A
Study of the Book of John
“That
You May Believe”
Sermon
# 2
“Jesus – The Light of the World!”
John
1:4-13
We as human beings live in a world that is ever more confused and confusing, a
world that is ever more given to darkness. While we humans are proud of our
accomplishments in science, technology, and medicine, yet our civilization is coming apart
at the seams. More marriages are ending in divorce not less. Homosexuals are being more
and more militant in their demands for equal recognition and acceptance. We live in a
world that calls good evil and evil good. What can call that except darkness?
John warns us that people either love the light
or the darkness and this love controls their actions (John 3:16-19). God is light and if
you push God out of your life you will left with darkness. (Romans 1:21)
John beginning in verse five introduces us to the struggle between darkness and
light, between life and death, between the forces of good and evil. There are certain
principles that we need to under-stand concerning the light and the darkness. God is light
(1 John 1:5) while Satan is the “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53).
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not comprehend it.
(6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) This man came for a witness, to
bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was
sent to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light
which gives light to every man coming into the world. (10) He was in the world, and the
world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. (11) He came to His own, and His own
did not receive Him. (12) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name: (13) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Four Factors Concerning
The Light.
First, Revealed
The Light (vv. 4-5)
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not comprehend
it.”
The word translated “comprehend” (katelaben) in
the New King James Version is a word that has at least three meanings. On the most literal
level the word means “to seize” or “to apprehend.”
Secondly, the word can also mean “to
overtake” - the darkness “never
overpowered” or “overcomes”
the light.
Third, the word can also mean “to
quench or to extinguish or eclipse” – thus meaning that the light cannot
be eclipsed by the darkness. (Boice. pp. 44-45)
But if the light unmasks and reveals the darkness for what it is, then the darkness
will not remain passive but will fight back. It is the nature of darkness to try to quench
the light.
Verse five says “the light shines”
indicating a continuous action. The light is constantly showing up the darkness for what
is, ignorance, unbelief and rebellion against God.
Not Only Was the Light Revealed but
…
Secondly, Witness
to the Light. (vv. 6-9)
“There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. (7)
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent
to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light
which gives light to every man coming into the world.”
The first thing that we are told about this witness to the light (v. 6) was that
God sent a man named John. It has always been God's way to spread his light by using
people. John is a witness to the light but he is not the light. The responsibility of the
witness is to bring men to the place where they must decide, where they take a definite
step of faith.
There are at least two implications of this
text for us today.
· One is
that you should be alert to the possible
call of
God in your life. All
Christians are to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:16). All are called to witness to the
light (Acts 1:8, 1 Pet. 2:9). But God still calls some in a special way and for special
tasks. "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers
into his harvest" (Matt. 9:38). "How shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom.
10:14-15). "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in
which the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers" (Acts 20:28).
It may be a vocational sending to the ministry.
God may be calling some of you into full-time ministry. Or it may be that God is calling
you to a single or special mission (across the ocean or across the street). But it is
God's way to speak to a person and send that person to testify to the light. Be ready and
open to hear that call and accept that commission.
· And the
other implication is that you should be
ready and open to hear the testimony from others who are sent to you. God means to communicate to you not merely
through your own private Bible reading, but also through other people. He means to
communicate to you through my preaching and through your Sunday School teacher and through
godly parents, friends or co-workers. We should be aware that it is God's way to
communicate with us through those that he calls and sends. Otherwise why bring into our
lives if He has nothing to say to us through them?
And the second main thing we are told about the
witness to the light is that “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the
Light…” (v.
7a). The
way God uses people to spread the light is by their testimony. John was a burning and a
shining lamp to Jesus. He was burning with zeal and shining with the light of truth. And
that's the way our witness should be too.
Not Only
Was the Light Testified To but….
Third, Rejected
The Light (vv. 10-11)
“He was in the world, and the
world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. (11) He came to His own, and His own
did not receive Him.”
Not only did His creation “not know Him”
(v.10) even His own people, the children of Israel, “did
not receive Him.” (v.11). It seems rather mysterious to us that Jesus was
not accepted by his own people, the very people who had been waiting in anticipation of
His coming for many generations.
Did Israel have any excuse for their failure to
recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah? Think of the reasons why they should have
recognized Him. In the first place they had the prophecies of His coming in the
scripture. And if that were not enough they had the evidence of the miracles that
Christ performed. And yet they did not accept Jesus as the promised one!
Do you know why the religious leaders of His day rejected Jesus? They
rejected Him primarily because He did not fit their expectations. Because He did not come
with great pomp and ceremony, because He did not come to set up an earthly kingdom, they
refused to accept Him. They did not accept Him because He came with a message that they
must repent and be born again. They did not accept Him because as “the light of
God” He revealed them for what they were, sinners who needed to be saved. And because
of this, rather than welcoming Him, they became more suspicious and finally rejected Him
in blind anger even accusing Him of being a child of the devil. Then they killed Him.
Verse eleven says “he came
to His own” which means he came to the place and among the people who were His
own. He came among His own people, the Jews,
but they “did not receive Him.” As John 3:19-20 says, "This
is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who is evil hates the light, and
does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." The light came to His own and His own were in love with the
darkness. And so they did not receive the light.
Not only was the Light Rejected by some but
….
Fourth,
Received The
Light (vv. 12-13)
“But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right
to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: (13) who
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God.”
Let’s look at these verses in reverse order. In verse thirteen John
lists the mistaken ways people think they can come to God.
First, he says that new birth is "not of blood."
That means, not by inheritance, not by human ancestry. You cannot get into Heaven by being
raised in a Christian family. You can be a member of a family, every one of whom is
Christian except you, but that does not make you a Christian. You can grow up in a
Christian home, attend a Christian school, be involved in all the activities of a Church,
but until you are born again you are not a Christian. You are not saved by Christian
parents or Christian grandparents or by being born in a Christian country.
Secondly, the new birth is "not of the will of the flesh."
It is not by determining to be a Christian that you become a Christian. You act like a
Christian, join the church and attend worship services and go through all the motions of
being a Christian and still not be a Christian. It is "not of
the will of the flesh." It is only, as we will see, by a new birth.
Third, the new birth is "not of the will of man."
No one else can do it for you. Nobody can make you a Christian. You cannot come by any
ritual, by standing up or sitting down, by going forward or by kneeling at a bench or even
shaking the preacher’s hand. That does not make you a Christian.
It is what has happened in your heart that makes you a Christian. It is a new
birth. It is done by God: "but of God."
Then in verse twelve says “but as many as
received Him” the word translated “as many”
(hosoi) is
sometimes translated “whosoever” and it opens the doors of salvation to all who
will receive Him. “Receive” means receive as
God’s revelation of light and truth. In verse twelve John says first –“receive” then “believe”
and then “born”.
Throughout the gospel of John, the
verb “believe” is emphasized as an activity,
something that one does. Receiving Jesus means taking Jesus into your life for what he is.
It does not mean a kind of peaceful co-existence with a Christ who makes no claims —
as though he can stay in the house as long as he doesn't play his music so loud.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says it this way, “Notice that
this is for “them that believe on his
name.” And always with the word “believe” there is a preposition. You see,
faith, as the Bible uses it, is not just head knowledge. Many people ask, “You mean
all that I have to do is to say I believe?” Yes, that is all you have to do, but
let’s see what that implies. With the verb “to believe” there is always a
preposition—sometimes en (in), sometimes eis
(into) or sometimes epi (upon). You must believe into, in, or
upon Jesus Christ. …. Is Christ holding you up? Is He your Savior? It is not a
question of standing to the side and saying, “Oh, yes, I believe Jesus is the Son of
God.” The question is have you trusted Him, have you believed into Him, are you
resting in Him?” [J.
Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible Commentary. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson (electronic ed. 1997)]
Fortunately, John does record that there were
Those who receive the light are given the “power” (exousia) literally “authority or the right” to become “the children of God.” Those who are born are those who
“believe.” This is such a profound truth that
apparently John never got over it for when he was very old he wrote (1 John 3:1) “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called the children of God!”
Conclusion
Verse twelve and thirteen give us the marvelous promise of God that anyone who receives and believes in Jesus will be born again and become a part of the family of God.