Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2: 10, 11, NKJV.
Merciful God, as we continue to look to You in order to understand the blessings that the birth of Your Son brought to this world, we ask for the aid of Your Holy Spirit, that our eyes might be opened and our hearts warmed. This is our prayer in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today we will continue our meditation on the benefits of Christ’s coming to earth, by going back to one of the passages in the Hebrew Bible that foretold of His birth. Yesterday we rejoiced in the fact that His coming gives us the victory over the gloom that comes from despair. Today we will look at another promise in this prophecy:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9: 2, NKJV). In Scripture, sin is often compared to a condition of darkness. Of this condition the prophet Isaiah wrote: “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people” (Isaiah 60: 2a). When sin was at its worse, the Savior came.
Throughout Scripture, it is the coming of the Messiah that makes the difference! Jesus comes and, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11: 5). Jesus comes and the most insignificant members of society are chosen as the poster figures of His kingdom (Matthew 18: 1-3). Jesus comes, and His teachings revolutionize the way the Torah was being interpreted (Matthew 5: 21-48)!
That is because His coming dispelled the darkness in our sin-darkened world; and His perfect life gave light to all who were coming into the world (John 1: 9)! For generations the light had flickered on and off among God’s chosen people. It would seem as if they spent more time in darkness than in the light that He had given them. So Jesus came, and shared this light – not with one nation, but with the world!
It is significant how important lights are during the Nativity. Could it be that the Savior is using our man-made methods of celebrating His birth, to remind us of the true meaning of the season? Could it be that during the holidays He is trying to recruit light bearers who will tell others of the reason why He came?
May God help us to cooperate with the Savior during the holidays and everyday, by telling others that His birth brought the light of righteousness into our world! That is the reason we have been called “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2: 9)!