The Light of Life

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” (John 11: 5-10).

 There is tension in this story. There is the love Jesus has for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. There is His decision to wait for two days before traveling to be with them. Surely the tension that was obvious to the disciples was also disturbing the heart of the Son of God. But the tension He felt was between the human will to comfort and heal His hurting friends, and the divine will to further reveal His true identity as the Christ who is sovereign over death. Jesus surrendered to the will of His Father. Despite the menacing threat of the Jewish leaders and the concern of the disciples for His safety, the Son of Man set His heart to “go to Judea again”. What awaited Him there was a face to face confrontation with death. But He was not concerned about the threats to stone Him because He knew He was about to show that the Christ was sovereign over any threat of death. The disciples were afraid of the potential death of their Teacher as well as themselves, but they were about to witness the defeat of death itself. Putting aside any personal concerns, Jesus headed to Bethany in Judea because He was “the light of the world” and it was time for the Son of God to shine so that the power of darkness and death might be defeated in a public display of the power of Christ. A great crowd of Christ followers would once again be challenged to step in faith toward the Christ and become His disciples. They would be encouraged to fellowship with the Christ and learn to walk in His light. Jesus was about to call followers to leave the darkness of this world, become disciples, and to experience and share the light of life.

Once again our Teacher, the Holy Spirit calls us to consider whether we are a Christ follower or disciple. Followers are concerned about the things of the world. They always notice the threats and worry about what others are thinking. They see the challenges and obstacles in every dark trial. When a vision, ministry, relationship, or even a person dies, mere followers believe it’s the end of the story. But genuine disciples who walk closely with the Lord seem to see through and beyond the darkness that surrounds the trials of this life. Disciples see the possibilities that every trial presents. The darkness and despair of earthly trials are opportunities for the light and hope of Christ to shine through His disciples. When every natural remedy fails there is increased receptivity to the supernatural power of God and He gets glory. Christ’s disciples know that death is never the end of the story, for Jesus is the ultimate illustration of the victory of life over death!

The Spirit inspired John to teach that the Son of God was the incarnation of both light and life… “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). He teaches further that the light of Christ is more powerful that the darkness of this temporal world… “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Jesus promised that one of the blessings of walking closely with Him as His disciple was that we can receive His light of life… “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). He exhorted His disciples to maintain a close, intimate walk with Him. He promised that if we walk in His light and trust Him to light our way in this dark world, we will become His sons of light… “Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light” (John 12:35-36). Finally, as His disciples, we are commissioned to glorify God by sharing the light and life of Christ with the world around us… “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

As we grow up into Christ we overcome the world’s darkness as we are filled with and sharing…

The Light of Life.