Merry Christmas, Dear Friends,
Whenever we hear the Christmas story from the Bible, it’s usually taken from Luke’s gospel, although this year during Advent at Imagine Church we have been using the version found in Matthew’s gospel. We don’t usually read the opening chapters of John in association with Christmas. Because when John begins his gospel, he doesn’t begin with shepherds, he doesn’t begin with a manger, he doesn’t begin with Egypt, he doesn’t begin with Herod. He begins with the significance of the birth of Jesus.
John begins his gospel with the birth of Jesus, but the way he tells it comes as a surprise. John has had years, even decades to think about it, and as he summarizes, he says, “As I think about Jesus, the best way I know how to put it is, ‘in him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind'” (John 1:4). When Jesus showed up on the planet, he was viewed as the Jewish Messiah. They thought what Jesus would do was going to be regional, that what Jesus would do would be for Israel. But John as an old man says, “I realize now that Jesus didn’t simply come for us, and Jesus didn’t simply come for the Jews. Jesus came for all mankind.”
John is just starting his gospel, but he adds the words, “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). John thought about the darkness around him, darkness that we can’t even begin to imagine. It’s like this light from Christ shines in the darkness, and the darkness — as hard as it has tried to put it out, to snuff it out, to overwhelm it — as hard as it seems our world and our culture have tried to blow out this light, John says, the darkness has not overcome it.
Caesar couldn’t do it, Tiberius couldn’t do it, Nero couldn’t do it, the crucifixion of Jesus couldn’t do it. John was absolutely convinced that, no matter what happens in this life, no matter how deep the heartache, how extreme the fear, how deep the depression, there is a light that shines in darkness, and there is no amount of darkness, and there is no type of darkness, that can put it out.
At Christmas we are reminded that, in the midst of all kinds of darkness, that Jesus is light and life who overcomes darkness. There is always hope. There is always a reason to believe. There is a God who hears our prayers. There is a reason to wake up every single day and take the next step. What makes this the most wonderful time of the year is what happened when your heavenly Father and mine sent his Son into this world. Because in him, John says, was the light of all mankind. And that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Not then, not now, and not ever.
There is a living Savior who is the light of the world,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
