“That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9). This is the message John the Baptist proclaimed to the Jewish people in anticipation of the coming and ministry of Jesus. The Bible describes John as the forerunner, the one sent to prepare the way for Christ’s coming into the world. He did this by telling his Jewish brothers and sisters that the Light of all men was about to appear. This doesn’t mean that every single man receives the light, or else everyone would be saved. It means that all men are without excuse, because the true Light has come into the world.
The Light Ignored
Can you imagine turning your back on the sun and denying that it really exists? Maybe if you lived in a community of blind persons, you could try to make such an argument, but all it would take is one seeing person to prove you wrong. Yet that is exactly what John says has happened: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (v.10). The Creator entered into his creation, and the creatures he made did not recognize him.
There is quite a bit of debate today over the subject of creation, and specifically, how the world came to be. On one side are those who point to the Bible as a reliable record which tells us the world was created by the very word of God. On the other side are many who scoff at the Bible and say there is no enough evidence, or not enough evidence, to prove that God even exists, much less that he created everything. But think how foolish it is to deny the existence of the divine Creator when he has come down himself to live among us!
The Creator entered his creation, and his creatures did not recognize him.
This is kind of like the family pictures that hang on the walls of most of our homes. You could look at the picture of your great-aunt Ruth and say, “I don’t think Aunt Ruth is even a real person. That’s just a picture on the wall. It doesn’t prove anything. It’s certainly not evidence that she exists or enough evidence to be certain that she does.” This might seem reasonable, if not for the fact that Aunt Ruth has been at your house, spoken with you, eaten at your table, and slept in your guest bedroom. You have held her hand and heard her voice, how could you deny that she exists? In the same way it is unreasonable to conclude that God does not exist or that he did not make the world. Why? Because he came to the world, and the world rejected him.
Israel’s Messiah Rejected
It wasn’t just the world that refused to see the Light; John says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (v.11). The Jewish people had been led to expect a coming King – they were looking for him – but even they did not recognize their Messiah when he came. For years we have seen videos of servicemen and women returning from active duty overseas, their spouses and children waiting anxiously for their safe arrival. These loved ones can barely contain their anticipation, and when they finally see the ones they’ve waited for, they embrace them and hold on tightly. This is something like what one would expect to see from people who were waiting centuries for their promised King to come and rescue them from oppression. But John says that instead of embracing him as their Savior and Lord, his own people handed him over to the Roman authorities to be killed. This was not a failure of sight – they were not ignorant of Jesus’ claims to be Messiah or of the confirming signs he had done – it was an intentional rejection of their King.
The same is true for us today. We have all the same evidence as those living in 1st century Palestine. The One who made the world has entered the world, so that you and I might know him. Our problem is not a lack of evidence for God or for his power in creation but a stubborn refusal to see what is evident to everyone with eyes to see. If you do not receive Jesus as the true Light which gives light to all men, you are in rebellion against your Creator-King. Contrary to what many claim, you are not remaining neutral, withholding judgment, or just weighing your options. You are refusing to believe.
Receiving the Light
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (v.12-13). The world did not receive him when he came, neither did his people on the whole, but there were some who received him. This verse explains what happened to them as a result of their receiving Christ. What does it mean to receive Him? To recognize Jesus as the true Light, which is the source of life itself (v.4), the Creator of everything (v.3), and the eternal Word of God (v.1). You may want Jesus as your Savior – someone who can rescue you from hell – but he is so much more than that. To receive Jesus is to recognize who he is according to Scripture.
To receive Him also means to believe in his name, according to the rest of that verse. Jesus’ name is more than just what we call him; it represents his authority, his power, his entire person. To believe in his name is to place yourself under his authority. If you call yourself a Christian but do not recognize Jesus’ rightful authority over your life, you are self=deceived. John says those who receive Jesus in this way, by believing in his name, are given the right or the authority to be called children of God. He also says this is true for “as many as received him.” This means you cannot fail to become a child of God, if you receive him by believing in Jesus’ name. It is a privilege not for the select few but for all who believe. And who gives us this right? It is not based on your family of origin, your own desire, or even that of your human father. The source of this right gives us another answer to our question, “Who is Jesus really?” He is the Lord who saves.
