A COMING LIGHT

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In Christ, Mark

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

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2

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

Imagine losing everything except your life itself.

Your community, destroyed.

Your home, plundered of all valuables and then leveled.

Your freedom, gone, as you are exiled to a foreign land with a completely alien culture and language.

How would you feel in those circumstances, circumstances that wouldn’t just go on for a month or two but rather last seventy years?

I think I can say with little doubt that those years would be the darkest times of your life.

This scenario was a reality for the people of the southern kingdom of Jerusalem as God rained down His judgment upon them through the marauding Babylonian empire and its mighty conquering military forces. And it was into this matter that we find their God speaking works of future hope through His prophet Isaiah:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

Yes, the Judeans suffered through punishment that they deserved based on their sinful disobedience and worshiping of other gods and idols, a direct violation of God’s commandments. But as we see in Isaiah’s prophecy, the God they wronged was as much a God of forgiveness, mercy, and redemption as He was one of judgment, and He’s still the same today.

Indeed, God had better days ahead for His people and those days would be ushered in by the coming of His Son Jesus, the great Light who would come to overcome the darkness.

Moving to the New Testament, we find Jesus Himself confirming that He was indeed the One God was speaking about through Isaiah. Here’s what He said in Matthew’s Gospel:

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He withdrew to Galilee.

Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Matthew 4:12-17

Jesus was the great Light, and even more, the Light of the world, another identity He declared in John’s Gospel:

"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

Here we learn that anyone who believes and follows Jesus will not only receive His Light but serve as His Light carriers, reflecting Him on others who may be living in darkness. Jesus expounds on this and exhorts His disciples to let His light shine as we return to Matthew:

“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

The scriptures are clear. All Christians are to live out their faith in Jesus, making Him and His light evident to everyone they encounter. Further, this commitment to be in Jesus, the Light, leads to a special fellowship between believers who share a common Savior and salvation promise. We find John affirm this in his first letter as he writes:

If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 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. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:6-8

Friends, we can’t possibly be living in darkness if we are truly in a relationship with Jesus. Our fellowship with Him keeps us in the Light and then that Light is shared as Christian believers relate to one another, reveling in the truth that the very blood of Jesus has cleansed and purified believers from all unrighteousness, assuring that their future will be grounded in eternal life.

The main takeaway for us from this message is that Jesus is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. In a world that is becoming increasingly dark and evil, what a comfort it is to know that we will always be in the Light because we believe in Jesus, the One who has been, is, and will always be Light, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.