“The light of the law shone only on the Jews; but this Light spread itself wider, even over all the world.” –John Lightfoot
The prologue to the gospel of John is filled with pointers. I won’t call them ‘signs’ but rather pointers or ‘teasers.’ These pointers will get filled in throughout the rest of the chapters of his gospel, and truly reflect the theology of the rest of the New Testament. As a side note, do you know why it is best not to call these pointers in the prologue ‘signs’? One of the pointers is the key word light. John writes, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:9-13)
When writing about the light, one Anglican priest notes a saying of the medieval church:
“There’s an aphorism repeated often in the writings of the medieval church: per crucem ad lucem, through the cross to the light. God loves us passionately and wants to bring us joy and flourishing, but this doesn’t preclude a cross. God’s love is refracted through the cross, which often makes it hard to see or recognize. But if we are to learn to trust—to place the weight of our lives on the love of God—we can only learn this through the cross.” (Tish Warren)
That is a helpful saying, but out of step with the message of John’s prologue. It should be reworked to per lucem ad crucem or through the light to the cross. How do we get to the cross? The apostle Paul noted that the god of this age had blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they could not perceive the gospel. (see 2 Corinthians 4:4) To see the cross we need the light of Jesus Christ to open our eyes to its meaning and power. We need the light of Jesus Christ to open our eyes to our own sin and we need his grace to repent of that sin. We need light before the cross, while at the foot of the cross, and after the experience of salvation. The gospel of John makes it clear that walking in the light is what distinguishes the believers of the Lord Jesus from the world which walks in darkness. (see John 1:5; 3:19–20; 8:12; 12:46). Have a blessed week and in the words of Paul, “Live as children of light.” (Eph. 5:8)
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
