By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
Isaiah 9:1–3; John 1:1–9
There is something unnerving about being in a place of complete and total darkness — not the sort of darkness you might experience on a moonless night or in a room without the lights on, but the kind that surrounds you when you descend into a cave. When you have trekked far enough into the cave for that last glimmer of light from the entrance to disappear, you turn off the comforting headlamps and flashlights that help you see the way. There, the last photon of light vanishes, and you experience a darkness so thick you can almost feel it. It is remarkable how much this scene is changed when a single light is switched back on.
The Bible often employs this same imagery of light penetrating the darkness. God’s first act of creation in Genesis 1 is to command, “Let there be light!” and drive back the darkness that had enveloped the primordial sea. Even in the midst of his suffering, Job declares God “reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light” (Job 12:22). In a similar vein, the psalmist praises God saying, “LORD, You light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness” (Ps. 18:28). For the biblical authors, it was the divine light of God’s presence that they hoped would break through the darkness of their present circumstances.
The light shines on those living in a land of darkness. (Isa. 9:1–3)
Few hours were darker in the history of God’s chosen people than the closing decades of the eighth century B.C. In the year 732, the mighty Assyrian emperor Tiglath-pileser III subjugated much of the territory of the northern kingdom Israel, turning these areas into Assyrian provinces. Just a decade later, Assyrian emperors would destroy the Israelite capital Samaria and with it the rest of the nation of Israel. Only the much smaller and much weaker southern kingdom, Judah, now remained. It was a dark time indeed for the nation, and yet, just when all hope seemed to be lost, the prophet Isaiah found hope in the accession of Judah’s new king, Hezekiah. With God’s help, Hezekiah would be able to withstand the further attacks of the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:32–37); through him, God’s great light would shine once again on those living in Assyria’s shadow (Isa. 9:2).
Jesus is the light that shines in darkness. (John 1:1–4)
As the words of Isaiah continued to echo through the centuries, those touched by the ministry of Jesus understood the prophet’s words in an entirely new light. Matthew’s Gospel draws a connection between the light God had once shown on Zebulun and Naphtali (Isa. 9:1) and the light Jesus brought to these same regions when He moved to the nearby town of Capernaum (Matt. 4:16). John’s Gospel goes even further, as he declares concerning Jesus, the living Word, “Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). God had once used His king, Hezekiah, to bring light to Assyrian captives; now, a much greater light had arrived and would shine upon all of humanity.
Jesus gives light to everyone. (John 1:5–9)
If it had been a dark time for Israel in Isaiah’s day, it was an equally dark time in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The nation was riven by religious strife. The terrible might of Rome posed a constant threat to the nation.
Little hope seemed to exist for the people. Yet, just when circumstances seemed most dire, the light of Christ did shine into the darkness. When his son John (the Baptist) was born, Zechariah had prophesied that “the Dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78–79a). Now, John (the Evangelist) proclaims that it is Christ Himself who was and is “the True Light” who has come into the world and who gives light to everyone.
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