Light Over Darkness

2020 has been a year for the books, hasn’t it? It has been a year which has caused each of us as individuals, and as churches, to reflect on:

- how we can fulfill the great commission;

- how we can do a better job at connecting with family members, whether they be nuclear family or church family;

- how we can be obedient to what the Bible requires of us in unique circumstances and situations.

2020 has also revealed sharp contrasts between various people. Some of these differences have been created by a society that thrives on drama and division. Some of these differences have been exposed as many have let their guards down out of frustration. One of the areas that I desire with all my heart follows what Jesus requested of His Heavenly Father; that as Christians, we may be one.

So, as we consider 2020, we might say that this has been a very discombobulated year. It has been topsy-turvy, inside-out, and upside down. Then as we consider why we celebrate the Advent season as we look forward to Christmas, we come to the answer; in that Jesus actually came in a totally unique way, for a completely special reason, causing reactions from people that were all over the map. You might say that we could look at the birth of Jesus as a completely upside down situation which caused everything that most people held dear or thought was the norm, to be turned upside down.

Thus, I will be calling this series of Advent sermons, the Upside Down of Christmas. I’ll be focusing on four different areas:

1—Light over darkness

2—Sight over blindness

3—Power over passivity

4—Almighty God over helpless humanity.

We need to understand that Christmas is not just a sugary, sweet story of a baby being born with lots of special stories and songs about the event. It’s about the Son of God setting aside His rights as God, choosing to become a man, going through the whole process of birth, growing up, experiencing all that humanity experiences, then choosing to take responsibility and ownership of all the sins of all mankind, so that you and I would have the opportunity to believe upon His Name and receive forgiveness of sins, becoming children of God, living with our Lord for all eternity.

Already, you can see some of the upside-down perspective of the Advent season. As many have stated in many different ways: Jesus was born for the purpose of dying, in order that we might die to self in order to live eternally. We ought to consider this truth during this glorious time. If it were not for the Resurrection reality of Easter, there would be no celebration of the Divine Child of Christmas.

Today, as we consider Light Over Darkness, we need to reflect on the truth that:

Jesus came as the Light to Conquer Darkness.

Light Is More Powerful. - 1.1-5

In an upside down setting, we need to understand a basic principle of this fallen world. Evil loves darkness. Evil is in direct opposition to the goodness of God. Satan is this world’s antagonist against God. Darkness seems to be what causes fear and trepidation.

John 1:1–5 NASB95

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Normally, when we think of something that exists, we consider the fact that at one time it was not in existence. Then there came a point when it came to be, and there will someday be a time when it ceases. For example, your kitchen table has not always existed. Somebody had it in their mind to create that table. They made that table and sold it and you now have possession of it. However, if you move someplace else and leave the table where it is, and nobody else takes possession of it and uses it. It will eventually either dry out, rust, be destroyed by something, or simply deteriorate so that it doesn’t exist.

However, John makes it clear that Jesus has always existed. There was never a time in which He has not existed as part of the triune Godhead. He was the one who spoke everything that does exist into existence. In fact, the Greek word for was is so absolute and specific that we cannot even suggest that Jesus didn’t exist at any point in time. John uses the Greek word eimi to show a continuing action in the past that had no starting point. He did not use the word ginomai because that would have suggested that the Word started up at the same time as creation.

There is so much more that we could say about this, but I want to direct our focus back to the Advent season. The birth of Jesus Christ was not the beginning of the Son of God. However, Jesus, in His humanity, did begin when the Word became flesh. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was to be known forevermore as fully God and fully man. Talk about upside-down thinking to all of humanity.

John then points out something in the last part of verse 4 and verse 5 that seems a little strange, but is what this message is about. Jesus is referred to as the Light of men. Simply put, the world had been darkened by the sinfulness of humanity. Christ, Who is the very essence of God the Father, in Whom there is no darkness, is Light. This Light came into a dark world. We know that darkness results in death. Light results in Life, which Jesus Christ is. Once again, we see an upside-down picture of what most thought was normal.

John MacArthur presents further contrasts in this upside-down scenario. Intellectually, light refers to truth and darkness to falsehood; morally, light refers to holiness and darkness to sin. Satan’s kingdom is the domain of darkness, but Jesus is the source of life. Satan wants us to think that darkness and falsehood and evil is normal. Jesus came into the world to shine Light and Life into the darkness of this world.

All of this is a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect the Light of Jesus upon a world that thinks it perfectly normal to do whatever you have to in order to get ahead and fulfill your own personal pleasures and desires. What the world does not understand is that the darkness will not be able to prevail. In fact, the word for comprehend can also be understood to prevail or overcome. The darkness was not nor will it ever eliminate the Light of Jesus Christ.

The Light Is Presented. - 1:6-13

In this upside down world, darkness does not want anybody to know that there is even the possibility of light. Throughout the world, even today, if light begins to expose the darkness, the darkness will do all it can to attempt to snuff out the light, even though it will ultimately be incapable of doing so.

In this section, each one of us can be a little like John the Baptist. We need to be like the emcee at a special unveiling, introducing or presenting the Light.

John 1:6–13 NASB95

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The word for witness is where we get the word for martyr. Even more importantly for us is to understand that the word for witness is actually a legal term. It describes an individual who is telling what he or she has seen or observed in an effort to make clear to a judge and possibly a jury, information for them to make a choice about a situation. For the Christian, being a witness is merely telling others what Jesus has done for you and what you’ve experienced with Him. It’s telling your story of salvation and the resulting effects of that decision.

Here, we find John the Baptist introducing the Light, Jesus Christ. He had been given the task specifically from God to be a witness for the Light of the Son of God. Verse 7 describes John the Baptist as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through Him. . . . he came to testify about the Light . . . John the Baptist was presenting the person of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. He was introducing for all who would hear, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Yes, Jesus did come to this earth as a baby years earlier, but we’ve established that His birth was not the beginning of Who He is. Plus, the reason for which Jesus entered this world as a baby was that He might be fully able to offer eternal life and forgiveness of sins. As the Light of the world, John the Baptist continued to testify to others this information for the purpose that they might believe through Him . . .

Later on, the Gospel writer states in:

John 3:18 NASB95

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

This would not have been the thought of the majority a few decades earlier at the stable in Bethlehem. It was certainly upside down in the logic and understanding of the majority.

My friends, this is a perfect time of year for us to be witnesses of the Light of the World. The lights on our trees and around our houses are more than just decorations. They symbolize the fact that we know the Light of the world. In this upside down year of 2020, people are desperately looking for hope. They are hungering for some good news. Christian, we can take advantage of this Advent season in our preparation and anticipation of Christmas. Like John the Baptist, we can be a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through Him.

Verses 12-13 in chapter 1 are such words of encouragement and hope that we can hold onto as we present the Light of the world.

John 1:12–13 NASB95

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Light Is The Lamb. - 1:14-36

One would never think that the light would be personified. After all, light describes that which is the opposite of darkness. Or we might describe light as an object which radiates light. However, the gospel writer, John, was very clear to report in detail what John the Baptist stated about the Light. John the baptist described the Light as the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 NASB95

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Once again, we see that it’s not about John the Baptist. Neither is Christmas about us. It’s all about the One Who came from glory, setting aside His rights, to dwell among sinful, fallen humanity, as the Light. It’s about the reason for which Jesus came; to willingly give His life as a sacrifice so that we might live eternally.

It is important to realize that a sacrificial lamb was completely familiar to the Jewish people. Throughout the Bible, Israel understood that in order to deal with the sin that separated the people from God, there had to be the blood sacrifice of a substitute, primarily a lamb. However, it was also clear, especially due to the required repetition of this sacrifice, that a single sacrifice was never enough to take care of the sin completely. It merely covered the sin. For those who would think through what the prophets had stated, they would have realized that the Messiah was likened to a lamb that is led to slaughter.

Unfortunately, the people didn’t want the Light to be a Lamb. They wanted the Messiah to be a military and political leader. But John the Baptist made it completely clear that the Light, the Messiah, the One Who came into the world as a baby, was actually the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. As the Lamb, Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice that would not simply cover sin, but would remove it, once for all.

Conclusion

Christmas was the opening bars to the concert of the life of Jesus, culminating with the grand finale climax of His death on the cross. As the Lamb of God, He was the final sacrifice for the sins of humanity. But its value was understood only by those who accepted the Light so as to receive salvation.

The Light is available to all, but many refuse to accept the Light of Jesus Christ. After all, why would Jesus be willing to be the sacrificial Lamb?

My friends, even though everything appears to be upside down in your life, we are reminded during this time of year that the Light is over the darkness.

Jesus came as the Light to Conquer Darkness.