Pastor Joe Fuiten, Christmas Season, December 7, 2003 #2
Scripture Reading
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV)
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV)
We have been asked the question, why are there lights at
Christmas time?
In response, I am presenting these messages on the Christmas theme, “Jesus Light of the World.”
Last week we spoke about the light of creation, that it is impossible to see all that is and not at the same time understand that all this did not just happen. That is the clear statement of verse three, that God made all things. That knowledge should serve as the spark to make people ask who did this and how can I know him.
We also spoke of the light of moral conscience. Every person has some sense of right and wrong. The fundamental knowledge of right and wrong is in every human soul. With that knowledge comes the desire to know the one who established right and wrong.
With the light of creation and moral conscience at work in every soul, then our task is to be present when those lights come on. Every sinner prefers their lifestyle for a while, but at some point they say to themselves, there must be more than this. I want meaning and significance in my life. This is a decisive moment. From that moment on, their life is fertile soil for the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they are at that moment on a quest to know God. The darkness can vaguely perceive the image of Christ but they do not understand it even yet. They may not know to call it a quest for God. Through teaching, they may have been trained to ignore it. Through deception, they may be led off to search in other areas. But the fact is, the light of the Gospel is starting to make its presence known. All it needs is a proper witness from those who already have the light of Christ.
Today, I want to return to that theme by continuing to ask, in what sense is Jesus the light of the world? How does he give light to every man, as our text says in verse 9?
We could build our answer around what Jesus did in his life. We would have to start with his miracles. In fact, in John 9:5-7, John already made that connection: While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. Being the light of the world and healing blind eyes were part of the same statement.
To become a Catholic saint you have to have two miracles credited to your name. That would include someone praying to you after you are dead and attributing their miracle to you. Jesus did thousands of miracles with all kinds of witnesses. The miracles that Jesus did reflected compassion, dominance over the devil, and over every disease. It represented human wisdom and accomplishment in the sense that a great doctor receives acclaim for finding the cure to disease. As the greatest doctor in history, some could argue that the light that he brought is that it is possible to overcome disease. Jesus clearly wanted this association made because he sent the blind man to wash in the pool of him who was sent. Divine healing represents Jesus, light of the world.
The same could be said for his teaching. Many have said that the Sermon on the Mount represents the greatest ethical and moral teaching in the world. I would not dispute that. Some could say that the tremendous civilizing power of the teachings of Jesus have made the places where his influence has shaped the societies most, also the best places to live. Even today, there is a light of Jesus Christ shining from the shores of those who are putting Christianity on display in their national and personal life.
The places where people treat each other the best have been places for the Gospel of Jesus has been influential. For example, what could lead to more peace between people than the teaching to love your neighbor as yourself? The Golden Rule cannot be excelled in terms of moral teaching. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” That one principle, lived out to varying degrees of completeness, brings incredible light to any neighborhood, city, country, or civilization.
The places of greatest scientific advance have been in places where the teachings of Jesus were the most influential. Herbert Butterfield noted this in his book, The Origins of Modern Science. That scientific advance has given the world all sorts of comforts, plentiful food, health, and benefits of life. Scientific advance is a light of Jesus Christ to all the world.
We could
point out the system that Jesus put in place has both authority and equality
in it. Jesus empowered his disciples,
giving them his authority. After giving
the Apostles supreme authority, he set in motion the concept of gifts of the
Holy Spirit. The implications
of the gifts of the Spirit for creating equality among people is
enormous. Several times, when Paul
wanted to deal with the issue of one persona thinking they were better than
other people, brought up the subject of the gifts of the Spirit. If God’s Spirit is the one who operates
through us to accomplish whatever is accomplished, how can anyone say that he
or she is better than the next person?
Has there ever been an idea more friendly to democratic ideals or
egalitarian than the idea of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?[1] “God hath set apostles, prophets, teachers,”
and all the other means through which the Spirit works;…. For where the Church is, there is the Spirit
of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church, and every kind
of grace; but the Spirit is truth.[2]
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