JESUS: THE SERVANT OF LIGHT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

Isaiah 42:1a, 5, 6b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The following scriptures from the Gospel of John cry out while proclaiming a critical truth about Jesus. For the Son of God who was sent by His Father to save us is not only a perfect servant. He is light.

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.” John 8:12

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. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” John 12:35-36

I’m not sure if you have ever tried to walk in darkness before but it can be harrowing, even if we are in familiar surroundings. In those times, we come to a greater appreciation for just how much we need light to see where we are going. Indeed, light illuminates our way to travel and it reveals our surroundings, which can be almost as important as having our path lit because often dangers lurk in the dark areas we can’t see. Think about any horror movie you might have watched and the terror people experience usually comes from the dark, from places out of the victim’s vantage point. Perhaps, this is more real for us in life than we tend to admit.

Think about it. Doesn’t Satan typically only allow us to see what looks good to us when he lures us down the road of sin and wickedness. We don’t see the dangers and consequences because they are masked in the darkness of transgression and iniquity, unexposed until it is too late and we are entangled in the consequences of our evil actions. We find one such instance very early on in the Bible in the third chapter of Genesis:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  Genesis 3:1-13

Two people, Adam and Eve, were lured into the darkness by the tempting words of the serpent, convinced it was alright to disobey God and pursue the fruit that was so enticing. Note that the consequences were not spelled out by the serpent. Rather, he was able to convince the first man and woman that God didn’t really mean what He said and would welcome the knowledge of good and evil that the tree’s fruit would bring them. Of course, we know it all was a lie from the start but it shows the cunning, conniving nature of our enemy and how he can easily sway our thoughts into committing sin and violating the God who despises it, just as he did to Adam and Eve.

It’s little wonder then why God sought to prevent this from happening by sending light into the world in the way of Jesus so that people could have a means to avoid ever walking in darkness again, always led by the One who was the light of the world.

As we continue our study of Isaiah, Chapter 42, and the prophecy of the coming Jesus, we find that it was God who ordained the light that would come in His Son when He said this:

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”  Isaiah 42:1a, 5, 6b

Jesus would be a perfect servant of light, bringing hope to all peoples, whether Jew or Gentile. Through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the gates of heaven were thrown open so that all who placed their belief and trust in His as Savior would get to experience His light and the light of His Father forever. This, my friends, is why the word Gospel means “good news” for indeed that’s what it brings to everyone who receives it, everyone who opts to walk in the light by following the One who is the light.

For when we do this, when we walk with the light of the world, Jesus, we find the words of this devotion’s first scriptures from John come alive because through Christ:

1. We will never walk in darkness but instead will have the light of life.

2. We will always know where we are going because we have Jesus, the light of life, the One who told us that He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

3. We will become children of light and find ourselves in a place where we can fulfill these words of Jesus while carrying His light to others:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

As we go into a new week, let’s all conscientiously make an effort to allow the light of Jesus, the servant of light, to shine through us onto all we encounter so they might get a glimpse of their Savior through all we do and be brought to a place where they glorify their Father in heaven.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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