A Great Light

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” Isaiah 9:2

In chapter four of his gospel, Matthew quotes the passage above as a prophecy concerning the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John chapter one speaks of Jesus being “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” (John 1:9). In John 8:12 and 9:5, Jesus said of Himself, “I am the light of the world.” The passage above describes people who were walking in darkness. From the day that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the world has truly languished in spiritual darkness. People are grappling with questions that they cannot answer. Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Jesus is the answer to all of these questions. He was the active member of the Godhead in creation. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made,” (John 1:3). He is our Creator, He formed us from the ground, and He was the One Who breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7). The reason we are here is to seek after God and to give Him praise. This is what brings true meaning to life. Once we understand Who Jesus is, we receive the spiritual light we need to walk in this world. Proverbs chapter four tells us that “the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Jesus is that Great Light!