London’s Christmas lights are world famous. In 1935 Harry Selfridge, owner of the Oxford Street department store, first put on an illuminated Christmas display that attracted great crowds. In 1954, to show that post War London did not have to look drab and boring, Christmas lights went up along the length of Regent Street for the first time, and a tradition was born. Spectacular festive displays can be seen all over London but the greatest and best light of all in London, and indeed in every city and nation, is the one that we celebrate today: Jesus, the light of the world, who came to banish all darkness.  

Jesus came to light up the world. Jesus proclaimed in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world.” No matter how much moral and spiritual darkness there is in the world or how much depression you may experience in life, there is light and hope for everyone and for you personally. And it is all because of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus brings light through the example of his life. Jesus lived a morally perfect life. Jesus was good and He went about doing good, ministering to the poor, healing the sick and bringing hope to the hopeless. Jesus brings light by the authority of his teachings. Jesus focussed on what is really going on in our hearts and lives, not about what we look like on the outside. He taught us to love God, love our neighbours and even to love our enemies.  

Jesus brings us light through His sacrificial death, the awesome power of resurrection from the dead and the promise of His second coming. And Jesus brings us light through the experience of his presence through the help of the Holy Spirit. Whenever people have an encounter with Jesus, everything changes: it’s like a massive light is switched on. His light affects us in so many ways.  

1. The light of Jesus is a light of life (John 8:12; John 1:14; Isaiah 9:6; John 10:10; John 14:6; John 11:25-26)  

2. The light of Jesus is the light of liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17) 

3. The light of Jesus is the light of love (1 John 4:16; 1 John 3:1; Romans 5:8) 

Apply 

1. The light of Jesus is a light of life. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’ (John 8:12). You never need to walk in darkness in any day of your life if you follow Jesus. He will always light up your life (John 1:14). The Christmas story tells us of the gift of the life of the Son of God (Isaiah 9:6). All who have children or grandchildren, or even great grandchildren, will know that the gift of a baby is one of the greatest and most amazing gifts anyone can receive. A life that wasn’t there, is suddenly here. The Bible teaches that God is the great life-giver. He is the source of life and the sustainer of life. God is totally and eternally pro-life. He wants people to live and not to die. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish. In the Christmas story we see both the wonder of the life of the newborn Christ, and the wickedness of evil that wanted to destroy that life. King Herod who slaughtered Bethlehem’s children represents all those who would take away innocent life, whether it is life in the womb, or victims of gang culture, warfare, or the genocide facing Christians and many others in the Middle East. Jesus made very clear that a major reason for his coming to the world was that he was for life and against death (John 10:10). So many people think that if you really want to enjoy life, you need to keep God out of your life. But Jesus said the complete opposite. If you really want to feel alive, then God needs to be at the centre of your life. If you truly want to live life of deep satisfaction and meaning the full, then you need to have a personal experience of God through an encounter with Jesus (John 14:6). Jesus is the most alive person you can ever know. He promises us fullness of life in this life AND the hope of eternal life. Death, the final enemy was put to death, through Christ’s death and resurrection (John 11:25-26). As Christians we should love life, celebrate life, defend life, and live life to the full and make the most of every day and every opportunity.  

2. The light of Jesus is the light of liberty. When Jesus was on earth He proclaimed ‘freedom for the prisoners’ and stated ‘So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36). Jesus came to liberate humanity from the power of sin and hell and darkness and free us from everything that has held us captive. The apostle Paul declared the great Magna Carta of the Christian gospel, that: ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free’ (Galatians 5:1). Freedom is central to Christianity (2 Corinthians 3:17). Wherever the light of true Christianity shines, as opposed to the darkness of dead religion, there is always great liberation, for individuals and for communities and nations. It was the great evangelical movement that played such a decisive role in the ending of slavery. It was a great spiritual revival that led to America becoming a free nation under God. Dr Martin Luther King Jnr and many pastors and black churches led the fight for desegregation in the United States. It was the churches that were such a major force in bringing down the wicked Apartheid regime in South Africa. Today, in the UK and Europe and America as well as SA, there are many in the media, politics and universities who wish to deny and marginalise Christianity, but in reality, it is Christianity which is foundational to political, religious and personal freedoms. All true freedom is rooted in God. Without God as the final authority, men and women make their own self-serving rules and set themselves up as gods with disastrous results. That’s how we end up with tyrants like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot and countless criminal warlords, drug barons and people traffickers who hold people captive. And that’s how we end up with political elites that want to deny votes on key issues and accrue ever greater power to themselves (see Charles Colson, ‘Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages’). The greatest guarantor of freedom is Jesus Christ, whose light liberates from darkness in all its forms, not least the darkness of sin in every heart which is at the root of all captivity. True freedom always begins in our hearts. Today Jesus can set you free from anger, bitterness, pride, fear, sexual sin, addictions and the pain of your past.  

3. The light of Jesus is the light of love. Love is one of the greatest human needs and it is a defining characteristic of God (1 John 4:16). Love was the reason Jesus was sent to us (John 3:16-17). The Bible shows us that God’s love is personal: God knows us by name and loves every individual. It’s lavish and extravagant (1 John 3:1). When the Prodigal Son returned home, the father gave him gifts and threw a party for him. The love of God is also unconditional (Romans 5:8). Even though we have messed up and gone our own way, God loves us anyway. God does not approve of our sins, but He wants to save us from the destructiveness of our own wrong decisions and self-centred behaviour. Jesus came to save us from our sins and bring us into close relationship with God and people. God is not out to put us down but to lift us up. No-one is beyond the love of God. God loves you despite your past. God loves you with all that you face in the present. God loves you with an everlasting love that will never fail you in the future. Others may have despised or rejected you, but God does not. You are significant. You are uniquely loved and valued by God. You matter to God far more than you may know. He wants to help you and heal you, to cleanse you and forgive you. He wants to lift you up out of guilt and shame and fear and pain. He can banish all the darkness and depression in your life and flood you with His light. He can bless you greatly and make you a force for good to the whole world. In the words of the great carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, today you too can have a second birth, a total new beginning through Jesus Christ who offers you the light of life, liberty and love.