Reflecting
Jesus, Light of the World
Pastor
Joe Fuiten, December 14, 2003 #4
Scripture
27 "Now my heart
is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was
for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it
again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered;
others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for
your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the
prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the
kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, "We have heard
from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son
of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?" 35 Then Jesus
told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer.
Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks
in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light
while you have it, so that you may become sons of light."
When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. 37
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they
still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah
the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed?" 39 For this reason they could not believe,
because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and
deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand
with their hearts, nor turn-- and I would heal them." 41 Isaiah said this
because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet at the same time many
even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would
not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for
they loved praise from men more than praise from God. (NIV)
Our Christmas series is inspired by the question, “why are there lights at Christmas time?” In answer, we are preaching our Christmas series titled, “Jesus, Light of the World.” In the two previous morning messages, we have seen how Jesus provides moral light through moral conscience. Further he has provided the light of creation so that no one will have an excuse for ignoring God.
Jesus has also exhibited the nature of his light by his miracles, his moral and ethical teachings, and for setting the stage for scientific advance. In his system for authority and equality he has given humanity the benchmarks for measuring all political and relational systems. In his merciful forgiveness of those who sinned against him, he set the standard for the world in terms of forgiveness. These messages are available online at www.cedarpark.org.
In today’s passage, the decisive nature of the death of Jesus is revealed in verse 32. “…when I am lifted up from the earth, (I) will draw all men to myself.” No human being is outside the drawing power of Jesus Christ. He is not God to Christians alone. Jesus is the light of the world. He is God for every human being, no matter what their current state of religion or secular viewpoint.
Humanity’s problems with Jesus are clearly revealed in this dialogue. The first group was blind in the eyes and dead in their hearts. There is a kind of spiritual blindness and deadness that prevents us from understanding the true nature of things. In ordinary life it is sometimes called the tyranny of the urgent. We get so consumed by what is urgently at hand that we cannot see what is really important. We trade things that are “at hand” for things that are forever. Someone has observed that the urgent is seldom important and the important is seldom urgent.
In this case, what they personally did with Jesus would determine whether they would walk in darkness or in light. Jesus told them to put their trust in the light while they still had it. The opportunity would be with them only a short time, just as it is with us. No doubt those who did not accept Jesus went home that night and slept quite soundly and awoke with a good appetite for breakfast. There was nothing about accepting Jesus that seemed urgent to them. Because of spiritual blindness and deadness they could neither see where they were nor properly feel the opportunity they were missing.
Paul said it clearly in 2 Corinthians 4:4-7 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” It doesn’t make sense to them. It doesn’t register as important compared to the urgent things they are attending to in their life.
John tells us in verse 37 that even after Jesus had done numerous miracles in the presence of the people many still would not believe in him. It was not that they lacked evidence. They lacked the courage. The first group could not. The second group would not. Even some of the leaders who believed in him from an intellectual point of view, did not become his followers because they feared they would lose their position in the synagogue. They knew who he was but they could not bring themselves to serve him. John simply says of them, “They loved praise from men more than praise from God.”
Verse 36,
the key verse in this passage still resonates to this day in 2003: “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become
sons of light."
The easiest thing in the world is to find an excuse for not coming to Jesus. That is because your life is not truly an independent reality. It is more like the fulcrum. You are the pivot point upon which eternity turns. On one side is the god of this world you wants you blind and walking in darkness. On the other side is Jesus, light of the world, who wants you to walk in reality and truth. He is, at this very moment, making “… his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”[1] If you will turn to the light of Christ, the fulcrum will favor God and he will come into your open heart and forgive your sins and give you eternal life.
There is a connection between the light of Jesus shining out into the darkness and the response that we have to him. First, he shines his light into our hearts. Then his light shines in the darkness. This is the message of 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For 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 the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
It is clear to me that God intends to let the light of Jesus shine in this dark world, in addition to what we preached the last two Sunday mornings, by allowing his light to shine through our lives.
Letting God’s light shine through us has its problems. Paul goes on, in verse 7, to say, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We have the treasure of the light of God in the face of Jesus in clay pots. Paul’s world had beautiful glassware, ceramics and metals. Clay was the cheapest form of jar. It wasn’t necessarily a compliment to refer to himself and others as jars of clay. They were ordinary. The light was glorious. The more ordinary the pot, the more glorious the light. The clothing should never detract from the person, which is why I believe in dressing to be un-noteworthy.
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