Bright and colorful lights and Christmas just go together. Around our house, we love the white lights, the LED lights, and the colored lights; ones that blink and ones that don’t. And it is nice to see houses decorated with hundreds (and often thousands) of lights. People who do enjoy them will drive around at night to view these beautiful settings. They not only make for a compelling display that is pleasing to the eye, but they also chase away the darkness, and we prefer light over darkness. There is a strong theology in the matter of light and darkness.
Light and the nature of God. According to 1 John 1:5, the basic nature of God is that He is “light.” There is no darkness of any kind in Him, meaning that God is completely free from any and every moral defect. This is often communicated in the Scriptures when He appears surrounded by brilliant light/glory. John’s important point is that if a believer wants to live in fellowship with the Light, then he/she must not allow even a smidgen of darkness to enter and remain in life. And even with the few snapshots that we have of heaven and the eternal kingdom, we see light/glory and brilliant colors with even the New Jerusalem reflecting the glory of God (Rev. 21:11). Light, not darkness, characterizes our world to come.
Light and the nature of Jesus. Light is connected with Christ’s appearances and this should not come as a surprise to us. The Apostle John began his gospel with the declaration that Jesus was the “light” that entered this spiritually dark world (John 1:4-9). Jesus Himself would later state that He was the “light of the world” (John 8:12). Jesus made this statement after He had forgiven a woman who was in very real moral/spiritual darkness. That woman (to use the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:13) had been delivered out of the domain of darkness and entered a glorious relationship with Jesus Christ. And so, it is with those who have received eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. All such have exited the realm of spiritual darkness and now are joyful in Christ’s kingdom of light.
Light and Jesus’ First Coming. Brilliant light was part of the first coming of Jesus Christ into this world, and it will be on display at His second coming. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Luke 2:9 informs us that an angel appeared to some shepherds out in the fields and that “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” The darkness of that night quickly retreated and was brilliantly removed by the illuminating glory of God. The Light of the World had come, and it was appropriate for brilliant light to dominate that field in Bethlehem.
About a year later, the “star” appeared to wisemen who were directed to go and find the new King. This brilliant light was a sign to them of the birth of the Jewish king, and it appeared to them in the east. It did not guide them across the fertile crescent (as our Christmas cards declare) but, much to their joy, it reappeared to them outside of Jerusalem and led them the five miles south to a house in Bethlehem where Joseph and Mary now lived. (Matt. 2:2, 7-11). Although there have been some attempts to see the “star” as an alignment of certain existing planets or stars, it can be shone that the “star” was most likely not some existing heavenly body but was a dramatic declaration that God had come into the world. It was quite supernatural. I would concur with Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum when he said,
“By this star coming in the form of light, what we actually have is the appearance of the Shechinah Glory ... The Shechinah Glory is the visible manifestation of God’s presence. Whenever God became visible in the Old Testament, this is referred to as the Shechinah Glory. In most cases, the Shechinah Glory came in the form of a light, fire, cloud or some combination of these three things. Over in Babylonia a light appeared, a brilliance, a radiance that may have looked like a star from a distance and yet had actions and did things which no star can do or does do. What these Wise Men actually saw was the Shechinah Glory. When they saw this…unusual brilliance, they deduced from it that it was a signal that the King of the Jews, the Messiah, had been born.” (Messianic Christology, pp. 143-144)
Just as the Shechinah Glory guided Israel through their 40 years of wilderness wandering (Exo. 40:34-38), so it appeared and then reappeared to the wisemen.
Light and Jesus’ Second Coming. And light is associated with Jesus’ return. In Matthew 24:29-30, Jesus declared that when He returns it will be when the moon’s light is gone, and the sun has become darkened. Into that unnerving gloom on earth at the end of the Tribulation, the glory of Christ will shine. At that moment, there will appear the “sign of the son of Man,” which once again is probably the Shekinah glory of God (Matt. 24:29-30). Jesus will come in “glory” and will sit on His throne, which is a “glorious throne” (Matt. 25:31). In His earthly ministry, Jesus allowed three of His disciples to have a preview of this marvelous light of His kingdom glory on the Mt. of Transfiguration. “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matt. 17:2). They saw Him as He will appear in His coming earthly kingdom. This is what Peter, James and John experienced on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:2-5). To his dying day, Peter never forgot what He saw that day on the mountain, and he tells us about it in 2 Peter 1:16-19. Note Peter’s choice of words as he described Jesus as He will appear during that 1,000-year reign on this earth (“glory”, “Majestic glory”, “a lamp shining in a dark place”, “day dawns”, “morning star”). It is not the carpenter from Nazareth that returns but the King of Glory.
Biblical truth and Christmas lights. There is some disagreement where the idea of lights at Christmas came from. Some point to the candles of Hanukkah, while others trace it back to Christmas celebrations in Europe or even to pagan rituals. It probably makes no real difference since beauty and light is present and darkness is gone. And maybe, just maybe, as we hang up our Christmas lights, we will remind ourselves of the nature of our Savior; that He is light. He is Light, and at His coming light will be manifested. Light has theological significance. And it is not at all out of line for us to infuse biblical truth into our current celebrations. The lights of Christmas are a reminder to many of us of great truth about our Lord and Savior.
May your Christmas be filled with light, both physical and spiritual.
