Children of Light: A Meditation on John 12

Then Jesus said unto them,

Yet a little while is the light with you.

Walk while ye have the light,

lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in

darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

While ye have light, believe in the light,

that ye may be the children of light.

Having been approached now by Greeks, Jesus began to teach His disciples about the universality of His saving work for mankind, and that His work was nearly complete.  His walk to Calvary would include His suffering and death, but by Him being lifted up, all mankind would be drawn unto Him.  Jesus taught His disciples that He was not just the Savior of the Jews, but the Savior of all people, of all times and places.  He is the Light of God come into the world, that all might live through Him.

It is a sad reality, that both in Jesus’ day in our own day, people prefer their darkness to His Light.  John makes it clear earlier in his Gospel why this is:  because people are evil, and they prefer the darkness which cloaks their evil, rather than being exposed in the penetrating Light of God.  The natural state of man in his fallen condition is to flee the Light of God, hiding in his own guilt and shame.

This Light of God is not some abstract concept, however—it is a Person.  Jesus Christ is the Light of the World which no darkness can overcome.  As the eternally begotten Son of the Father, Jesus is the Word Made Flesh who dwells among us, full of grace and truth.  He is the Light which called forth the world by the power of His Word; called forth Abraham to be the father of many nations; called forth Moses to lead His people out of bondage; called forth David to be king of Israel; called forth the Prophets to preach faith and repentance to His people; called His disciples out of the world and made them Apostles of His everlasting Gospel; and shall call all people from their graves on the Last Day.  Jesus is the Light that never fades, and He has given us His Light by the power of His Word, that all who would believe in Him might live forever in Him.

While our sinful nature may feel more comfortable in the darkness of our sin, Jesus makes it clear that dwelling in the darkness apart from His Word, leaves us comfortably ignorant of where we’re going.  Bumbling about in the dark, we stumble into tragedy and suffering without understanding why, and craft plans for our lives that never seem to work out.  Apart from Jesus’ Word we don’t really understand where we came from, where we are, or where we’re going.  We don’t understand our own worth as created in His image, and so human life becomes devalued and manipulated.  We don’t understand our purpose in the present moment, and so we cast about for meaning in our lives.  We don’t know what may happen tomorrow, and so we fearfully chase fleeting promises of life extension, or despair into depression or suicide.  Apart from Jesus’ Word, the pain of a pointless and meaningless life drives many to dull their minds with addictions of every kind—from drugs and alcohol, to sex and power.  Without the Light of Jesus’ Word, human life is void of principle or merit, and mankind descends ever deeper into depravity and despair.  The darkness of life apart from Jesus is a ghastly fate, and yet one far too many will choose, all to hide from the judgment of their sin.

Into our darkness, Jesus sends the Light of His Word, so that we might be drawn to Him.  To be sure, His Light reveals our own sinfulness and unrighteousness by the power of His holy Law, so that our mouths might be stopped from any appeal to pride or self justification.  But in that blessed Light of His Word also comes a gift of infinte worth:  it is His grace and mercy, the forgiveness of sins which He won for us through His Holy Cross.  While the Light of His Law strips us bare from all our sin and pretension, the Light of His Gospel heals our wounds, washes us clean, and clothes us in His own righteousness.  There in the Light of Jesus Christ, we hear His Word of Holy Absolution, making sinners who were dead in their trespasses and sins alive again as forgiven and free saints.  There, in the Light of Jesus’ Word, we are made whole and made new, born from above by Water and Spirit, so that His Light and His Word might dwell in us richly forever.

Ultimately, to hide in the darkness of our sins and to flee the Light of Jesus’ Word, is to rush blindly and headlong into the judgment of hell.  It is only delusion that thinks we can escape the Eternal One who is both Creator and Judge.  Fleeing from the Light of Jesus’ Law and Gospel in this world, leaves us in a perdition that can no longer see the Gospel of forgiveness, but can only feel the eternal heat of His burning Law, forever consuming the one who prefers wickedness and darkness to His blessed Light.

Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save it.  His Light has pierced our darkness, that all might be called to eternal life in Him by faith and repentance in His Holy Word.  The judgment of those who refuse Him is not by His desire, but it is His Eternal Word which shall judge them.  Today Jesus calls to you, and to me, and to every person who will ever walk the dark roads of this fallen world, to come unto His Light by His Word, where He offers His free gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation earned for you by His own shed blood.  By the power of His Word, hear Him speak so lovingly and plaintively to you, as He spoke to His disciples before His Passion:

Yet a little while is the light with you.

Walk while ye have the light,

lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in

darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

While ye have light, believe in the light,

that ye may be the children of light.

Amen.