Authorized Version reads: “Which [who] were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” If that reading is correct, the verse amplifies the statement of the previous verse. It shows that a person’s new birth is not of human descent (1:13a). It is “not of blood.” Just because my parents are God’s children does not make me one of God’s children.

It is not of human desire (1:13b). It is not “of the will of the flesh.” No amount of wishful thinking makes me a child of God. I might wish I were the child of a millionaire but that does not make me one. I may even live in a fantasy world where I convince myself that I am the son of a millionaire, but to do so is folly.

It is not of human design (1:13c). It is not “of the will of man.” No amount of parental or personal resolve can make me a child of God. My parents may have me baptized as a baby, but that does not make me a child of God; that is only “the will of man.” I may use all my strength of character to live a good life, perform religious duties, achieve spiritual goals, but those things will not impart new life. It is a birth. We are “born of God,” according to the three spiritual laws given in verse 12.

But there is another view of this verse. There are those who argue that the phrase “who were born” should read “who was born” which changes the sense entirely. In this case it refers to the Lord Jesus, the one in whose saving name we are to believe, the one who himself was born “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” If so, this is John’s definition of the virgin birth of Christ and it prepares us for the statement in the next verse.

John 1:10–13 KJV 1900

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1.10-

The Light Received (1:12–13)

“But as many as received him, to them gave he the power [the right, the authority] to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

We must note the three verbs: believe, receive, become—putting them in their chronological order.

First we must believe, believe on his name.

The name is not mentioned here but there is no doubt as to what that name is: Jesus, the name John more than anyone else uses.

Matthew uses that name 151 times, times, Luke 88 times, but John, no less than 247 times.

John, more than the other evangelists, confronts us with the Lord’s deity, yet keeps his humanity before us from beginning to end. But, while reminding us over and over again of Jesus humanity, John never lets us forget that he was more than human.

So, we are to “believe on his name.” Why his name?

Well, his name is the key to our salvation. When he was about to be born, the Lord sent a messenger to Joseph with the command, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” ().

To believe on his name is to believe in what his name signifies; it is to believe that Jesus can save me from my sins. And that presupposes that I know myself as a sinner in need of a Savior.

It is a great step to arrive at the point where I believe in his name. But that in itself does not put me in the family of God.

The second part of the equation (stated first because of its primary importance) is to “receive him.” It is to “as many as received him” that he imparts new life.

It is not enough to believe that Jesus is a Savior, not enough to believe that he is the Savior. He must become my Savior. The only way that can happen is for me to receive him. That step simply involves inviting Jesus, the one who saves people from their sins, to come into my heart and life as Savior and Lord, to live and to reign in my innermost being.

How does believing and receiving make one a child of God?

The Holy Spirit comes in and indwells the human spirit, bringing with him the life of God. The lifegiving power of God flows in and regenerates our human spirits. We have life from above. We share the divine nature. We become children of God.

key -

It is not of human desire (1:13b). It is not “of the will of the flesh.” No amount of wishful thinking makes me a child of God.

I might wish I were the child of a millionaire but that does not make me one. I may even live in a fantasy world where I convince myself that I am the son of a millionaire, but to do so is folly.

It is not of human design (1:13c). It is not “of the will of man.” No amount of parental or personal resolve can make me a child of God. My parents may have me baptized as a baby, but that does not make me a child of God; that is only “the will of man.” I may use all my strength of character to live a good life, perform religious duties, achieve spiritual goals, but those things will not impart new life. It is a birth. We are “born of God,” according to the three spiritual laws given in verse 12.

What have you done with the Light

[1] Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring the Gospel of John: An Expository Commentary (). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.