John 1:4-13
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The Christian view taught in the Bible is that the world is broken. This state of disrepair spoken of is not so much physical as it is spiritual. When Jesus came into the world, it says he came to "the darkness", a spiritual term that refers to separation from spiritual light. Jesus, just referred to as God, the eternal Word in the previous verses, is now called "the light". He came to give light to all men that they may have eternal life. First, He came to the darkness. Then, it says He came to the world He created. Finally, we are told that He came to His own. Yet He was not understood, He was not recognize and He was rejected!
Why would the perfect source of goodness and life be rejected by the world except that something is terribly amiss? The Son of God is not accepted by the world because mankind is in a state of estrangement from God. The human race is separated from God and does not know or recognize Him. That is why it is referred to as "the darkness".
This poor condition was no more clearly demonstrated in Jesus' rejection by the Jewish nation of Israel. God chose the children of Israel as His special people. He delievered them from slavery in Egypt through miraculous signs and judgments upon their captors. He parted the red sea and gave them miraculous signs and wonders, even speaking to Moses on the mountain for all to see and hear. And he sent prophet after prophet to them foretelling of the coming Messiah. Yet when the promised Savior came, He was despised and rejected and crucified!
This being the case, God is not to be outdone. He sent His Son into the world to redeem the lost. It is written elsewhere that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corithinians 5:19). He came to call people out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). The apostle Paul, writing to other Christians, celebrated this truth:
"...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:12-14
The good news is that God is shining His light into the hearts of people in darkness and those who receive the message of Christ by faith are brought out of darkness into the light of eternal life and his beloved children, born of His Spirit!
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