From darkness to light

 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.  

-Isaiah 9:2 

…Who walked in darkness  

It is quite interesting to know what the Bible says about darkness. Since God’s holiness is expressed in terms of light, darkness, in contrast, is used to express everything else God is not – evil (Prov. 2:13-14; 1 Thess. 5:4-7), judgment (Exod. 10:21; Mat. 25:30), death (Ps. 88:12). But this does not mean God does not have power over it. He knows where it is (Job 34:22), what is inside (Dan. 2:22), has power over it (Is. 45:7), uses it for His own purposes (Ps. 18:11; 1 Ki. 8:12), and will pass judgment over it on the last days (Joel 2:2; Am. 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:15; Mat. 24:29; Rev. 6:12-17).

Since man has fallen in sin, “people loved darkness rather than light” (Jn. 3:19). As such, man lived under the darkness – lying (1 Jn. 1:6), hating his brothers (1 Jn. 2:9) and not knowing where to go (1 Jn. 2:11). Ephesians 5:8 says, “For once you were darkness,” not “you were  in  darkness,” but  ”were darkness” . What this means is that man is under the power of darkness, under sin and Satan’s power, under the seething rage of God. It is like what Proverbs 4:19 says, “the way of the wicked is like deep darkness.” This was where we were.

 A great light  

For those who were under the darkness came a great light.

Just as darkness expresses evil, light also express everything that is good. God’s holiness is expressed in terms of light (Ps. 104:2; Dan. 2:22; 1 Tim. 6:16). 1 Timothy 6:16 says He dwells in unapproachable light. He is robed in light, He is in the light, He is the light. The people of God are, likewise, also in the light.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the light that came into the darkness. He is the ‘great light.’ He is the light of the world, the one who brings about life to those who are in the land of darkness and death (Mat. 4:16; Jn. 1:4-5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35-36, 46; 2 Cor. 4:6). He himself says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).

1 John 1:5 also says, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” He is the Word who became flesh and lived among us (Jn. 1:14), and He shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (Jn. 1:5). “Everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16) and that all those who believes in him will not remain in the darkness (Jn. 12:46).

Indeed, everyone who looks at the Lord Jesus Christ, the light; and everyone who believes in Him have been delivered from darkness to light because of the grace of God (Col. 1:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:9), and they have become lights of the world themselves (Mat. 5:14-16; Acts 13:47; Phil. 2:15; Rev. 11:4). The word of God is also the light that guides us into the right paths (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23).   

 Light has shined on those in darkness  

It is indeed wonderful to know that our Lord Jesus Christ, the light came for those who are in darkness. As Ephesians 5:8 tells us to “live as children of light” (Eph. 5:8), let us be. Moreover, Ephesians 4:17-32 sets out several ways we could live as children of light. Let us remember them and move forwards, ever with the knowledge that light has come to us.