In these two short verses, we see a phenomenal Christmas promise; one that we need to take to heart. The promise is that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The promise is that the light, which refers to Jesus Christ, his truth, his salvation is invincible. It is unstoppable. The darkness has not and never will overcome it. At the end of the day, the darkness does not stand a chance against the light. 

When Jesus came into the world, light came. Light shone in the darkness. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah when he said,

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2)

The darkness is the world in which we live, the world that is full of sin, evil, and death. The darkness of sin is not hard to see. Ever since Adam plunged the human race into sin, the inexorable, steady reality of the world is that men sin. And therefore, sin and death has cast its dark shadow over humanity. And we see its effects everywhere. I think it was GK Chesterton who said that the doctrine of human depravity is the easiest to prove, because we have thousands of years of empirical evidence of people doing evil things. And we all experience the effects of sin - ours and those of others. You see it don’t you?

And of course, death. Who can escape the inevitability of death? Nobody. Add to that the devil and all the evil havoc he wreaks upon humanity, and the world presents us with a pretty bleak picture. It’s why secular humanism is such a disaster. You look down the road with the spectacles of a secular worldview and it is only dark and hopeless - no matter how some try to convince us of the glorious utopia that awaits us. Into this mess, Jesus Christ who is the light of the world has come. He has come to light up the darkness. He has come to overcome evil, sin, the devil, and death. 

The light has come and the darkness has not overcome it. There’s the language of triumph. The darkness has not overcome the light. And it will not! The question is, how do we know it won’t?  Sometimes we may not be so sure. What assurance do we have of the invincibility of the light? Verse 4 tells us. The reason we can have confidence that the light will never be overcome by the darkness is because the life of Christ is the light. Do you see that in verse 4? 

In him was life, and the life was the light of men… 

The life was the light. That’s an interesting phrase. I think the point is that the light won’t be overcome, because it is inextricably connected the life of Christ. It comes from the life of Christ.  And since Jesus Christ is the eternal God whose life cannot be extinguished, the light cannot be either. This has glorious implications for you and I as well. This is not a truth out in the spiritual clouds. It has a tremendous impact on us. 

Jesus has entered into a world full of evil and sin and death and lostness and doubt and the darkness did not overcome him. He is triumphant over the darkness, and so is everyone who believes in him. Put another way, this invincible light is not only the victory of Christ over darkness, but ours as well. Jesus said, 

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12). 

Do you see that connection between the light and the life? He shares his life with us, which is the light of men. Peter echoes these words in 1 Peter 2:9, 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

If you belong to Christ, you have been called out of darkness and into the light. Which means, you have been rescued from the the dominion of darkness - from unbelief and sin and Satan and lostness and death. We sing of this precious truth. Christ has come to “save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray…” 

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

He’s come. He’s done it! This is the victory of the light over darkness, not only for Christ, but for all who believe in him. So here is a question I think is worth thinking about, this brisk Christmas Eve… How does the light continue to triumph in and through me? In and through. And I think it’s important to think about both. The light is worth spreading. In fact, it needs to be spread. And the way it’s spread is through people who are living in it. 

There is a saying that has been attributed to Edmond Burke, who was a British statesman in the 18th Century that goes like this: “All that it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” I think it could also be said that the way for darkness to gain the ascendency is for people of the light to hide it under a lampstand. So, I’ll ask it again: how does the light of Christ continue to triumph in and through me? Three things: Three pronged answer: Identity, Walk, Message

Identity 

What do I mean by identity? The NT says that when you are united to Jesus Christ by faith, you don’t just step out of darkness and into light. But you actually become light. Before, you and I were part of the problem. We were in the darkness and we were part of the darkness. The apostle Paul describes it like this:

At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord…(Ephesians 5:8)

Did you hear that? At one time, you and I were part of the problem. We were not just in the darkness; we were darkness. We were the problem. But now you are light in the Lord. Jesus said the same thing. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said - the light of the world - said to his disciples - “You are the light of the world”. Amazing! 

Not in some new age way that says every person has a flicker of the divine in them. Not at all. That’s nonsense. But in connection to Jesus Christ. Our light is a derived light… derived light in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course that’s what Paul said, “Now you are light in the Lord”. 

This is our identity in Christ and it is imperative that we understand this and begin to say the same thing God says about us in this regard. If we want to be part of the solution in spreading the light, we first need to understand that we are light in the Lord, or what Jesus says, “sons of light” (John 12:36). We need to understand who we are in Christ, before we can live in way that is consistent with that. We see this over and over in the NT. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are to imitate God as his beloved children. In and through Jesus Christ, we have become light because we possess his life. Whoever has the Son, has the life. So if you belong to Jesus Christ - the light of the world - he has given you his life, which is the light of men. You are light in the Lord. Which leads to you walk. The light continues to triumph through our walk. 

Walk

After Paul says, “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord”, do you know what he says? Walk as children the light. There’s the connection. You are light in the Lord, now walk as a child of light. Jesus does the same thing. You are the light of the world. Don’t hide the light, rather let it so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 

Our life is to reflect the triumphant light of Jesus Christ. We are to have nothing to do with the works of darkness. Rather, we are are to have an insatiable desire to good. This is planted in the heart of every child of God. It sometimes gets crowded out by busyness and times is choked out by selfish desires. But God has redeemed us from all lawlessness and made us a people who belong to him and are zealous for good works. And I love how Jesus says our good works ought to be done before others. But not for our glory and fame, but for God’s. Which means the good works we are to excel at is doing good to people. Not just our own private walk with the Lord, which is important. But Jesus is talking about imitating him in doing good. Letting our light shine through your walk, through your good deeds done toward others. John Wesley said:

Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.

This is how the triumphant light of Christ continues to advance. Finally, the light continues to triumph through our message. 

Message

As Christians, we have a message. It’s not ours in the sense that we came up with it. Rather, we have been entrusted with a message, and it’s good news. Good news that is intended to light up the darkness. And so it needs to be spoken. There is a saying that I think came from St Francis of Assisi, in which he said, “preaching the gospel at all times, use words if necessary”. Have you ever heard that? I hope I don’t step on any toes here. But that is actually a ridiculous thing to say. The gospel is a message. It’s news. News that needs to be spoken. News without which people remain in darkness! Without our message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, people remain in the dark, blinded by the devil, enslaved to sin, and in the grip of death and judgment. 

When Jesus called Paul he told him his ministry was “open [people’s] eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God…” (Acts 26:18). Of course only God can open eyes, but he uses the message to do it. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17). 

This is how it worked for you. You once were in the darkness, blinded by the god of this world, enslaved by Satan to do his will. And then you heard the gospel, and in the hearing of the gospel, God did something. Paul compares it to what happened when God spoke “let there be light” at the beginning: 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The message was spoken and God turned the lights on. There is a song we have sung, though it has been a while. The opening words go like this: 

Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness. Opened my eyes and let me see, beauty that made this heart adore you

Has that happened to you? The light of the world has come! But have you seen his beauty, the glory of Jesus Christ. If not, then today he is revealing himself to you. Repent and believe. It will be the greatest Christmas of your life! If you have seen his glory - if Jesus has done this for you - then you have become light in the Lord. Walk as a child of light. Walk out what you truly are in Christ. And share the message that can light up any darkened heart. 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, nor never will overcome it. Let’s pray.