Jesus, the Light of the World from Jesus as Seen by John

Jesus has been called many things throughout history, but John, in his Gospel, uses vivid imagery to describe Jesus and his ministry. After providing us with a picture of Jesus present at the very dawn of creation, he moves to a different image; the Light of the World.

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.

 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 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. 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. John 1:6-13 (NIV)

The John who is discussed in this passage of scripture is John the Baptist. Actually throughout the Gospel of John, whenever John is mentioned, it is the Baptist. This is a sort of parenthesis in the prologue -- an interjection about John as a witness to Jesus Christ. In this little interjection, the mission of John the Baptist is made clear; he came as a witness: He came to testify about the light so that people would believe in Jesus. John was merely a reflector of the light that comes from Jesus; the true light. Jesus was the true light. When we talked about Jesus as the word, we said that Jesus was the one who revealed God. This also fits well with the metaphor of light. Light shines in the darkness and reveals what was once hidden. The picture is that of a world steeped in darkness until Jesus, the very creator came into the world and revealed the true character of God to all who had eyes to see. Yet, much of the world missed him. They saw him as just another teacher, a seer or even a charlatan. He actually came to his own people, the people of Israel -- yet, in spite of all of the prophecies concerning him, they missed him too. He was rejected by the Jews. Note that not all Jews rejected him -- the disciples were all  Jews. When the Gospel speaks negatively about the Jews, it is speaking about the Jewish establishment of the time; the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and/or the Sadducees.

Then the Gospel becomes good news. "Yet to all who did receive him . . ." Those who believed on him -- on his name -- were given authority to be children of God. Believing on his name means believing that he is who he says he is. He is the one who will save Israel. He is the Messiah, the chosen one, the Word made flesh, the Light of the World. Becoming a child of God is a gift of pure grace. We do nothing -- we merely accept him for who he is.

What does this mean for those of who are Christians now, in the 21st century? We are not just human beings (of course we are human and we never lose that), we are children of God. This is a spiritual, not a biological reality. But it is real! We are God's children. We didn't earn the right to be his children anymore than we earned the right to be born into our earthly families; it is pure grace. This also means that we have the opportunity to be "John the Baptists" for others. Not everyone sees the light, but we can witness to that light. We have a special opportunity to witness to those 8-15 people closest to us that make up our "household" or Oikos.  As "Amazing Grace" says, "I once was blind, but now I see." May we all see the true Light of the World, accept him for who he is and be born as children of God.