Light and Life

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4)

When Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually. Death entered the world at that moment. From then on, everyone has come into this world world spiritually dead. That’s why Jesus said we need to be born again, not of the flesh (the first birth) but of the Spirit, a spiritual birth. That’s what He meant in John 5:24, “…truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” Accepting Jesus’ sacrifice by faith brings us into life. Before that, we had been living in a soul-dead state, with the potential of coming into life—but only if we turn to the living God in repentance.

“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in…life for all people.” (Romans 5:18)

John 3:17 tells us, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it because it already stood condemned from the original sin. Jesus came into the world as the Rescuer, bringing life with Him as He entered this world.

This world is a dark, dingy place, although we can’t see that through earthly eyes. When we see a bright, sunny day, we think that nothing brighter than that can exist. Only by studying Scripture can we get glimpses of what heaven will be like and understand what God did by sending His son into this world.

In Exodus 34:29-30 Moses came down from the mountain after having spent forty days getting the Law from God. He didn’t know it, but his face was glowing brightly “…because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” The Israelites were terrified because they were seeing the results of being in the presence of holiness and they knew instinctively that they were dark and unholy. Moses had seen a glimpse of what the coming age in the presence of God would look like, and now he was back in this lesser world, which was dark and gloomy by comparison.

During the Transfiguration, Jesus’ “…face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:2) This happened because Jesus was revealing his holiness during this event. As Moses and Elijah appeared from heaven to talk with Him, a bit of heavenly glory seems to have seeped into this world in the process (my interpretation).

“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.’” (Matthew 4:13-16)

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9)

And His name is Jesus.

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About the picture: taken by Darvis McCoy in 2006 at Masada, Israel.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™