John 1:3-13 The True Light

Podcast: Download (40.7MB)

download

The True Light

John 1:3-13

Introduction: In our introduction to John we noted that John’s primary purpose was to bring people to full belief that they may find life in Jesus. In so doing, John offers seven signs, that when connected to the scriptures, present Jesus as the Creator God of the OT. Further, John repeatedly offers contrasts between partial believers and those who will truly find life in his name. 

The first 18 verses of John can be the most complicated group of verses found in scripture. Trying to parse out everything John says can lead us in so many directions that we get lost.

Therefore, it is first helpful to know John is giving an introduction that gives us a concise summary everything he is going to prove in his book. That considered, it would be foolish to try to give a detailed explanation because that is what the rest of the book will do. Therefore, these 18 verses are a summary prior to the details.

Second, it is helpful to understand that these 18 verses are divided into three primary statements with parenthetical statements in between. Once we take out the parentheticals, we can more clearly see the way John is thinking as he writes. So that is where we will begin.

1. Seeing the Structure
   1. John will make three statements: verse 1; verse 14; and verse 18. Following verse 1 there will be a parenthesis in verses 2–13 giving further details. Verse 14 is the second statement with a second parenthesis to follow within verse 14. Then there is a third parenthesis in verses 15-17. Finally a third statement in verse 18 that offers the conclusion. 
   2. In this lesson we will primarily look at the first parenthesis that follows the declaration of verse one (1:4-13). We will look at three primary statements that introduce for us God’s purpose for the Word coming into the world
      1. Jesus as “life” and “light.”
      2. John, a man sent from God, bore witness to the light
      3. Those who receive the true light have the right to become the children of God
2. Jesus, the Life and the Light of Men
   1. This Jesus who spoke the heavens and earth into existence and then breathed life into a world that was without form and void, is the same one who possesses life within himself and is again breathing life into the world.
   2. The words imply that the world is dead. The people are dead. Look around you. Everyone who is without Christ is dead. We need to appreciate what it means to be without life. What were we before God “breathed into our nostrils the breath of life”? We were dust. There is nothing lower than dust. So low is dust that to the Serpent God said, “and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.” Therefore, without of Jesus’ word breathed into us to give us spiritual life, we are as dead and worthless as we were before Jesus breathed into our bodies of dust.
   3. Every moment of our days we must remember this. We are spiritual dust without Jesus. That should create thanksgiving. That should create dependency. That reminds us not to be full of ourselves. That creates love for him. That reminds us that it is to him that we owe everything. Remember, we are nothing but dirt without him.
   4. Further, when we read, “In him was life,” we need to recognize that this “life” is eternal life. Life does not mean existence. We have that whether now or in eternity. When Jesus referred to hell as eternal destruction, the word means “ruin.” Without life in Jesus, we never attain true life. We are ruined. John states in 1 John 5:11, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Jesus explained in 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV11).
   5. Jesus is not only life, he is also the light of men. He is the one who brings light to the world. Darkness is awful. When will we learn, there is only light and darkness? It is one or the other. Darkness is lonely and a time when wickedness flourishes. The only hope any country has is when the Light is shining. The only hope any city has is when the Light is shining in that city. And the only hope a family has is when the Light is shining within that family. Without the Light, there is darkness.
   6. The beauty of Jesus as the light of men is that no one need live in darkness (9). Like light, Jesus penetrates darkness and darkness cannot overcome it. We should be encouraged by this. Jesus proclaimed that we also are the light of the world. Thus, “let your light so shine…that men will glorify your Father.” Shine the light, darkness cannot overcome it! Have you considered how difficult it is for someone to refuse light?
3. A Man Sent from God Whose Name Was John
   1. We have gone from one who was in the beginning, with God, is God, and is eternal to a simple statement, “a man named John.” He is “sent” from God to “bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.” Let’s notice what is fascinating about this.
   2. Jesus will use primary witnesses to his deity in the Gospel. John is the first, then the works Jesus does, and finally the testimony of the Father in the scripture. There are two unique things about John as a witness:
      1. 10:41 “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true. And many believed in him there.” Why would anyone believe John if he didn’t do a sign? First, John himself was the sign! Born just like Isaac of old to parents who had never had a child and were well advanced in years. Second, John fit the requirements of a prophet. All that he said about Jesus was true. All he said that would come to pass, came to pass. No exceptions. Third, the prophets foretold John both in Isaiah and in Malachi. In Matthew 21, Jesus used John as a foundational argument for believing in his authority.
      2. John was a human witness. He is not an angel. He is human. God used a human to bear witness to Jesus as the light so that people could come to believe in Jesus through John. That tells us something unique about God. John was sent, but he was not the only who was sent. Throughout the NT, God has always used humans to bring his good news to others. An angel never does. 
         1. Paul said it this way, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7). God wants people to be impressed with the treasure, not the one who brings the treasure. 
         2. Therefore, Jesus is the “light of the world” as proclaimed by Isaiah 49:6. But he would commit the treasure to those who follow him. Therefore he said, “You are the light of the world…” (Matt. 5:12).
   3. Think further about John’s purpose. He was sent by God. Sent to do what? Bear witness about the light so that all might believe through him. When you consider John’s life, how would you summarize it? Jesus said, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet” (Matt. 7:7-11). So tell me, live John’s life. Describe it. You can do it in 3 seconds. His whole life was about one thing, nothing else, just that one thing. Cf. Galatians 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:14.
   4. We may not have realized this, but everyone in the kingdom has a unique connection to John. Note the words in Matthew 11:11, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” No one was greater than John. He was sent from God to bear witness about the light so all might believe through him. And we who are in the kingdom are greater than he! Greater people? No. Greater mission? Yes. John prepared the people for the light. We are sent from God to actually bring people into the kingdom of light. John was only the beginning of those who have been sent by God.
   5. We also should note in verse 8 that the apostle makes clear that John is not the light, but one who came to bear witness to the light. Later in 3:30 John said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” That may seem like a simple principle to us, but it is not so simple when we apply to our own lives. The principle of depreciating ourselves so that our Savior is appreciated and magnified is a daily challenge. We must “lose our life for his sake.” Jesus said, “No one can be my disciple unless he denies himself…” John lived his life for one reason and one reason alone, “to bear witness to the light.” We did not start our lives like John, filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb, but we have been called for the same purpose:
      “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
4. The Rejection of the True Light (9-13)
   1. In Isaiah 49:5-6, God promised to make Jesus a light to bring salvation to the end of the earth. John identifies the Word as the genuine light who would fulfill God’s promise. John will use the idea of “true” or genuine throughout his gospel to differentiate Jesus from the false leaders that come and go and make great claims.
      1. True Light
      2. True worshipers
      3. True Bread
      4. True Food
      5. True Drink
      6. True Vine
      7. The only true God
   2. Rejection of the light: verses 10-11 are fascinating. First, he came into a world that he had made, and yet the world did not know him. Then, more specifically, he came to his own – his own nation that he had brought out of the bondage of Egypt and led through the wilderness, and they did not receive him. How can that be?
      1. With these words, John has introduced another key theme in the book. Why would a world that Jesus created reject him? We will see John giving many reasons for rejection, but one that will repeatedly stand out is that Jesus did not bring what a carnal, secular world was desiring. Jesus’ words in 18:36 give a summary: “My kingdom is not of this world…” 
      2. That’s it! It was the story then and it is the story today. We see the principle with Nicodemus – you must be born again. We see it with the woman at the well – if you asked, I would give you living water. We see it in the feeding of the 5000 – I am the bread of life. 
      3. We humans are just like Israel in the wilderness. We are more concerned with our present desires, our flesh, than we are the kingdom of God. It is so easy for us to diminish kingdom citizenship in favor of a this-world focus. This danger is echoed by Paul when he says, “Our citizenship is in heaven,” and Peter who reminds us to live as “sojourners and exiles” in a foreign land.
      4. Therefore, as we will see in the Gospel, when we read, “his own people did not receive him,” it is not simply be amazed at him, or as Nicodemus, think he came from God, it is receiving an other-worldly King. And that is exactly what we must receive.
   3. “But to all who did receive him…”
      1. First, the context shows us that it will be a minority. The world doesn’t know him, the Jews will not receive him, but some will. 
      2. Those who will and who believe in his name (authority and right to rule in this life), he will give them the high honor and right to become children of God. That means in his family and heirs of his inheritance. The offer is not just forgiveness, it is to be exalted above the angels and brought into the family of God.
      3. We will talk more about being born of God in chapter 3, but note the critical message: rebirth to become children of God is not done by blood (a blood lineage), not of the will of the flesh (nothing we do in the flesh, no works of the flesh), not of the will of man (not because of any desire and effort of man), but born of God. Only the act of God can make us his children, and that only happens when we receive him (as he truly is) and believe in his name.

Conclusion: To be the children of God is to make a determined decision that I am no longer going to live for this secular world. It holds nothing for me. It is no more than a wilderness that must be crossed to reach our home. Therefore, our eyes on the other world, our desires toward the other world, our love and passion for the only one who can bring us to be at home with him.

Berry Kercheville