Recognize the True Light

This week we are going to look at 2 parables in Luke's Gospel that are very similar in content and cause (Luke 8:16-18 and 11:33-36). It was not surprising that Jesus would have told the same parables on more than one occasion since the truth is the truth whether you are in Bethany or Capernaum. People are people whether you are in Nazareth or Jerusalem. Here, we have Jesus share virtually the same story at 2 different times in Luke's Gospel: both have to do with light and darkness, sight and blindness, and ultimately about receiving the truth of God's Word or missing out on it. There are three things that we are reminded of in these parables.

We must Recognize the Light. The light was prophesied in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 9:2 the prophet prophesied, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,on them has light shined." The light was prophesied in the New Testament as well. In John 1:6-10 we read, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world." This light that was prophesied was and is Jesus. Jesus is identified as the true light. This implies that there are false lights. Counterfeit Christs abound.

The Mormons have their very own Jesus that is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus that Mormons believe in was not conceived by a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit of God…nor was he born of a virgin. The Mormon Jesus was conceived by literal sexual intercourse between God the Father and Mary. The Mormons believe that Jesus is a created being, not the Word made flesh. They also apparently believe that he is the older brother of Lucifer? Clearly the same name (Jesus) but a very different "Jesus" than the one we find in the Word of God. The Muslims also believe in Jesus…but not the Jesus of the Bible. They believe that Jesus was a prophet, but not the Son of God, and not resurrected from the dead: Definitely not the Jesus of the Bible! The Jehovah's Witnesses even have a Jesus that they believe in. The problem with him is that he was a created being, not an eternal one. Furthermore, he is not considered deity. There view gets even stranger when they assert that Jesus is really Michael the Archangel in human form….enough said. To the Hindu's Jesus is a great teacher…the problem with that is he cannot be a great teacher without also being the one true God in the flesh. After all, to make the claims He made and not be the one true God in the flesh, would make him a liar at best and fruitcake at worst. You can't be a liar and/or a fruitcake and be a good teacher at the same time! Even the Catholics have a Jesus, a true miracle, a blond haired blue eyed Jew from Palestine! The Catholic Jesus could pass for an effeminate man at best, or a slightly masculine woman at worst. I know I am being sarcastic, but why not just recognize the Jesus of the Bible?! Not to be prejudice, we Baptists have our own Jesus to in many cases. He is the Jesus who stands at the door of your heart, begging and pleading for you to let Him in. He is a helpless, weak, impotent Savior who is at our beck and call and, at our disposal. That is not the Jesus of the Bible!

While there are a host of counterfeits, there is only one true light: and that is the Jesus of this book. In John 8:12-13 we read, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The light was clearly displayed in the person of Jesus. But, even though the light was clearly on display (on a lamp stand), the light does no good if the man coming toward it is blind! And the people of Jesus' day were, for the most part, blind! In Matthew 15:14 Jesus said, "Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." Four times in Matthew 23 Jesus refers to the religious leaders as blind. Woe to you, blind guides (16). You blind fools! (17) You blind men! (19) You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! (24) They were blind and they liked it that way. After all, to admit they were blind would mean that they had been wrong…and their father's had been wrong…and their grandparents had been wrong. How hard it is for those who have grown dull of hearing, nearsighted, and hard to the Word of God to heed the light.

Sadly, for the most part, people today are blind to the light as well. You see, it is not an issue of light. It is an issue of sight. Light is everywhere, but blind people cannot see it. The Word is everywhere, but deaf people cannot hear it. The light fades from those who handle it carelessly, therefore we must recognize Jesus Christ (the Jesus Christ of the Word of God) as the THE light of the world. I want to challenge you this week to try again to recognize the true light. Read the Gospels and try, as you read, to meet Jesus for the first time all over again. Set aside your preconceived notions and your assumptions and just try to find out who the Jesus of the Bible is again! Until next time….