THE TRUE LIGHT (1)

“That was the TRUE LIGHT which gives LIGHT to every man coming into the world” – John 1:9

Christ Jesus is the TRUE LIGHT: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the LIGHT, that all through him might believer. He was not that LIGHT, but was sent to bear witness of that LIGHT. That was the TRUE LIGHT which gives LIGHT to every man coming into the world” (Jh.1:6-9). John the Baptist, though sent from God, was not the True Light, but a “witness of that LIGHT.” John was like a shooting star sent forth to shatter the darkness of sin in preparation for the “Son” to shine. His witness as Christ’s forerunner was prophesied: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa.40:3a).

As “a prophet of the Most High,” John the Baptist was equipped and commissioned by God for this special ministry of guiding the people from the error of their ways to the truth of Jesus (Lk.1:76-79). His specific message, addressed to specific recipients, and intended to elicit a specific response, was a Call to Repentance for those wallowing in life’s wasteland, pointing them to their need for a Saviour. One of John’s keynotes was that JESUS is the TRUE LIGHT. He is the One Who makes clear the Meaning and Destiny of human existence. Jesus Himself testified of John the Baptist: “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light” (Jh.5:35).

John was a brief lamp – “burning and shining” – not the True Light. The Jewish nation, for a short time, was stirred by and rejoiced in John’s ministry, thinking for a moment that the Messianic Age was dawning. Even with some stinging rebukes, John’s preaching carried a popular excitement. Yet, he stayed humbly in the confines of his calling, always pointing to Jesus, not to himself: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jh.3:30). John was sent to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah. When Jesus’ popularity began to bloom and his began to shrink, John joyfully accepted God’s plan. When the King arrived, there would be no further need of the herald!

John’s message was illuminating, but he was not the True Light. Jesus is the True Light, the “Real Deal” – God in the flesh! Jesus brings the revelation of God’s Light and Life into a dark world. He alone reveals God’s Glory in the world as The Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (v.14). The Revelation of Jesus as the True Light directly connects Him to Israel’s Messiah as prophesied: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a GREAT LIGHT; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a LIGHT has shined” (Isa.9:2).