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Introduction
There is a moment in Star Wars: A New Hope, when Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi first get to know each other.
Obi Wan is an old Jedi Master. Luke is a teenager who has been sheltered from the teachings about the Force and the battle between the light and dark sides of the Force.
When Luke inquires about the Force, Obi Wan responds by saying, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”
As we enter John’s Gospel, the most important theme we need to keep in mind is that the force that binds all things together, that gives us life, surrounds us and penetrates us, is not an impersonal energy field, but a living person.
Before creation, this person existed. And, two thousand years ago, in a town called Bethlehem, this person took on human flesh.
The force that creates and sustains all things entered his broken creation which is full of darkness and death. And by doing this, he brought light into the darkness. He brought life where there is only death.
This morning, we will be introduced to the identity, the function, and our relationship with the light. As I read, be listening for identity, function, and relationship language.
The Identity of the Light
The opening section of John is one of the more mysterious portions of the New Testament outside of Revelation.
John’s first words, “In the beginning,” are probably a deliberate reminder of the first words of the Bible in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
And here, in his Gospel, John is writing about a new beginning, a new creation, and he uses words that recall the first creation.
He soon goes on to use other words that are important in Genesis 1, such as “life” (v. 4), “light” (v. 4), and “darkness” (v. 5).
Genesis 1 described God’s first creation; John’s theme is God’s new creation. And like the first creation, the new creation is not carried out by some created being. It is not the result of a cosmic force.
It is brought about through the very Word of God. So, there is continuity here in John’s description of the new creation.
The Word was “in the beginning,” which means that he was before all else. The term rendered “beginning” can also point to the idea of “origin.”
So, this opening statement could also mean, “in the beginning of history” and at the same time “at the root of the universe.” It points not only to the timeline of history, but the very fabric of all creation.1
In order to fully comprehend the meaning of the opening of John’s Gospel, a person needs to read a good portion of the entire book of John.
It is also helpful to have a basic understanding of the concept of what John means by “the Word” in the opening statement:
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“The Word”, which occurs three times in this verse, points to the truth that it is of the very nature of God to reveal himself.
When we speak, we are in a sense revealing ourselves. Or at least, we are revealing what we are thinking.
By opening his Gospel this way, John is saying that God is not to be thought of as distant or indifferent. He reveals himself.
John thinks of the Word as God’s revelation in the human form of the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
We see this in verse 14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
And in verse 18 “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
The Greek word for “Word” is Logos. If there were only a handful of Greek words you learned in your life, this should be one of them.
Logos is an impossible word to properly translate into English. It involves not only speech, but understanding, knowledge, wisdom, and action.
We have named various scientific disciplines using this word. Biology, anthropology, psychology, sociology, theology, and so on.
The words trilogy, eulogy and other similar words that relate specifically to certain types of writing also has its roots in logos.
Someone who understands the word logos can better comprehend the deep meaning of what John is saying here.
He is indicating that God has spoken. And his speech is not just words but action. Genesis 1 says that God spoke creation into being.
We can know what God has said by looking at the created world. And we can know the character of God by looking at the character of Jesus because Jesus is the revelation of God.
Essentially, he is saying that the Logos, the Word, which was there in the beginning with God, and actually is God, is not a force or divine function, but a person.
And this person, as it says in verse 4-5 is life and the light that shines in the darkness.
The theme of Jesus being the light will come up some more throughout this series.
For now, it is important that we understand that Jesus is God’s expressed revelation, his very Word, and this revelation is the life and light of all humanity.
So, what is the function of the light?
The Function of the Light
A German scholar named Rudolf Bultmann wrote what is the most referenced commentary on John’s Gospel. I have leaned heavily on this commentary as I’ve been studying John.
Bultmann offers a really helpful and concise description of the function of Jesus as the Light. It has to do with Jesus also being the Life.
Again, John 1:4 says “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
Here is what Bultmann says,
the significance of his coming is expressed by saying he is ‘the light of the world’, that he ‘has come into the world as the light’ and that he has come to give the world ‘life’; and in the same way it can be said than humans receive the light of life from him (John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”). The integral connection between light and life is grounded in the fact that life achieves its authenticity in the proper understanding of itself.2
The life of Jesus carries with him the possibility of illuminated existence. He is the proper, authentic light, who alone can fulfil the claim to give existence the proper understanding of itself.
We, as humans, are constantly searching for self-understanding, for meaning and purpose. We want to know why we are here. We want our existence to be meaningful.
As we search for self-understanding, we have the possibility to go down the wrong path. We can mistake false light for the true light, and in doing this, we can misunderstand our own significance.
This happens when we believe our significance is found in our work, our children, our savings or net worth, our house or property value.
When we get our self-understanding from things that can be taken away from us, we become defensive when those things are threatened.
So, the function of the light is so that we are able to know ourselves and others properly, so that we don’t become deceived into making ourselves and others more or less than we really are.
By making the world bright, it is also possible for us to see the world around us properly. We can begin to rightly orient ourselves to all of creation.
I have discovered, the more my mind is occupied with attention toward Jesus, the more clarity I experience. I grow in wisdom and understanding.
This is really important because I don’t always have time to prepare for every conversation or situation I find myself in.
I can get caught off-guard and if I’m not seeing with clarity, I can respond hastily. I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences this.
The function of the Light in our lives is to transform our understanding of ourselves, others, and our encounters with every day situations.
This transformation will increasingly make us more like Jesus and more like the sort of people who belong to the kingdom of God.
John 1:12–13 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
So, the next question we need to address has to be a practical one, right?
What does our relationship with the Light look like? How do we actually increase this clarity and understanding?
Our Relationship with the Light
Throughout the opening of John’s Gospel, we see several statements that speak to how we can relate to Jesus as the Light.
In verses 6-8, we see a bit of a sidebar about John the Baptist, who had a particular relationship with Jesus:
John 1:6–8 “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.”
This tells us that the one who witnessed about Jesus is not the light, but points people to the light.
This is also an invitation to all who recognize Jesus as the light. We can all be witnesses.
And in order to be good witnesses, we need to know Jesus and genuinely want others to know him.
This is not to be done out of a sense of obligation in order to win the favour of God or others.
When you really get to know Jesus, when you are close to the light source, you will be compelled to share that with others.
The next statement is regarding the natural response that those living in the darkness tend to have to the light:
John 1:10–11 “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
When you’ve been in the dark for a while and someone shines a light in your face, what is your reaction?
You’ll turn away, shield your eyes, and rebuke the person.
It’s painful and uncomfortable to get a sudden burst of light when we have become accustomed to the dark.
This is what happened when Jesus came as the light. The world, which was living in darkness, even those who claimed to belong to God’s family, resisted him.
He was too much for them. They had become accustomed to the darkness. The light of Jesus was offensive.
This is our relationship with the light unless we are willing to put up with a level of discomfort for a while.
The presence of Jesus in your life will not be immediately or constantly comfortable. At least not in the way you’re used to.
A similar example involves the food we eat. Over the last year, as most of you know, I was training for a marathon. During this training, I gave myself permission to not worry as much about my diet. I was burning a lot of calories.
This created some bad habits. Habits I am now trying to break. I’m reducing or eliminating many of the foods that have caused me to gain weight over the last year and replacing them with whole foods, mostly fruits and vegetables.
The initial shock to the system is uncomfortable. My body wants the instant energy sources found in high sugar processed foods.
But, I need to experience a level of discomfort for a period of time while my body adjusts. I will not get healthier if I am unwilling to go through this experience.
When we encounter Jesus on increasingly deeper levels, he will shed light on the dark corners of our lives. We will experience discomfort in these moments.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
This is the relationship Jesus wants to have with us. He wants to live within and among us.
When this relationship becomes the normal state of our lives, we will have a constant source of life.
This involves adopting disciplines such as daily prayer and hearing God’s word, either through reading or listening to it.
It involves being close to those who are close to Jesus. And it involves admitting when you’ve done wrong, seeking reconciliation, and forgiving those who have done wrong to you.
Finally, John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
Our relationship with the light includes a relationship with the Father. We are adopted into his household, and Jesus is our brother.
This means we share in all the benefits of God’s glorious riches. They are not riches that buy us cars, houses, or vacations.
They are riches that satisfy our deepest longings. Longings that nothing else can satisfy.
Our relationship with Jesus, the light, involves surrendering what we previously thought was valuable. It requires us to evaluate our priorities.
Conclusion
The message of John’s Gospel is not simply information about Jesus that we now possess.
The very presence of Jesus himself wants to take up residence in every corner of our lives. The force that binds the galaxy together in Star Wars is impersonal and neutral.
But the Word that binds all creation together is deeply personal and infinitely good. He knows your name. He sees you in your darkness.
And he comes not to condemn you for hiding in the shadows, but to bring you into the light where you can see rightly and clearly.
I encourage you to pay attention this week to where the light is shining. Notice the moments when you feel uncomfortable in Jesus’ presence. Those are the dark corners he’s trying to reach.
Don’t turn away. Don’t shield your eyes. Instead, lean into that discomfort, knowing that on the other side of it is greater freedom, deeper joy, and more authentic life than you’ve ever known.
The light of life has come into the world. He is here among us. And he invites us to walk with him, to become children of light, and to bear witness to others that there is a better way to see, a better way to live, and a better way to be human.
To close, I invite you to stand as I pray a prayer written originally by Thomas à Kempis some 600 years ago. I’ve adapted the prayer into modern English.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the true light, eternal and unchanging. To shine into the darkness, you chose to enter the confines of this world, showing us the path to our eternal home where you dwell forever with unfailing light.
Hear our humble prayers, and pour generously into our hearts that divine light you proclaimed and commanded to be proclaimed to all nations.
Let us know your way during our time as pilgrims on this earth, so that each of us may leave behind worldly vanity and the anxieties of earthly life, and follow you, our Creator and Redeemer, with loving devotion to the end of our days, in humility, patience and endurance, in faith, hope, and love, in self-control, purity, and complete obedience.
Be our joy, the delight of our souls. Live with us and us with you, shutting out all else. Be our teacher and master, our knowledge and wisdom.
Following you, we cannot lose our way; fixing our gaze on you, we pay no attention to those who would pull us back.
May your love, which helps overcome all things, accomplish this in us, and may it be followed by humility of heart that, even while achieving much, considers itself to have done nothing worthy.
You are our hope and the fulfillment of our longing, our rest and the enlightenment of our hearts.
You never abandon those who hope in you, though you allow them to be tested for a time so they may know themselves better and remember that without you they can do nothing.
Do as you have said and promised, when the struggle is over, bring us to yourself into eternal glory, where you live and reign as God forever and ever. Amen.
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