Day 28 - March 28th 2022
READ John 12:28-50
28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
At the beginning of Christ's ministry, His identity as the LIGHT of the world was revealed to us. And here, as Jesus nears the end of His time on earth, this theme of illumination is reiterated in verse 46. God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all, and Jesus was sent by the Father to give light to the Gentiles and to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He is the very Light of life Who came into the world as God's guiding Light. He came to open our eyes to the truth of His Word and to direct our feet into the path of peace – the way of truth.
Jesus did not simply point us toward the light, but identified Himself as the true, heavenly Light. Jesus used the illustration of light in much of His earthly teaching, and the apostle John and other New Testament authors frequently referred to Christ as 'the Light Who came into the world' and we rejoice to know that darkness can never overcome Him.
So today take note of the light in your life. When you turn on a light switch, if you use the flashlight on your phone or walk out into the sunshine remember that Christ is the Light of the world and the darkness within us is chased away by His light when we invite Him in.