“Christ's light shined in the darkness” Resurrection Dawn — April 20, 2025
20. April 2025
Resurrection Dawn
John 20:1-18
This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.
“In the beginning was the Word […] in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (Jn 1:1–11).
When Jesus comes into the world, He shines into the darkness, revealing what was hidden by speaking. In His revelation, we are allowed to see what is really real. The light of Christ shines in all Christian preaching and teaching, like that of John the Baptist. John warns that any enlightenment that does not come from Christ is darkness, leading to sin, death, and hell. Then he proclaims Christ the Lamb of God as the light shining in the dark, showing you the way to forgiveness, life, and salvation.
"The light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19-21)
When our friend Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, Jesus shone the light of the truth into his heart. You must be born again! Apart from Christ, all people love the darkness rather than the light. But when Jesus speaks, sin is exposed and unbelief uncovered. And this is good, as uncomfortable or painful as it may be, for Jesus applies His forgiving light to heal and restore you.
Only those repenting and believing in Jesus will rejoice to have their sins exposed so that they may be forgiven. After Jesus healed the paralyzed man, we learn that the religious leaders hated the light of Christ as they had hated John the Baptist before Him. Jesus said, “You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (Jn 5:33–36).
Later, Jesus came to Jerusalem again, this time during the Feast of Tabernacles, when lamps were lit by night, a sign of Christ’s presence with His people in the pillar of fire by night in the Exodus wandering. The religious leaders become increasingly incensed as the Father reveals Jesus as that light. He forgives the woman caught in adultery, and then proclaims, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12) As His father David prayed in the Spirit, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps 27:1). Or as the prophet Isaiah foretold of Christ, “The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined” (Is 9:2).
Why is Jesus called the Light of the World? What is this light for? Everything comes into focus when Jesus came upon a man blind from birth. He proclaims, “‘I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam…’ So he went and washed, and came back seeing” (Jn 9:4–7).
Jesus is the shining light in a dark place, revealing what was hidden, giving us eyes to see what is good, beautiful, and true. Indeed, the blind-now-seeing-man can perceive the natural world, but more than that, he now sees Jesus for who He is and for what He came to do. The Pharisees remain in darkness, spiritually blind, their eyes closed to what Jesus shines His light upon. He says, “If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him” (Jn 11:9–10).
The discourse of light and darkness, walking and stumbling, reaches its zenith in the temple during the feast. John reminds us that everything is going as was foretold and according to the Father’s will, citing a prophecy from Isaiah. “Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them’” (Jn 12:39–40). And finally, in Jesus’ last words before the Passover, He summarizes all that came before, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (Jn 12:44–46). Believing is seeing, and seeing comes by the light of Jesus.
No wonder then that much of what pertains to Jesus’ hour, Good Friday, with His suffering and death, takes place at night, from Judas ' betrayal to His trial under Caiphas and the Sanhedrin and His crucifixion under the cover of darkness from noon to three. These acts are done in unbelief and sin, rejecting Christ’s light and love for the darkness. As the Evangelist told us, “The light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” But it doesn’t stay dark long. Good Friday must give way to today’s Easter Dawn! Despite Mary Magdalene coming before the sun rose, you’ll note the verbs that follow. She saw the stone had been taken away. Peter, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths. He and the other disciple went in, and they saw. Mary saw two angels in white. She saw Jesus standing there.
But it's not until the Word is proclaimed that they truly see. After all, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105). It’s not until Jesus calls her by name, “Mary,” that she sees Him for who He is. “Rabboni!” Now she truly sees, that is, believes as He speaks. And in believing, she tells the disciples that she has seen the Lord. Jesus has opened her blind eyes with His Word and Spirit and now she is believing. He called her by name as He calls all His sheep by name. She recognized His voice and rejoiced that the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep had taken it up again.
As the sun has dawned, Jesus comes to you today. He shines into the darkness, revealing what was hidden by speaking. In His revelation, we are allowed to see what is really real. The light of Christ shines in preaching and teaching. He shows you what leads to sin, death, and hell. But His Easter triumph song will not go unspoken, but shines brightly and boldly this day so that you see. He proclaims the Gospel as the light shining in the dark, showing you the way to forgiveness, life, and salvation. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.
Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School - Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin
