The Work of the Son: "He Came to Dispel the Darkness"

Text: John 3:16-21; 12:46

Theme: Jesus came into the world to be the light of the world and to dispel darkness, spiritual darkness, from the lives of men.

On July 14, 1789 the citizens of Paris attacked the Bastille. The Bastille was a notorious castle-like prison that had become the visible symbol of social and political repression of the people by the French monarchy. After a pitched battle, French citizens stormed the castle in order to seize it’s store of weapons and gun powder. In the process, they also released seven political prisoners who were being held. One of the convicts, upon being brought out, instead of joyfully welcoming his liberty, begged his liberators to take him back to his cell. He had been confined in darkness for so long, that his eyes could not endure its brightness of the sun. His only desire was to return to the murky dungeon where he had been a captive. In the same way, lost men continue to reject the Savior until they eventually become so hardened in their sin that they prefer the dark ways of eternal death.

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:19-20, NASB95)

Jesus came into the world to do the work of the Father. What Jesus heard the Father saying, he said. What Jesus saw the Father doing, he did. The work of the Son, was to accomplish the work of the Father. One of those works was to be light.

Into the world’s darkness, Jesus came as the light of life. In our text for this evening, Jesus explains the purpose for His coming. "I am come a light into the world " (John 12:46)..

We see from these words we discover:

I. MEN LOVE DARKNESS AND PREFER TO LIVE IN IT INSTEAD OF THE LIGHT

ILLUS. Now, from a rational point of view, that statement seems counterintuitive. Everything about human history and human character tells us that the dark is a dangerous place. The dark is a scary place. It’s in the dark that things go “bump” and scare us. Anyone who has ever watched a horror film knows that when the light goes out, evil things are about to happen.

1. so why would the bible tell us that men loved darkness rather than light?

a. it’s speaking practically ... men love darkness because their deeds are evil

1) if someone is going to commit an evil or wicked act they don’t do it in broad daylight with dozens of witnesses

2) they do their evil “in the dark” or “behind closed doors” where no one can see

b. it’s speaking metaphorically ... men love darkness because the hate light

1) throughout the bible light symbolizes God, darkness connotes everything that is anti-God: the wicked, judgment, and death

“who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, 14 who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,” (Proverbs 2:13–14, NIV84)

2. in John’s writings, darkness is a word used to represent three aspects of man’s spiritual condition outside of Christ

a. ignorance of divine truth

b. man's sinful nature

c. lack of spiritual perception

3. apart from Christ, men are in deepest spiritual darkness

a. they do not have a right understanding of life, death, or eternity

1) the Apostle Paul spoke of this in his first letter to the Church at Corinth

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NIV84)

ILLUS. It is possible to read the Bible, and yet not understand it. It is possible to study the Bible for many years, memorizing much of it, and still not understand it. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day are an example of this. These were men highly trained in the Old Testament Scriptures. They had studied for years, often memorizing entire books, yet they missed its central message. They completely failed to recognize the promised Messiah when He came and lived among them.

4. the theological word we use to describe this spiritual blindness is depravity

a. the lost man’s depravity affects every part of his character

b. because the lost man is depraved, he loves darkness rather than light

A. SPIRITUAL DARKNESS REPRESENTS JUDGMENT FROM GOD . . .

1. an illustration of this is seen in one of the plagues when God afflicted Egypt with a thick darkness as one of the judgments upon Egypt

"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days." (Exodus 10:21-22, ESV)

a. have you ever been in a place where the darkness was so black that it just enveloped you and you could feel it envelop you?

b. unbelievers are in that kind of darkness and it represents the judgment of God upon their lives

B. SPIRITUAL DARKNESS CAUSES A MAN TO LOSE HIS WAY . . .

"... Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.” (John 12:35)

1. the world, the flesh, and the devil will never give a lost man right directions

ILLUS. In 2006 James Kim died while attempting to find help for his stranded family. He was a husband and father who died of exposure in the Oregon. They were on their way from Seattle to San Francisco after the Thanksgiving holiday. On their way, they missed the turn off to the interstate, but instead of turning back, they consulted a highway map and picked a secondary route. They got lost, then got snowbound. After several days, James left to get help and never returned. His body was found eleven miles away, having died of hypothermia. The saddest part of the story is that they should never have been on the road where they became stranded. The map failed to tell them that this was a road that is unpassable during the winter months.

a. the world, the flesh, and the devil will give the lost man just enough direction to help him loose his way

C. SPIRITUAL DARKNESS CARRIES A SENSE OF DREAD NEAR THE LIGHT . . .

1. because the love of Christ is unnatural for the person who is in darkness, when he perceives the Light he trembles at it

"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!”" (Romans 8:15, ESV)

II. THE LIGHT OF CHRIST DELIVERS ALL WHO COME TO HIM FROM DARKNESS

1. Jesus said "I am come a light,"

a. He came into the world to dispel the darkness in you

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;" (2 Corinthians 4:3-7, NASB95)

A. GOD DISPELS THE DARKNESS IN MY SOUL THROUGH THE LIGHT OF JESUS CHRIST . . .

"For God ... hath shined in our hearts to give the light" (2 Corinthians 4:6)

1. this light is Jesus Christ Himself

2. the psalmist understood the need for God’s illumination of His Word

a. he prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Thy law” (Ps. 119:18)

1) he did not need the Lord’s help to read His Word, but he knew he needed His help to understand it

ILLUS. Martin Luther said, “The Bible cannot be understood simply by study or talent; you must count only on the influence of the Holy Spirit.”

ILLUS. John Calvin wrote: “The testimony of the Spirit is superior to reason. For … these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit.”

b. without the Holy Spirit to guide him, the best at man can do on his own is to gnaw the bark of Scripture without getting to the wood

B. GOD DEPOSITS THE TREASURE OF THE LIGHT IN ME THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED . . .

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7)

1. the word treasure is the Greek word "thesaurus" which means "a receptacle of valuables"

a. it is the same word used of the treasures of the Magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh

b. after we come to Christ, God deposits within us the greatest of treasures—His divine presence through the Spirit

C. GOD DECREES AFFLICTION THAT HIS LIGHT MIGHT SHINE A LITTLE BRIGHTER

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7)

1. the word translated vessels literally means jars of clay

ILLUS. Gideon and his jars of clay. Only after the clay jars were broken did the light shine and the enemy was defeated

2. experiences that bring a breaking in your life are designed to allow Christ to shine

ILLUS. In her book, The Story of My Life, Helen Keller tells of the dramatic moment when Annie Sullivan first broke through her dark, silent world with the illumination of language. We walked down the path to the well house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten – a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away. Helen Keller was blind and deaf, and most would consider that a great tragedy. Helen considered it a blessing because it allowed her to share her faith in Christ with audiences around the world.

III. WHEN THE LIGHT COMES INTO OUR LIVES WE LIVE AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT

1. for those of us who have experienced the grace of God and have Christ within us, we are instructed by the Apostle Paul ...

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret" (Ephesians 5:8-12)

ILLUS. Some years ago, I heard the late Adrian Rogers tell the following story: A little girl was sitting in church with her mother. As children are prone to do, her mind and her eyes began to wander during the pastor's sermon. Her attention turned toward the church's beautiful stained glass windows. The sun was shining just right and they were brilliantly lite up. Noticing the figures portrayed in several of the large windows, the little girl tugged on her mother's sleeve and asked, "Mommy, who are those people in the windows?" Her mother looked at the windows and then down at her daughter and whispered, "Those figures represent different New Testament saints." "What is a saint?" came the little girls reply. Embarrassed by all of the questions during the service, the mother told her daughter to be quiet and that she would explain on the way home. As they walking out of the church the little girl's face brightened and she exclaimed in the childish delight that comes with figuring out an answer for themselves, the girl exclaimed, "Mother, I think I know what a saint is: It's someone through whom the light shines!"

2. that little girl is exactly right!

A. THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST GIVES EACH OF US A MINISTRY

1. all believers have been given the ministry of reflection

a. we are to let our light shine for Jesus

2. in a world darkened by sin, you and I are to reflect the glory of God in our daily living

a. what an awesome challenge!

1) it's a privilege we did not earn

2) it's a responsibility we cannot avoid

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

May we remember that He came a Light; to shine through us!