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God is Light. Stand in the Light.
The paragraph containing this verse consists of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest by the chief priests and their temple guards who had come for him in the dark of night.
During the day Jesus had been openly teaching in the same temple that these soldiers had been guarding and yet they did not arrest him in the light of day. Instead the chief priests waited for the cover of darkness of night to hide their deeds symbolizing the evil that motivated them. I wonder how many of the soldiers who had been guarding the temple had witnessed Jesus’ teachings. Soldiers’ lives depend on the decisions their leaders make and so they are naturally very wary of their leaders and only become loyal followers after their leaders have proven worthy time and again. They must have watched the proceedings with great interest seeing their leaders struggling, coming up short, revealing their true natures and unworthiness.
I can also imagine the firestorm of discussion among all the people that came early in the morning to hear Jesus in the temple. The religious leaders were questioning Jesus, trying to trap him in his words and time after time were confounded with Jesus’ responses and parables. There must have been astonishment and an eruption of cheers from the crowd like spectators at an exciting sporting event. No wonder the priests finally fell silent and dared not ask him any more questions. They were getting whipped. They looked for a way to arrest Jesus immediately, but they were afraid of the people.
They could not take on Jesus in a fair contest so they sought to break the rules to silence him and be done with him. All this time they were being exposed to the Light. Picture lifting the lid off an old box in the woods full of cockroaches and seeing them scurry all over each other for cover of darkness. The chief priests couldn’t stand in the Light and were falling all over themselves to put the lid back on the box. It was too late though as everything was proceeding according to God’s plan.
1 John 1:5-7, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
A great reminder Jesus is the light and in Him there is no darkness. I am going to look today for the little ways to bring light into my world. The smile, the kind word, or the simple act of kindness to brighten the day of those I meet.
Thanks Chuck for the reminder, that becomes a challenge at times…particularly in times of darkness for me. But as you have suggested, because God is always there, we can always chose to live in His Light. I pray that my choices are always searching for His ways…glorifying Him and bringing me the fruit of a life marked by His presence, regardless of circumstances. Thanks my friend. My family and I (and the rest of CCC) have been incredibly blessed by God bringing all 5 Dunlops into our lives. Looking forward to walking, serving, and living alongside y’all for many years to come.