Jesus Is The Light That Shines In A Dark World

John 1:9-13 is a sad commentary on the condition of mankind. It is a wonderful review of Jesus as the Light that shines in darkness and the realities of Him as the Agent of creation. However, even though the Light of the Godhead shone in Him without any hinderances, by and large the world loved the darkness and rejected the Light.

The picture here is the same, figuratively, as that at creation. God created the heavens and the earth and in doing that He created light, even before the light source that we know today, the sun, was created. But when He did that, it pierced through the darkness and God separated the light and the dark (Genesis 1:3-4). The dynamic between the light and the darkness in Genesis is what John is referring to in his gospel. In creation, the light shone in the darkness and made distinction between light and dark, both being created by God (Isaiah 45:7). The darkness there ‘hid’ the earth, and whatever else existed, from view. However, when the light began to shine, it made the earth visible and thus began the creative acts of God for the next 5 days. God does not need light to see (Psalm 139:12). However, as with all of creation, it demonstrates the nature of God and His perfect mind in that creation. John takes that, under the superintending work of the Spirit of God, and uses that as an illustration of a different kind of light-to-dark dynamic. This time, when the Light shone, the darkness did not budge. The darkness rejected the Light. The darkness rebelled against the Light. It is as if John is saying that this kind of rejection and rebellion are ‘unnatural’. But, that is what happened. Is this an allegorical approach to interpreting the Scripture? No. The figures used in creation are perfect for illustrating a very real and verifiable condition. This is also the way Jesus taught on anxiety by referring to flowers and birds (Matthew 6:25-34).

The Light that is Jesus (John 1:4,5,9) brilliantly, almost blindingly, shone as He lived on this earth. That is the point that John is making in John 1:9. It is the Light that came into the world and by that coming brings the light of the knowledge of God to every man (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6). However, the darkness did not move aside and allow the Light to shine, unlike creation. Here, the darkness questioned the Light. The darkness opposed the Light. The darkness ultimately rejected the Light. Again, a very ‘unnatural’ thing to do (which indicates the depth of the rebellion of the human heart toward God). Jesus, the Son of God and Creator of all that exists, was not recognized, save by a few whom God chose (John 1:12-13). He was not known, even by the Jews through whom salvation would come to the world (John 4:22). Thus, the Light was overcome by the darkness and He was crucified. Yet, even there, especially there, the Light of God shone intensely. There, on that cross, the penalty of sins was exacted. There, the separation, not of light from darkness but Light from Light, was experienced. There, the Light was enshrouded in darkness (cf. Matthew 27:45). There, God’s requirements for the payment of sins were met. There, the sacrifice of the Light was accepted on our behalf (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-12)!

So, the Light shone in the darkness. The darkness did not know or receive the Light. Yet, the Light still shines.