John Series Part 3 John 1:9-13
Pastor Rodney A. Fry, MA, MDIV, MS, LPC
Jesus the Light of Men: The Second Witness of John the Apostle, 1:9–13
(1:9–13) Introduction: the world is in desperate straits. It is full of darkness—the darkness of sin and despair, of sickness and death, of corruption and hell. The darkness looms over the whole world. This is the problem dealt with in the present passage. There is hope in Jesus Christ, for Christ is the true Light, and Light dispels darkness.
1. Christ was the Light (v.9).
2. Christ was tragically rejected by the world (vv.10–11).
3. Christ was wonderfully received by some (vv.12–13).
1 (1:9) Jesus Christ, Light; Mission: Christ was “the true Light.” Other men may claim to be lights; they may claim that they can lead men to the truth. Some may claim they can …
• reveal God to men
• show the nature, meaning, and destiny of the future and other things
• guide a man out of the darkness of sin, shame, doubt, despair, and the fear of death and hell
• do away with and eliminate the darkness entirely
However, such men are false lights. Their claims are only ideas in their minds, fictitious ideas, and counterfeit claims. Their thoughts and positions are defective, frail, and uncertain—just as imperfect as any other man-made position dealing with the truth. Note two glorious truths.
a. The true Light is Jesus Christ. What does this mean? It means that Jesus Christ was what other men are not. Other men may claim to be the light of men, but their thoughts are only false imaginations. Christ alone was the true Light. Christ is to man what light is to man, and Christ did for man what light does for man.
? Light is clear and pure: it is clean and good. So is Christ (Ep. 5:8).
? Light penetrates: it cuts through and eliminates darkness. So does Christ.
? Light enlightens: it enlarges one’s vision and knowledge. So does Christ.
? Light reveals: it opens up the truth of an area, a whole new world and life. It clears up the way to the truth and life. So does Christ (Jn. 14:6).
? Light guides: it keeps one from groping and grasping about in the dark trying to find one’s way. It directs the way to go, leads along the right path. So does Christ (Jn. 12:36, 46).
? Light exposes and strips away darkness. So does Christ (Jn. 3:19–20).
? Light routs the chaos. So does Christ (see Ge. 1:2–3).
? Light discriminates between the right way and the wrong way. So does Christ (see note—Ep. 5:10. see Ep. 5:8–10.)
? Light warns: it warns of dangers that lie ahead in one’s path. So does Christ.
? Light protects: it keeps one from tripping, stumbling, falling, and injuring oneself and losing one’s life. So does Christ.
b. The mission of Christ is to give light to men. Note that He gives light to every man. How?
? Christ gives light to men through natural revelation, the creation and order of the universe.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1).
“The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory” (Ps. 97:6).
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Ro. 1:20).
“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another” (Ro. 2:14–15).
“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Ac. 14:17).
? Christ gives light to men by giving good gifts to men. Every “good and perfect gift” which man receives is said to come from the Father of lights.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Js. 1:17).
But there is much more light given to men since Christ has “come into the world.”
1) There is the light of Christ Himself: He is the Savior who now stands before the world as “the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (Jn. 11:27). Every man can now see the truth. They may reject it, but they can see it.
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” (De. 18:18).
“I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him” (Jn. 8:26).
“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (Jn. 12:49).
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (Jn. 14:9–10).
“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me” (Jn. 17:8).
2) There is the light of the gospel: Christ has now “come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me [Christ] should not abide in darkness” (Jn. 12:46). The truth is that every man can now be delivered from the darkness of sin, despair, death, and hell.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ep. 5:14).
3) There is the light of the Spirit: both the guiding and the convicting power of the Spirit.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (Jn. 16:13).
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (Jn. 16:8–11).
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19).
Note that all the light existing in the world is due to Christ, both the light from nature and from heaven, from the physical world and from the spiritual world. Christ is “the true Light [the Life], which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (v.9).
(1:9) Truth: the words true, truth, and real are taken from two Greek words very much alike. But each has a different shade of meaning.
1. Alethes means true, the opposite of false.
2. Alethinos means the true, the genuine, the real. It is the opposite of the unreal, the fictitious, the counterfeit, the imaginary. It is also the opposite of the imperfect, defective, frail, uncertain.
Jesus Christ is seen as the true, the real, the genuine life which has come to give light to every man .
2 (1:10–11) Jesus Christ—Rejection: Christ was tragically rejected by the world.
a. Christ (the Word and the Light) was in the world. He had made the world, and He loved and cared deeply for the world; therefore, He was actively working to help the world and its people from the very beginning of creation.
1) Christ gave the light of order and purpose and beauty to the universe as a whole. The universe is lovingly supplied to take care of man’s needs, and the world shows the glorious power and deity of God (Ro. 1:19–20).
2) Christ gave the glorious light [privilege] of living in such a beautiful world to man. He gave man a soul, the very light of life by which he could learn and reason, love and care, work and serve—all for the purpose of building a better world, both for God and for himself.
3) Christ gave a spirit to man, the light of knowing and worshipping God and living forever in the life of God.
4) Christ gave messengers to men, prophetic lights to proclaim the truth and to encourage men to follow God and to be diligent in their work and service to the world.
But note what happened and still happens. “The world knew Him not” (auton ouk egno). Men rejected Christ; they closed their eyes and failed to see Him. (Cp. Ro. 1:19–32 for the tragic indictment against man’s rejection of God’s activity in the world.)
b. Christ (the Word and the Light) came to His own people, but they too rejected Him. The words “unto His own” (eis ta idia) mean literally to His own home, to His own people. There are two meanings here.
1) The world is His home, and all the people are His by creation. He came to all the people of the world, but they did not receive Him. They rejected Him.
2) The nation of Israel was His peculiar home, the people whom He had chosen to be the messengers of God to the world. They, of all people, should have known better because of the special privileges, but they too rejected Him.
“And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts” (Mt. 8:34).
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? and they were offended at him” (Mk. 6:3).
“And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath” (Lu. 4:28).
“And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong” (Lu. 4:29).
“And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas” (Lu. 23:18).
“I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Jn. 5:43).
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (Jn. 1:11).
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jn. 12:48).
(1:10) Revelation: this verse gives the raw outline and supreme tragedy of revelation. (1) The supreme fact of history: “He was in the world.” (2) The supreme truth about the world: “The world was made by Him.” (3) The supreme tragedy of humanity: “The world knew Him not.”
3 (1:12–13) Jesus Christ, Accepted—Salvation: Christ was wonderfully received by some persons. Not everyone rejected Christ—most did, but a few received Him. Note three points.
a. How men receive Christ. They “believe on His name
b. The results of receiving Christ. A person is given the power to become a son of God.
? The word power (exousian) means both power and right or authority.
? The word sons (tekna Theou) means children of God.
? The words to become (genesthai) mean to become something a person is not.
When a person receives Christ into his life (as Lord), Christ gives that person the power and right to become something he is not—a child of God.
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Co. 6:17–18).
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Ro. 8:15–16).
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Ga. 4:4–6).
c. The source of sonship is a new birth.
1) The new birth is not of man.
? It is not by blood. The idea is that heritage—being born of a particular family, race, nation or people—is of no value in becoming a child of God. Blood is not what causes the new birth.
? It is not by the will of the flesh (ek thelematos sarkos): sexual desire. The idea is that a person is not spiritually born again by wanting and willing to become a child of God as a person wills to have an earthly child.
? It is not by the will of man (ek thelematos andros, husband). The idea is that even man (the husband, the stronger member, the one who is usually the leader) cannot bring about the spiritual birth of others. No man, no matter who he is—husband or world leader—can cause or make a person a child of God.
2) The new birth is of God .
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). The Gospel according to John
