Light has come into the world; come into the light

Text John 3:19-21 Time 11/11/12 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We live in a world that is in darkness. Why do I say that?

Well, take for example, the fact that already this month in just the last 10 days, there have been at least 4 terrorist incidents and some 55 people have died.

• In Pakistan on November 2 gunmen opened fire on a bus and 18 people were killed, all the occupants of the coach and two bystanders.
• In The Philippines that same day an ambush by suspected insurgents in Davao saw 4 soldiers killed.
• In Bahrain on November 5 home made bombs exploded killed two Asians and injured another.
• In Iraq the next day 31 people were killed, mostly soldiers and at least 50 were injured when a car bomb went off at an army base outside Taji.
• In Afghanistan on November 8 there were several incidents in which 18 people died and 10 were injured.

This is typical of our world. The month before at least 317 were killed in terrorist incidents in 10 different countries and 388 the month before in 15 different countries.

Or take a crime like rape. According to a news report on BBC 1 in November 2007, there were 85,000 women raped in the UK the previous year, equating to about 230 cases every day. The 2006-2007 British Crime Survey reported that 1 in every 200 women suffered from rape in that period. According to a study in 2009 by the NSPCC on young people aged between 13-18, a third of girls and 16% of boys have experienced sexual violence and as many as 250,000 teenage girls are suffering from abuse at any one time. Think of the things that are coming out in the news at the present time about the sexual abuse of children in the past.

We could give more examples but I think the point is clear. This is a dark world. Now why is it a dark world? There are no doubt many ways in which it can be explained. It is very important, however, that we make sure we have a correct understanding of the situation, a biblical understanding. With that in mind I want us to focus this morning on John 3:19-21. These are the final verses of the section John 3:1-21 that we have been looking at over the last few weeks and months. I want to say three main things to you.

1. Do you realise that light has come into the world but people preferred darkness to light because of their evil deeds?

1. Do you realise that light has come into the world; has it come into your world?

Verse 19 begins This is the verdict or this is the judgement. This is why God is just and men are condemned: Light has come into the world. If you open your Bible at the beginning you will read that right at the very beginning God made this world. He made it in six days. And what was the very first thing he did? He said Let ether be light and there was light. The sun, moon and stars were not made until the fourth day, which is very interesting. Clearly not all light comes from the sun. So right at the beginning there was light, light which God deliberately separated from the darkness that was there. This light points to the perfect way that God made the world in the beginning. Remember how everything he made, the light and everything else was good and the whole was very good.

But then evil got in, you remember, the light was shut out and darkness came in. And was that the end of the story? No, even in Genesis 3 God speaks about how the seed of the woman would crush Satan's head. And throughout the Old Testament we find light, the light of knowledge and truth streaming in so that God's people are not left in the dark.

Think for example of how God sent darkness on the Egyptians but the Israelites had light in all their dwellings or how at the Red Sea God became the Egyptians and his people so that it was dark on one side but light on the other where the Israelites were. The lampstand in the Tabernacle was a symbol of the light sent by God. In Job 12:22 Job says that God reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light and David (Psalm 36:9) For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. In 2 Samuel 22:29 David says You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. In Ezra 9:8 Ezra says, after the return from exile the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.

But there is more. In Isaiah 42:6 God says to his servant, for example, I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. Matthew notes the prophecy too that says 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 and links it directly to Jesus. And that is the main point here. Jesus coming into the world can be pictured as light shining in the darkness. This is how Martin Luther came to think that Christmas trees were not such a bad idea. He said that the darkness of the tree reminds us off the darkness of this world but the candles (as they were in those days) speak of Jesus the Light of the World, the light coming into the world. In the opening chapter of John's Gospel this point is made very clearly. The light shines in the darkness, says John speaking of Christ's incarnation and the darkness has not overcome it. Of John the Baptist, John says that he came as a witness to testify concerning that light, ... He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. Rather says John of Jesus The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. Whether you are keen on Christmas trees or not it is worth asking yourself when Jesus was born. I think that an examination of the text would suggest that he was born at night, probably at the darkest point so that even in that matter there is some symbolism.

So the light has come into the world. It is not that there is no light. No, no, the light is shining. It is a little bit like delving in a dark cupboard at the far end of the room. I say to you “Is the light on?” and you say “Light? There is no light.” But I am not in the cupboard and I can see the light shining brightly at the other end of the room. Light has come into the world. Jesus has come to us. There is Saviour. The only question is, has he come to you? Are you enjoying his light in your life, the light of life that he gives?

2. Do you realise that people chose darkness instead of light; is that what you have done?

One reason that many Jews believe that Jesus cannot be their Messiah is because of the darkness in this world. When you think of some of the evidence, things such as those I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon or take the Holocaust or Shoah, the death of so many Jews in Nazi concentration camps, it does seem very strange, we must admit. How can the Messiah (the Light of the world) have come when there is still such darkness in this world? But as we said a moment ago – you can be in a room full of light but if your head is tuck in a darkened cupboard you won't know.

The problem John tells us is that though the Light has come into the world, men loved darkness instead of light. That is the problem – not a lack of light but a propensity to avoid the light and a preference to hiding in the shadows. What perversity it shows. Light is good but people prefer darkness. They hate the light. $ They are like moles and bats which God seems to have made with an aversion to light. Have you noticed how some people seem to want to keep the light out. Some of them sleep all day and get up at night time – not because of their work hours, they just prefer it that way. Others keep the blinds drawn or close the curtains and if they go out they hide behind dark glasses.

Is that you? Is your real problem not a lack of light but an unwillingness to come into the light? Too often that is the real explanation of the darkness in this world. It is not that people do not know any better. Rather, they do not want to know any better. They deliberately hide from the light.

Like a person waking from a long sleep and having a strong light shone at them, they turn away.

How averse are you to reading the Bible, coming to church, prayer, etc?

3. Do you realise that they did this because of their evil deeds; is that your problem?

And thirdly why is that? Why would you be averse to reading the Bible, coming to church, prayer, etc? Why is it that people reject the light and hide from it? Why do they prefer the shadows? The answer is here - because their deeds were evil. Why do people commit burglary or steal from warehouses or commit rape or murder in the dark? Because their deeds are evil and they want to be hidden from the light. One thing that local councils are aware of is that better lighting at night can cut crime. Many sorts of crime (for example, burglary, car theft, theft from a car and vandalism) are statistically more likely to occur in the dark. Where the criminal is likely to be seen then crime can be cut.

Now as individuals we have to admit that because our deeds are evil we would prefer darkness – not simply dim light but the darkness of ignorance and confusion and so on – it is an attempt to hide the truth and to hide from the truth.

And so we say this is a dark world. It is not a dark world because there is no light but because even though the light has entered the world, especially the Lord Jesus has come, people prefer darkness because their deeds are evil. The instinct to hide our evil deeds (as in the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden) is with us all but must be resisted.

2. Understand that evildoers hate the light and shun it for fear of exposure. Is that your fear?

John goes on in verse 20 to give a little more information about this phenomenon of men loving darkness rather than light because of their evil deeds. Verse 20 says Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. Here the problem is highlighted. Why do people hate the light and refuse to come into it? They are afraid their evil deeds will be exposed. Now again we know this from everyday experience. There are a few unusual people who are quite shameless in their wickedness and are happy to let their deeds be seen in broad daylight. Generally, most people, however, do not like their evil deeds to be revealed. That is why they do them in secret. That is why they so often try to deny them when confronted with the facts.

God has given every person a conscience and so, even though our consciences are fallen and so do not function perfectly, every person is aware at least to some extent of his evil deeds. You know that you are a sinner. I don't have to prove that to you. You know that you have thought and said and done things that are evil in God's sight.

Our natural reaction is to cover up the fact that we are sinners. If we are accused of something we want to deny it; when we do wrong things we try and hide them away. We fear the light because we know it shows up what's wrong. This is why Christians are hated and what they teach is opposed and ridiculed. Why are there atheists? Because they are afraid of having their evil deeds exposed. They want to explain it all away by some other means. People often present themselves as being only interested in the truth but the fact is that they hate the light and because they are always afraid of being exposed as evil shun the light.

So this is the great problem. It is not that there is no light. There is plenty of light. Light has come into the world. Nicodemus's problem was not that he had not seen Jesus. Your problem and mine is not that we do not know about him. No, our problem is our evil deeds – all the dishonesty and the greed and the lust and the idolatry and the unwillingness to serve God – that characterises us. We know we need to get into the light but if we go into the light we know that our evil deeds will be exposed and it will be seen what we really are.

Is that what is holding you back from coming to Christ? The need to confess your sins, the need to own up to how very bad you have been.

I remember that when I was a boy, perhaps about 10 or 12, in the winter months I would be allowed sometimes to play out in the dark. It was great fun. The one problem was that I would get rather dirty and not realise because of the dark. It was only as I began to walk towards home that I would catch a glimpse of how dirty I was. I would then realise that I was about to go into a house with lights on where all the dirt would be clearly seen and I may well be in some trouble. But what could I do – stay outside? That wasn't the answer. I had to go in and face the consequences.

Now in a similar way, if you are ever to come to Christ then you will have to have your evil deeds exposed. That is the only way to come to the light. That leads us to our last point.

3. Followers of truth come into the light so that it becomes evident what they have done has been done through God. Is that you?

Verse 21 says But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. Here there is an interesting twist. It doesn't say “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it his evil deeds may be exposed”. That is what happens when you come to the light, of course. But it isn't the only thing. What also happens is that it is seen plainly that what the converted person has done has been done through God. In other words, although, yes, the person is seen to be wicked, the main thing is that God is seen to the God of grace, the God who enables people to do what is good.

So when as a kid I would be a little fearful of going in from the dark into the house full of light it was never a bad thing. Yes, there would be that moment when I would walk into the kitchen and we would all see just how much mud had attached itself to me and my mother would say “Gary, what have you been doing?” but that would be followed by the warmth of the house, to be with my parents, have something to eat and drink, a hot bath perhaps and a warm bed for the night. Staying outside was never an option.

So when you come to Christ the True Light for the first time or the umpteenth time, yes you have to confess your sins, there is no denying your utter failure. Ah, but there is so much else when we come to him. What blessings he has and what glory it brings to God as his powerful work is seen in your life.

So I say to you this morning. Realise that the light has come, Christ has come into this world and is active in this world. However, men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. That is why they hate the truth and try to oppose it and why they flee from it when it comes near. The answer, however, is not to flee from it like a bat or a mole but to seek it out like a heliotrope, like a phototropic flower, a flower that seeks the light. There are flowers that follow the track of the sun east to west through the day – we ought to be like that too. Always seek out the light. Yes, your sin will then be exposed and that is never pleasant but you will also be enabled by God to do good and you will bring glory to him by that means.