John 1:1-14

Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesied: “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)

In Luke 1:78, Jesus is called “the rising sun…from heaven.” In Isaiah 9:2, He is called a “great light” — “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

Apostle John wrote: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. . . The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (John 1:4, 9) And King David said: “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

The absence of light is darkness. Yet all the darkness in the world cannot put out or extinguish the light of a single candle. The image of light dispelling darkness is central to our understanding of Christ’s birth and resurrection.

Christ Gives Light to Those in Darkness

Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied about Jesus, saying: “. . .because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)

Christ always brings light out of darkness. At the time of creation, He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:4) and there was light. At the time of our rebirth, Christ brings light into our dark world. Those who find Jesus, the true light, will never be or walk in spiritual darkness. Jesus also brings light into our relationships: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Christ Gives Light to Those in the Shadow of Death

We saw the phrase “and in the shadow of death” in the Luke 1 passage earlier. In Psalm 23:4, we see that King David did not fear death because he knew God was with him. He wrote: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

 Christ Gives Light to Those Who Need Direction

Again in Luke 1, we read that Jesus was coming “to guide our feet into the path of peace.” In our journey of life through this dark world, we need a guide to help us. Jesus is that guide. He lights the way for us to walk and guides us into the way of peace.

Peace. What a good word, and yet it is so elusive. Angels sang of “peace on earth,” we wish each other peace . . . but there seems to be no peace.

If peace is what we want, Jesus is the only peace giver. Have you found His peace yet?

Jesus came to bring light, peace and eternal life—light for your darkness, light when death’s shadow falls across your path, light to guide you from earth to heaven, but also in your journey here in this world.

Jesus said: “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) Would you let Christ the Rising “Son” shine in your life?

Pastor Joseph Hovsepian