Being in the dark is often not a good place to be. If someone is wandering around in a dark room or place, they might not see any hidden dangers, especially if they are in an unfamiliar place. It can bring stubbed toes and bruised shins. You might even step a little too close to a stairway and go tumbling down. A dark room or location can also hide a criminal or someone out to hurt you. There is a phrase, being “in the dark”, referring to being in a state of ignorance about something. If you’re in the dark, you don’t know what is going on, and that is not good, either. Even worse, though, than either being in a physically dark room or place, or not knowing what is going on, is being in a spiritually dark condition. Left in that condition will lead to being eternally lost. In each case we need some light. Light to shine in the dark room to keep you safe, light to help you to understand what is going on, and spiritual light for your eternal soul. Our Scripture today speaks of the day when spiritual light has come to us.
Our Old Testament Scripture for this week comes from the Book of Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah lived and ministered in the Kingdom of Judah around 740 - 686 BC. He lived during a rather dark time. The northern Kingdom of Israel had completely forsaken the worship of Yahweh, and were worshiping pagan idols and false gods. Many in the southern Kingdom of Judah had, as well, and mixed the worship of Yahweh with false gods. There was crime, injustice, disregard for the poor, the orphans, and widows. There was also the major threat from foreign empires attacking and overthrowing their country. Though the Kingdom of Judah wouldn’t fall to the Babylonians for another hundred years or so, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians during Isaiah’s time, in 721 BC. There were no international “laws of war”, and soldiers were brutal in their attacks, including the wholesale slaughter of civilians, women, and children. It was, indeed, a very dark time.
However, in this dark time, Isaiah spoke of light coming. He told of the Lord God sending light, spiritual light, to His people. And through His people, this spiritual light would spread out to the Gentiles, and the whole world. This light would come, not in Isaiah’s day, but some approximately 700 years later, in the Person of the Lord Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, was born to a Jewish woman, and preached and taught people in Galilee and Judea. The twelve apostles, and the first believers, the first Christians, were Jewish, but within just a few quick years, the Gospel message was being preached to Gentiles, and they were coming to faith in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, as well.
The whole world was in darkness since the Fall of Adam, but God brought a Light, and people could turn to that Light, including Gentiles (vs. 1-3). The first Gentiles to come to faith in the Lord Jesus were the Magi. They came to the spiritual light of faith in Jesus by following a literal light, that of the Star of Bethlehem. They probably traveled by camel across the wilderness, and brought gifts of gold and incense, as prophesied by Isaiah (vs. 6).
Though Jesus primarily taught and ministered to the Jewish people, there were several notable times when He specifically ministered to Gentiles and Samaritans (a people who were sort of a half Jewish, half Gentile mix). The woman at the well was a Samaritan (John 4:1-42). Of a group of lepers He healed, one was a Samaritan, the only one who thanked Him (Luke 17:11-19). Jesus healed the Roman centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13), and He cast the demon out of the Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter (Mark 7:24-30), both Gentiles. Jesus brought salvation’s light to each of these. He fully intended that His saving message was to go out into all the world, to all nations and all people (Matthew 28:19-20).
Today’s world is equally as dark as in the days of Isaiah. There are wars and the threat of war everywhere. Crime is rampant everywhere. All sorts of perversions are being taught to children as being normal and acceptable. This world desperately needs the Light of Jesus to come and shine. Do you have the Light of Jesus shining in your heart? If not, come into His Light today. If you do have His Light within you, reflect it out into this sin-darkened world, and bring others to Jesus. “Shine, Jesus, shine! Fill this land with the Father’s glory!”
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