Opening Monologue
Welcome to our Christmas Sermon Series Titled: The Light of Christmas. Be sure to listen to the Sermon & engage in the APP Commentary. If you’re looking for family Devotional Questions you will find them at the bottom of the APP. Merry Christmas everyone!
You will notice that Christmas is arriving when you see millions of lights strung around homes and cities all across America. Special tree lighting ceremonies occur in many towns and cities. When you walk into the big box stores you will find dazzling lights all around. You may have already put up your tree; and I am guessing you have strings of lights hanging on it.
What fun, what joy… some say it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Have you ever thought about all the lights and why and what they represent… hmm? Did man just come up with this clever invention… “Hey let’s just hang a bunch of lights up for the fun of it.” What if God has something to do with it… you think?
The Bible is filled with sad stories about mankind, and how darkness has plagued our hearts, minds, and souls. People over the course of history have constantly turned their backs on God; and because of this rebellion, darkness has swept over the globe since the fall in the Garden of Eden. Darkness represents sin and the Bibles says: “people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil.” (John 3:19) It’s the sad reality to the human dilemma.
The Good News of Christmas is that God looked beyond man’s ignorance and promised he was sending a Light. Through the Prophet Isaiah God spoke: “the people walking in darkness, have seen a great light; and those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned… for to us a child is born, to us a son is given… you will be called Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of peace.” (Isa. 9:2 & 6)
God kept his promise, a star arose out of no where that caught the attention of some wisemen in the east. (MT. 2:1-10) They followed the brilliant bright star until it rested over the Nativity, where the Light of Christmas lay. His name is Jesus… he is the Light of the world and darkness will no longer reign forever, nor in the hearts of man. This is really Good News! So, the next time you see lights, or light a candle… the next time you see the city or your home glowing in brilliance. Remember Jesus and think… all those millions of lights are because of Him… The Light of Christmas!
In Lights Name,
Rev. Brad Standfest
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Key Sermon Text
Matthew 2:1-10
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mt.%202%3A1-10&version=NIV
Isaiah 8:18-9:3
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%208%3A18-9%3A3&version=NIV
Isaiah 9:6-7
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%209%3A6-7%20&version=NIV
The Understanding of a Light Dawning (Coming)
Let’s explore the context of Isaiah 8 moving into Isaiah 9, and the promise of a light dawning.
In Isaiah 8, the prophet Isaiah is addressing a time of turmoil and impending judgment for the kingdom of Judah. The people are facing the threat of conquest from the Assyrian empire, and there’s great fear and distress among them. Isaiah warns against alliances with foreign powers and calls the people to trust in God instead. Specifically, Isaiah 8:19-20 advises the people to seek God, rather than consult mediums and spiritists: “Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.”
As we transition into Isaiah 9, there is a powerful shift from gloom to a message of hope and redemption. Despite the darkness, a promise emerges of a coming light—that light is the Messiah. Isaiah 9:1-2 proclaims: “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
This passage speaks prophetically of the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the light to those in darkness. Isaiah 9:6-7 further unfolds this promise: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
The context of these chapters emphasizes the movement from judgment to redemption, from darkness to light. This serves as a reassurance that God is with His people, bringing hope and salvation even in the bleakest of times. It is a call to trust in God’s ultimate plan and His provision of light and peace through Jesus Christ. May this promise encourage and uplift you in moments of darkness, reminding you that light is indeed dawning. Jesus is the Light of Christmas!
Biblical Understanding of Light and Darkness
Physically, light and darkness exist in metaphysical opposition. Light as an energy source provides illumination, leading to the ability to make visual distinctions among colors and physical objects. Darkness is the absence of light and color, whether as a place or condition, which results in disorientation, distortion, and confusion.
Concept Summary
Beyond the literal sense of physical illumination or its absence, both light and darkness have broad figurative applications—often in conceptual oppositions such as light symbolizing knowledge or understanding and darkness symbolizing ignorance or confusion. In the NT, the physical sense of “light” and “darkness” is often used in contexts where a spiritual comparison is being made (2 Cor 4:6; Matt 17:2).
The physical opposition of light and darkness provides a versatile template for depicting moral, spiritual, and theological oppositions. This metaphorical versatility resulted in the light/dark duality becoming a major symbolic motif in both OT and NT (and more broadly in the language and literature of many cultures). In the Bible, light frequently indicates people or things are righteous, pure, godly, or good. Darkness indicates the opposite—wickedness, impurity, immorality, and evil. Light is associated with life, especially a life of blessing and prosperity; darkness is associated with suffering, death, and decay (Pss 36:9; 56:13; Job 10:21; 17:13; 18:18; 33:30).
Light frequently symbolizes God as an attribute of his glory, essence, and royal splendor (Psa 4:6; Hab 3:4; Jas 1:17). Many of the terms for light or sources of light appear in Isa 60:19–20, where Isaiah declares that God’s glory and everlasting light will eventually replace all of them.
The power of darkness ensnares people in sin and self-deception (1 John 1:6; John 12:35; 12:46). Those who are in this condition are utterly ignorant of God and his truth (Eph 4:18; 5:8; Rom 1:21–25). Such people are lost, confused, and disoriented (Prov 4:19; John 11:10). The result is a distorted view of reality where darkness becomes light, and light becomes darkness (Isa 5:20).
This frightful condition is characterized by adversity, despair, loneliness, languishing, and hopelessness (Isa 59:9–10; Jer 4:22–26; 13:16; 23:12). Without light, there can be no life and no prosperity (Job 10:21; 15:23, 30; 20:26–29). The end result is death, the grave and eternal judgment (Job 18:18; Psa 49:19; 2 Pet 2:17; Jude 13).
The prophet Isaiah summarizes by declaring, “If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.… And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness” (Isa 8:20, 22 ESV; compare Prov 4:19; Isa 29:18). God’s judgment at the day of Yahweh is associated with darkness (Joel 2:2, 31; Amos 5:18; Zeph 1:15), and in Matt 8:12, the “sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness [where] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In both contexts, darkness is a symbol of divine wrath and judgment.
Commentary Main Text: Isaiah 8:11-22
The People’s Blindness and Its Consequences (8:11–22)
WHAT IS TO BE Isaiah’s response to all of this? How is he to react to the swirling intrigues all around him? Undoubtedly Jerusalem in 735 B.C. was like a pot on the boil. Not only was there a resurgent Assyria to worry about; there was the nearer problem of Syria and Israel. Everybody must have had a theory about what was really going on, and everyone had an opinion about what should be done.
In the middle of this whirlpool, God comes to Isaiah with specific instructions. In the first place, he is not to lose his focus on God. He should not be swept off his feet with the latest “conspiracy” theory, and he should not fall into the trap of fear. Unlike his contemporaries, he should not be spending time creating fanciful, unfounded explanations of “what is really going on,” arising out of the terror of uncontrollable events. Instead, he should focus his attention on serving and pleasing the God in whose hands our destinies reside. The attention to “fear” in 8:12–13 is important. The fear of the unknown is a defiling kind of fear, but the “fear of the LORD” is clean (see Ps. 19:9). This phrase describes a way of life that pays primary attention to learning and obeying the ways of the only one who can truly be called “holy” (Isa. 8:13).
God tells Isaiah that if he gets his attention focused properly, God will be a “sanctuary” (8:14) for him. Regardless of what may be happening all around, the one focused on living for God and pleasing him in all things will have a place of security and confidence. The Holy One will provide a holy place (“sanctuary”; Heb. miqdaš), where the one who has focused on God will be at peace. But those who refuse to give God that central place in their lives will find that instead of being a rock of refuge, he will be a “stone” in the road to “stumble” over (8:14).
Here we come again to the dual significance of “God is with us.” God’s presence is the one inescapable fact of human life. We will encounter him in one way or another. Those who make a place for him find him to be the glue that holds everything together. Those who ignore him find their lives to be askew and cannot understand why. They have left out the most crucial factor in the equation of their lives, so that everything will always be unbalanced. The Lord God is either a sanctuary to dwell in or a stone to stumble over. Both Israel and Judah have chosen the latter way. Choosing to pay only ritual attention to God, they are prey to every new fear that comes along. And being prey to their fears, they make all the wrong decisions.
So what should Isaiah do in such a climate? Shall he simply give up in frustration? Or shall he keep hammering away at a people who cannot even understand what he is talking about? The answer is the middle way (8:16–17). He should not give up declaring God’s word, but he should do it particularly to disciples who will “bind up” (i.e., treasure) those words for another day when God’s face will no longer be hidden from his people. Here Isaiah is a model of the very thing he is calling his people to do. Although he does not see the results he would like to see, still he will be faithful to God and to his calling, trusting God to fulfill his promises in his own way and time.
It is important here to note the synonymous relation between “wait” and “trust” (8:17) in this book and elsewhere in the Old Testament. True trust always involves an element of waiting. It means believing in results that we cannot see. A determination to have the results I want now is a major sign of an inability to trust.
In 8:19–22 we read what happens when people refuse to trust and obey God. They have God’s word given to them in the Torah and the Prophets, yet they refuse to consult it. They prefer instead to consult the dead! They go to “mediums and spiritists,” whose bizarre and mysterious mutterings are so much more interesting than the austere commands of God to treat one another in holy ways. The result is “distress and darkness” (8:22), which is hardly surprising. What can the creation tell creatures about the meaning and destiny of life? Only, as the philosopher said, that life is short and brutish. Neither nature (“the earth” [8:22]) nor politics (“the king” [8:21]) nor religion (“their God” [8:21]) will be able to shed any light. They have been trusting all these other things instead of the revealed God, and all of them have failed.
DECEPTION AND FALSE HOPES. Verses 1–10 demonstrate that in this world appearances can be deceptive. Although God’s help often seems pitifully small in comparison with what the world seems to offer, we should not be deceived. In the end, what seemed so small is destroying what seemed so great (8:9–10). A recurring truth in this part of the book is that God’s weakness is greater than all human strength. Therefore he can be trusted, and we should not be deceived by the ephemeral glory of the nations of earth. It is all passing away, faster than we can imagine.
The section is also about the inevitable failure of false hopes. Humans were made with a capacity for trust. But that capacity was intended to find its ultimate residence in the One who does not change, the One who stands outside of time. If we have learned to do that, we will be able to trust those who are less than God, knowing that they may very well fail us, but knowing that if that should happen, all will not be lost. But when we refuse to trust God and instead place ultimate trust in creation, we are doomed to disappointment. When we put anything created in the place of God, it must fail, because we are asking something of it that it cannot possibly produce.
Focus on God. Humans have an incredible need to explain matters even when we do not have the data to do so. So we create explanations, which usually involve bad motives on the part of the participants. In the process of creating our conspiracy theories, we become so attached to them that even when the correct data emerges, we would rather believe our theories than the facts. Isaiah calls his people—and us—to focus on God and not on our own, usually spurious, explanations of events. We do not have all the data we need to provide adequate explanations. But we do have all the data we need on what it takes to please God. So Isaiah’s word is to focus on what we know and leave what we don’t know well enough alone.
It is often suggested that “the fear of the LORD” is an Old Testament concept that modern Christians can do without. After all, 1 John 4:18 says that “perfect love drives out fear.” In other words, so the reasoning goes, if you fear God, then you must not really love him. But we need to remember that Jesus says almost the same thing as Isaiah: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). So what is the proper “fear of the LORD”? The fear of the Lord is awe-filled obedience to the Holy One, who has only to look at us to dissolve us but who instead has loved us and given himself for us. It is to put pleasing him before any other concern in our lives, being fully aware that our relationship to him is the only factor in life that will determine our destiny.
God will be a force in our lives in one way or another. He will either be a positive force or a negative one. He cannot be avoided. Either he will be the sanctuary we rest in secure from everything the world can throw at us, or he will be the thing we keep stumbling over. When he is left out of life, life does not work right. Relationships do not work. Laughter does not work. Work does not work. Stimulation does not work. This is the point of Genesis 3:16–19. It is not that a cruel God decided to make everything frustrating to Adam and Eve. Rather, life was made to function with God at the center of it. When we take him out and put ourselves at the center, life simply does not work.
Isaiah models an important principle of ministry that Jesus modeled as well. While he did not stop speaking to the masses and to the political leaders, he concentrated his ministry on a few disciples who were able to receive what he was saying and to transmit it faithfully to succeeding generations. In this way, he had the satisfaction of seeing some success while keeping the claims of God before the nation and seeking any who might wish to join his followers. Modern youth ministry has picked up this model and is using it with success.
Control over the future. The message of 8:19–22 is self-evident. If God is left out of life’s equations, then we must resort to other means in order to feel as if we have some control over life’s forces. There is a deep need in us to feel we have some knowledge of, and control over, the future. If the creator God of the Bible is rejected, then we will have to consult other means, and often it is the dead who are considered to have both some interest in their descendants and some access to the world of the spirits. But in fact, the dead know nothing, and the result is a deeper darkness of fear and superstition, as the practitioners of these spiritualist cults resort to sleight of hand, mysterious rites, and then spirit-possession in an attempt to hold their clients.
Isaiah 9:1–7
CHOOSING THEIR OWN way rather than God’s way, trusting in human glory rather than in God, the nation has plunged itself into darkness. Instead of having the protective canopy over them and being guided by the pillar of cloud and lighted by the pillar of fire (4:6), they are in confusion and darkness, the prey of the very nations they trust in. But that is not where God intends to leave them. In the very areas where the Assyrian conquests began, there God promises that the light will dawn. The people of Israel have done nothing to deserve this; it is nothing but God’s grace.
The Assyrian conquests began in the tribal territory of “Zebulun” and “Naphtali,” which extended from the Jezreel Valley northward to the foot of Mount Hermon. A major part of that area is what is known today as the Huleh Valley. The Jordan River flows through this valley before emptying into the Sea of Galilee. Not only was this a lush agricultural area, it was also the place through which the main trade route from Mesopotamia to Egypt ran (“the way of the sea”). Thus, it is easy to see why it was high on the priority list for conquest. But God is greater than Assyria, and he promises that just as these people have experienced the grief and despair of conquest, they will also experience the joy and triumph of victory (9:3–5). As Gideon defeated Midian in the Valley of Jezreel (Judg. 7), so God will defeat Israel’s enemies in that same place.
But how will God accomplish this great feat? Through the birth of a child (Isa. 9:6)! For the third time in as many chapters, the birth of a child is filled with great portent. In 7:14 the child’s birth was a sign that it was unnecessary for Judah to trust in Assyria for deliverance from Syria and Israel. In 8:3 the child’s birth was a sign of the same thing, but also that the misplaced trust was going to result in disaster for the nation of Judah. Now this birth carries the message another step forward. Out of the disaster God will yet bring final victory. The repetition of birth and the close connection in the meaning of the three signs argues that all three are expressions of Immanuel. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz was the immediate fulfillment of the sign, and this child is its ultimate fulfillment. God will keep his promises both to Israel and to the house of David (9:7).
But who is this child? The titles given argue forcefully against its being any human, such as Hezekiah. No Israelite or Judean king was ever identified as “Mighty God.” Clearly the person being referred to here is the promised Messiah, who will reign over God’s people with a kind of justice and righteousness that no mere human descendant of David ever achieved. Furthermore, the government and the social and personal integration (“peace,” Heb. šalom) he will produce will be eternal (9:7). This is not Hezekiah or any other merely human son of David.
THIS PASSAGE TEACHES several things about both the character and purpose of God and about the ultimate significance of Immanuel. (1) It teaches initially about God’s grace. If God has “humbled” a person or a nation, it is for the final purpose of giving that person or nation “honor” (9:1). He brings us down only because, given our sinfulness, that is the only way he can raise us up. He does not ever wish simply to destroy. In some cases that is the final result, but not because God wishes it to be so. God wants light, joy, abundance, liberty, and cessation of hostility (9:2–5)—not only for his own people but for all people (25:6–9).
(2) This passage also teaches some rather startling things about the nature of the Messiah. We can imagine Isaiah asking God just what the things he has been inspired to say mean. We are told that the Messiah will come as a child. God’s answer to the oppression and hostility of this proud and cruel world is not to come as a jack-booted warrior to smash the opposition. Somehow, although we are not told how here, he will shatter “the yoke that burdens” his people without becoming a greater oppressor than the enemy.
(3) We are also told this Messiah will be a son, although we are not told whose son he is. He will be the Mighty God, but he will reign from David’s throne. And although David’s throne is in Jerusalem, yet his light will dawn in Galilee (cf. Matt. 4:14–16). Nor will these events be of a casual sort, for it will all be accomplished through the passionate involvement (“zeal”) in earth’s affairs by the transcendent One, the Lord of heaven’s armies (“LORD Almighty”). Taken together these various statements seem incapable of resolution. But of course they have been resolved, and we know how.
“GOD WITH US” has its foundations, both in theology and as a historical fact, in these verses. If the God who is inescapably present in our lives were a demon or a monster, this affirmation would be one of endless terror. Even if he were only implacably just, his presence would not be a blessing to us unless we were somehow able to live without mistake, error, or sin at all times. But the good news is that the God who is with us is a God who wants to turn our darkness into light, our conflict into shalom, our loss into abundance, our despair into joy. The One who rides with passionate desire at the head of the hosts of heaven (“LORD Almighty”; lit., “Yahweh of hosts”) has a passionate desire to do good to all people. If a God like that is with us, that is good news to all eternity.
But how can he be with us? If he is transcendent, if he is morally perfect, if he is infinite, if he is eternal, how can he be with us who are created, sinful, finite, and mortal? Surely he can only be with us in a metaphorical way, because the barriers are too great to be crossed. If that is all the phrase can mean, then it is a very hollow one. But this passage sets the stage for the most astounding event in history. The transcendent becomes one of the created; the morally perfect experiences what it is to have sinned; the infinite becomes finite; the immortal experiences mortality.6 He is with us!
The “child” born of the virgin is the son of David, but he is also the Son of God. The bulk of his ministry was in Galilee, but he was “enthroned” on a cross in Jerusalem. By taking into himself the sin and oppression, the horror and tragedy of this world, he was able to give back righteousness and freedom, hope and fulfillment. In fact, we may argue that it is hard to think of another way in which the apparent contradictions of Isaiah 9:1–7 could have been resolved than in the way in which they actually were in Jesus Christ. The contemporary significance of this passage of Scripture comes down to this: Have we allowed the Child-King to take over the government of our lives? Only then can we know the benefits of God with us. We cannot have the light, the honor, the joy, the abundance, the integration that he offers in any other way.
WITH ISAIAH 9:7 the so-called “Book of Immanuel” closes, but the theological reflection on Ahaz’s refusal to trust does not. As we saw throughout chapters 1–5, Isaiah keeps calling his hearers back from the beautiful promises of the future to the grimmer realities of the present. So here he is at pains to remind the Judeans that it is not Assyria with whom they must come to terms but the Holy One of Israel. Assyria will not determine Judah’s final destiny, but Yahweh will; thus, they must look to their relationship with him.
Resources: Rev. Brad Standfest, Logos Bible Programs & Commentary, John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary, John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary,
Sermon Notes:
Today we Start a Christmas Series Titled: The Light of Christmas
In America, and perhaps around the Globe the First appearance of Christmas is shown by Lights illuminating Homes & Cities…
White Lights, Colored Lights… And Candles lit bring us Christmas Cheer…
You know what really drove me crazy about putting up Christmas Lights… The One Bulb
[Tell Short Stories]
We can’t do much without Lights…
We need Lights to maneuver through our homes and do basic tasks- (Without lights we stub our toes-LOL)
Without Lights on our Cars we would Crash…
What is so Miraculous about Light?
Light illuminates the Darkness around us…
When things go Dark… In our Minds or Physically around us… Things turn Bad…
70% of Crimes occur at Night
Here’s what the Bible says about Humanities addiction to Darkness:
People love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19)
People will not come into the Light for fear that their deeds will be exposed (John 3:20)
People walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2)
But the way of the Wicked is like deep darkness (Prov. 4:14)
Listen: “There is Darkness inside all of us and no matter how much we try to be the Light we fail… We Can’t… We fade fast… And although we muster up some goodness inside; darkness has its way with us over and over again.” (LOGOS)
The Problem with You & I… And the Entire Human Race is…
We Can’t Solve our Problems and we Can’t Save our Souls…
This is why Christmas is so Special… And this is why Christmas is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…
Let me take you back 700 years… Well before the Wisemen saw the Star of Bethlehem Pierce through the Darkness…
Here is the Context of Isaiah:
“God’s Chosen people had backslidden once again… Sin had overtaken their hearts and minds. Through the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah God told them they would be conquered by the Assyrian Empire. He told them why… But he also told them about a light that would come to overtake darkness forever. A Light that would come out of Heaven to earth to solve the Human dilemma…”
Read Isaiah 8:18-9:3 & 9:6-7
*Here’s a Fact…*God never makes a promise that he doesn’t keep… Yes, God’s Precious Promises are Yes & Amen!
700 years after God made His Promise through the mouth of Isaiah… This Happened:
“Wisemen from the East came to Jerusalem and asked… Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews… We saw his Star when it rose, and we have come to worship him. They went on their way and followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child was…When they saw the Star, they were overjoyed.” (Excerpts Matthew 2:1-10)
All the Millions of Lights we hang at Christmas reminds us of the True Light of Christmas who was born… His Name is Jesus…
This Christmas may His Light shine in your Hearts & Homes
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Family or Individual Devotional Questions
1. Where do you think the idea of hanging Christmas lights came from?
2. Have you ever thought that God gave man the idea for Christmas lights? Read Isaiah 9:1-3
3. Who is the Light of Christmas? What is he called? Read Isaiah 9:6-7
4. Who appeared in Matthew 2:1-10. What did they see and follow?
5. When the wisemen saw the star… they were what? Are you joyous for this Christmas Season?
6. Why do people wish to stay in the dark? Read John 3:19-20
7. Name/Share one way you will shine the Light of Jesus to others this Christmas Season.