The Light has Come

“And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5)

We tend to think that the beginning of the day is the morning. But by simply reading this Scripture, we see that the Lord considered the evening the beginning of the day. “...And the evening and the morning were the first day.”  This is also repeated in verses 13, 19, 23 and verse 31 which seems to support this idea. “And the evening and the morning were the third day.” (Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31) This is significant. When we examine all the Lord’s works, everything that is in darkness is dispelled by the light. It follows that all things have begun in darkness and God’s touch brings light. This is true in creation as we see in Genesis. And it’s true in all things including our lives. And so, Biblically, the day begins at night and ends at night. Judaism follows this Truth. The day begins at sunset and ends at sunset.

The only exception to this Truth is in the creation of man. Man was made perfect. He was sinless and there was no darkness in him, nor in Eve. The walked and communed with God and were not consumed by His light and His holiness. But when Adam and Eve sinned, all was cursed and from that moment on, all things began in darkness and end at death or darkness. It is only a touch from God that can transform the darkness in man to a person of light. And life is given to death. Jesus said He was life. He is the Life Giver. Without Jesus all things are dead. “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6) When we believe on Him and make Him our Lord, the center of our life, then we are truly alive and alive eternally. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. “You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night, or of darkness.” (1Thessalonians 5:5) This happens when we believe. Jesus said, “While you have the Light, believe in the Light so that you may become sons of Light. Jesus spoke these things and departed and was hidden from them.” (John 12:36)

Isaiah prophesied about the time to come when Israel will believe on the Light, in other words, in Jesus. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen on you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah shall rise on you, and His glory shall be seen on you. And the nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning. Lift up your eyes all around, and see. All of them gather themselves; they come to you. Your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.” (Isaiah 60:1-4) Luke recorded Saul’s account of his conversion on the way to Damascus that he spoke to King Agrippa. “In which pursuit also traveling to Damascus with authority and power of decision from the chief priests, at midday, along the highway, O king, I and those with me saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun; shining around me. And all of us falling to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, Who are you, lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of what you saw, and in what I shall appear to you; delivering you from the people and the nations, to whom I now send you in order to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. After this, king Agrippa, I did not disobey the heavenly vision.”

(Acts 26:12-19) Jesus appeared to Paul as the Light, not as Jesus in body as He had appeared to the Apostles. It was so that Paul would understand the significance of his mission. “... I now send you in order to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me...” Paul who was well versed in Judaism as a zealous Pharisee made the connection. The Light has come. And the Light is Jesus. Those who turn to Jesus receive the Light and turn from the darkness which is the authority of satan, receiving “cancellation” (the meaning of remission) of their sins and an inheritance by believing in Jesus. John the Baptist is recorded as being witness to the Light so that the people would believe on Jesus through him. “This one came as a witness, to bear witness concerning the Light, so that all might believe through him.” (John 1:7)

The Light is Truth and grace. That is Who Jesus is. He is Truth. He is grace. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For God is one, and there is one Mediator of God and of men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1Timothy 2:3-6) Notice the wording that Titus uses. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live discreetly, righteously and godly, in this present world, looking for the blessed hope, and the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to Himself a special people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:11-14) Grace has appeared to all men just as the Light has appeared to all men. In other words, Jesus has appeared to all men. But not all men have seen Him. Not all men have seen Truth. Not all men have seen Grace and have been saved from their sin. Their eyes are darkened as Jesus told Paul. They need their eyes opened through the preaching of the Gospel. This was Paul’s mission. And this is our mission.

“Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) While some literally go to all nations because they are called to go, that doesn’t exclude us from the command of the Great Commission. The literal wording would be “...as you go...” So as we go, to the store, to our jobs, to our schools and wherever, we are to teach the Gospel. We are not to be obnoxious and disrupt people. This turns people away from the Gospel. Paul gave us his example. “For though I am free from all, yet I have made myself servant to all, so that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain the Jews. To those who are under the Law, I became as under the Law, so that I might gain those who are under the Law. To those who are outside Law, I became as outside Law (not being outside law to God, but under the Law to Christ), so that I might gain those who are outside Law. To the weak I became as the weak, so that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, so that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I might be partaker of it with you.” (1Corinthians 9:19-23) In other words become a servant as one of them but allowing the Light of Jesus through your words and testimony to draw them to the Light. They will see the difference and ask about it. They will notice your peace in the midst of chaos and confusion. They will notice your joy in spite of setbacks. They will notice your love, kindness and consideration for others, especially for those whose status is less than yours, whose their position may be lower than yours or whose importance to you should be irrelevant. These will stand out in a world that is selfish, greedy and conceitful.

Concluding, the Lord was specific in designating a day beginning at sunset and ending at sunset. It illustrates how His kingdom works. It dispels the darkness by His Light. The Light that comes to man is Jesus. It’s His Truth and His Grace which we receive when we believe on Him, the Truth of Who He is and the Grace of His great and marvelous gift of salvation.

Let us pray:

Father God, how great are You. How is it that I’ve missed the significance of what You specified as a day? Your Light dispels the darkness. It happened in creation and it happened in my life and in all those who believe. Thank You, my Lord, for such a great gift. Thank You for Truth. Thank You for Grace. Thank You for Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Thank You for the remission, the cancelling of my sins. Thank You for the Light that has appeared. My Lord, I know You’ve commanded us to open up the eyes of those who are in darkness. I believe that means to take the Gospel to them. It’s Your Word that can open eyes through the help of the Holy Spirit. Help me to obey You, to obey Your command and to obey Your Word through my testimony, my words and actions. May the Light of Jesus shine through me drawing others to You and giving me the opportunity to share about Your Love and Your great gift of salvation. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.