Jesus at the Light of the World

A baby changes everything …?

“… in [whom] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind “… in [whom] was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it … the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world”. (John 1:4,9) John sees Christ’s birth as the entrance of life itself into the world and that through this little life, “true light” was now present in the world. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. (John 8:12)

It is quite accurate to view Christ’s birth as the entrance of a “great light” into the darkness of the world. This Little Light of Mine and Revelation 12 We often view the Nativity as quite a serene scene, but Scripture suggest conflict and struggle associated with Christ’s birth.

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.” 

Right from the get-go, Satan really did try to extinguish the light of the world. He really did try to snuff out the light that scripture, the prophets and creation pointed us to. Through the events of Easter, the child was snatched up to God and to his throne, where He now exists, awaiting another sort of Advent … more on that in a moment.

Light is nothing more than pure energy, moving at a speed of 299,792 km per second. Light then is energy in perpetual motion. Scientists cannot explain why light possesses the power it does nor from where it generates its velocity. They cannot really explain why light exists. We know that light exists because God called it into being and its power from God himself. Recall that light came into being in Genesis 1:4, on day one of creation, while the sun, moon and stars were not created until Genesis 1:14-19 – day four of creation.

Light is not sourced in the stars; they simply govern the light they have received. Though they cannot explain it particularly well, scientists do know that when light hits the retina of the eye, things become visible – somehow this indescribable energy is translated into sight.

Full divinity is somehow bottled up in Jesus Christ’s humanity Full divinity is somehow bottled up in Jesus Christ’s humanity. Jesus is the embodiment of divine power – God enfleshed. “… the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). Christ’s conception is through the power of God. Just as the sun and stars govern the dispersion of light which is sourced in God Himself, the Son governed the dispersion of God’s power, this too sourced in God Himself.

When the light of Christ hits the human heart - which would be like light hitting the open and functioning eye - everything becomes illuminated; through Christ, we see clearly. Apart from Him, there is no word from God. Apart from Him there is no life. And apart from Him, there is no true understanding--all is darkness. We often take this all and allow it to exist in the past, like an ancient done deal, a relic of an ancient time.

But there are two other realities that the child in the manger, the One who came as the light of the world, brings into being. The message of the prophets regarding Christ was quite consistently “He’s coming”; they reliably pointed to the coming of the great light. We have been given a message of “He has come and He’s coming again”. Advent isn’t just about joining the ancient Israelites in anticipation of the arrival of this great light in Jesus, it’s also about an anticipation of the return of the light of the world.

Just as Christ’s first arrival was foretold in Scripture, so too is His second coming spoken of in Scripture. “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:19). “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 22:23). No longer will we receive indirect light, but we will be eternally exposed to the fullness of God’s light. Scripture makes it clear that we can have the light of full understanding, the complete word of truth and life full and everlasting. But how is this so?

2 Corinthians 4:6 indicates that “… God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ”. By coming face to face with the child in the manger, we are exposed to the light that will lead to eternal life. Once we are exposed to this light, we have a choice to make. "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:19-20).

Sometimes we prefer darkness because we inherently know that by coming into the light, various aspects of who were are will be exposed by the light. The child in the manger came with a task to complete; the light of the world came with a purpose “to open [our] eyes and turn [us] from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that [we] may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [Jesus]” (Acts 26:18). The child in the manger urges each one of us to come out of the shadows of sin and into His light, knowing that even though the garbage of our lives will be exposed in doing so, complete forgiveness is right there waiting for us.

For some, the allure of sin or the shame associated with its exposure is too great. There are some who will love darkness instead of light. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:18). The reality is that light leads to life, darkness to destruction – there is no overcoming darkness apart from coming into the light. The manger presents us with a choice; how will you choose today?

Consider what the child in the manger may be saying to you: “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46).