Father, we ask again that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, gently but deeply
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
Father, you know the things that we're afraid of, you know the things that we should be
afraid of, you know the things that we're anxious about.
We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would come upon us, that your Holy Spirit would
still and quiet and calm our mind and heart and will so that we might know more of you
and that your Son Jesus would have a deeper role and place in our lives.
So Father, draw us to Jesus.
In this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.
Amen.
Please be seated.
The last I heard, it was 148 people who were killed in Peshawar, I hope I'm pronouncing that
correctly, Pakistan earlier this week.
148 was the number that I heard.
The overwhelming majority of them were children.
And as one person said in the paper the other day, we see in what happened in Pakistan pure
evil.
Whether or not it was pure evil, but it's probably as close to pure evil as we're about to see
on this, on this, on the earth.
Part of what made it such pure evil was that these men who came to the school in Pakistan,
the majority of the children that were shot, were shot by a single gunshot to the head.
So it wasn't just indiscriminate killing, but that as each child probably begging for mercy,
some gunmen would come and look at them and shoot them in the head.
And then we'll go and do another child and another child and another child.
Until almost 140 children and 148 in total were killed.
And I think we all have to agree that if that is not pure evil, it's so close to pure evil,
we don't want to get any closer to pure evil.
It was a completely and utterly horrendous, dark, evil act.
And it happened just this week.
I didn't...
It's also been a week where, I mean, we could...
You know, the events that took place with the woman who killed the nine children and the fellow in Sydney.
You know, we could say in those cases that there maybe was some type of mental illness and instability,
but you can't say that about what happened in Pakistan.
Now, some of you might say, boy, I'm so glad I came to church.
George is talking about pleasant, uplifting things.
You know, George, isn't Christmas time and it's just a few days before Christmas?
Isn't Christmas supposed to be when we talk about things like kindness and generosity
and the good parts of human nature?
And that is, I think, largely how most Canadians understand Christmas.
But, you know, for Christians, the Christmas story,
God, as he tells us the Christmas story through his word,
he wants us to spend some time reflecting on darkness and the darkness in the world.
And so if you have your Bibles, turn in them to John chapter 1.
If you don't have Bibles with you, there's Bibles up at the front always,
and you're always welcome to take one, to use it, to keep it if you want as a gift.
This Sunday, like the last couple of Sundays, we're actually going to be saying a lot of the scripture over and over and over again,
because we're going to really reflect primarily upon two verses.
But you might have heard me read the gospel text a few moments ago,
and you know that it culminates in John 1, verse 14, which is one of the great Christmas passages.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.
Glory is the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
But before it gets to this great acclamation of Christmas,
it has a profound sentence on darkness and evil.
So God wants us to reflect upon darkness in the context of reflecting upon the birth of his son.
So John 1, verse 1, let's just sort of get the context up until we get to verse 5.
Verse 1,
Here are the two verses which we're going to primarily focus on this morning,
although we'll look at the three verses that follow as well.
But here's the two verses that we're going to really focus on.
Verse 4,
Last week we talked about verses 1 to 3,
and primarily it was a little bit about how God, Jesus, is the word,
and the word has been with God from all eternity,
and God has created all things.
And some of you might have wondered,
if I say that God, if the Bible teaches,
and it's not what it says here, it says it very, you know, verse 3,
all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
All things were made through him,
and without him was not anything made that was made.
Does that mean that God created evil?
In fact, I was going to talk about it last week,
but then I thought, no, I'm going to wait to this week,
because I realize this is the better week to talk about it.
Is the Bible saying that God created evil?
I just had a conversation with somebody this week who said that God created evil,
and we had a bit of a conversation about it.
I don't know if I did a very good job in helping to understand what the Bible teaches,
but when it says here that God makes all things, does that mean he makes evil?
Well, Andrew, if you could put up the first scripture text, verses 4 and 5,
could you read this with me?
Verse 4 and 5,
I should have written down my verse.
I'm going to have trouble reading it.
I'm going to have to say it, and you folks will just have to read it.
So here's the first thing,
and the first point about this passage of scripture,
and all of it we're talking about is this,
something about God.
God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all.
That's the first point,
and if you're wondering if that sounds familiar,
St. George, that's a very clever way to put it.
Andrew, if you could put up the first point.
It's not that I thought of it.
It's actually in 1 John.
It's chapter 1, the second part of verse 5.
God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all.
When the text is saying,
in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God,
he was in the beginning with God,
all things were made through him,
and without him was not any other.
Anything made that was made.
In him was life,
and the life was the light of men.
The light shines on in the darkness,
and the darkness has not mastered it.
When the Bible is saying this,
it's making an affirmation
that God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all.
In fact, it's very, very interesting.
When it says in verse 4,
in him was life,
what the text is saying
is it's saying that God,
the Son of God,
the second person of the Trinity,
who we'll see in a moment,
takes on flesh,
that he doesn't have life.
He is life.
He doesn't have life.
You and I have life.
But God,
the Son of God,
is life.
That's who and what he is.
And then when it says that this life
is also light,
you know,
we might have,
you can say that we can see
sort of the light of the intellect,
you know,
the light of conscience
that we might have.
when you talk to somebody,
you can see,
oh, you know,
they have a gleam in their eye,
you know,
they have some joy,
they have some happiness,
they,
you can see the spark of intelligence.
We use these different analogies
for light to talk about things
of conscience or creativity
or goodness,
you know,
or intelligence or wit.
And these are things that we have,
but the Bible is saying
that God doesn't have them.
He is light,
and he is life.
And just as if you have
a room which is completely light,
there can't be any darkness in it.
And if God is life,
there can't really be death in him
in a sense,
where darkness,
if he is life,
then the Bible is making this
very,
very strong claim
that God is light
and in him
is no darkness at all.
So,
the Bible is saying
that if,
there's certain things
you have to understand about God
that,
in fact,
you know,
what the Bible is doing
is it's struggling
with a sort of a thing
that missionaries
have to struggle with.
all of the time
is that if,
you know,
if you go to be a missionary
in a remote part of China,
or if you go to be a missionary
in a place like Kazakhstan,
or you go to be a missionary,
you know,
in some place
that only knows
a particular tribal religion,
you have to use the words
that the culture knows,
but over time,
you have to try to help them
to understand the words
in different ways.
And so,
in our culture,
when people think about God
and his relationship
to good and evil,
there's many people
in our culture
who will say that God
is above good and evil,
that good and evil
don't really apply to God,
that he's above them,
that good and evil
is just something
that we think
or we understand,
but God is neither,
he's above them.
And some believe
that,
in fact,
that there's two principles
at work in the world,
that there's a good principle
and a bad principle,
and that these principles
are always at work,
and you have to choose
which principle it is
that you're following.
And some people say
that God just merely decides
that certain things are good
and certain things are evil,
and he just sort of
makes these decisions up
just out of his head
one day as he's sitting around,
and it's just merely
a matter of God
just declaring
that certain things are good
or certain things are bad.
And there's other people
who think that,
in fact,
good and evil
are both in God,
and that he has to struggle
with these things himself.
And these are the very,
very common views
in our culture.
And so even when people think,
you know,
when you use the word God
to somebody,
and in their mind,
they're thinking,
oh yeah,
God is above good and evil,
or God is beneath good and evil,
or God,
good and evil doesn't apply to God,
or whatever.
And the Bible here
is trying to clarify
that when,
all the way through
the Gospel of John,
when you read
and see the word God,
it wants us to understand
that it's saying
that God is light,
and in him
is no darkness at all,
that he is God of light
who is light,
that he is the God of life
who is life,
that that's who
we are talking about.
So some of you might say,
hey George,
that's very interesting,
but you didn't answer
the question.
You're doing
what politicians do.
Sorry,
I didn't mean to put down
politicians.
Actually,
this is true.
You know,
a few years ago,
I had to be interviewed
in the paper a lot
about a controversial issue,
and I got interviewed
on TV and radio,
and so I had some media training,
and one of the things
they tell you in media training,
so this is how you have
to understand politicians
when they're at their best,
is that what they tell you
in media training
is that you have
two or three or four things
that you want to say,
and whenever the questioner
asks you a question,
you just pick
one of the four things
that you want to say
that's closest to the question,
and you ignore the question,
and you just say
what you want to say
over and over and over again,
and so it's a little bit
of a challenge.
The reporter keeps trying
to break you
from just saying
the four things
that you want to say,
and you're just trying
to just stick
with the four things,
and anyway,
so I'm not doing that.
So the question was,
George,
does God,
if God creates all things,
okay,
granted that God
okay,
you're saying
that God is light,
he's only good,
and you're also saying
that God created all things,
and I'm not sure
what that means,
George,
aren't you still,
does God create evil,
or is it a matter
that God sort of
created things,
and then that was
like a long,
long,
long time ago,
you know,
like the Big Bang
was billions of years ago,
and sort of God
is now really distant,
he has other things
on his mind,
he's not preoccupied
with what's going on
on earth,
or he's powerless
to deal with things
on earth,
because God is distant,
is that what you're saying,
George,
is that what the Bible
is saying?
Well,
let's say verses
four and five again,
if you could put them up,
God,
in him was life,
and the life
was life in the night,
and the light
shines on the darkness,
and the darkness
has not mastered it.
That's the text
that we're thinking about,
and what this text
is saying here,
and Andrew,
if you could put up
the next point,
sorry,
the true and living God
created all things good.
He did not create evil.
Evil is a blinding,
breaking,
bending,
hiding,
blurring,
emptying of the good.
That's what the Bible
is telling us.
It's going to maintain,
if you read Genesis,
if you read the Bible,
you're going to see
it's a very,
very consistent understanding
of the biblical worldview,
that God is light,
and in him
is no darkness at all.
God is never evil,
and he never does evil.
That's why anybody
who says that part
of their spiritual growth
means forgiving God,
they haven't understood
who God is,
because God has never
done anything evil to them.
That's what the Bible claims.
And the Bible says
that God has created
all things,
he creates all things good,
he did not create evil,
and therefore,
evil in a sense
is always a breaking
or a misuse
or an emptying
or a blurring
or a hiding
or an exaggerating
or of some good thing,
and by the emptying,
emptying,
removing,
bending,
breaking,
blurring,
darkening
of that which is good,
that is what evil is.
That's what Christians believe.
That's what this text
is saying
when it says,
in him was life
and the life
was the light
of humankind.
The light
shines on
in the darkness,
but the darkness
has not mastered it.
That's what the text
is saying.
It's saying
that evil
is real,
it's not an illusion.
That's another thing
that many people believe
is that evil
is just an illusion.
It's not real.
Peshawar was real,
wasn't it?
Was it,
I think,
it was the president
of Pakistan
said it was a very,
I thought it was
a very, very wise thing.
I hope I get
the quote right.
The lightest casket
is the heaviest burden
to carry.
The lightest casket
is the heaviest burden
to carry.
And I know that
even as I,
as we look at this text
this morning
that there's people
in the congregation
who've been raped,
who have been victims
of sexual abuse,
who've witnessed genocide.
Some of us
might have lived
relatively safe
and protected lives,
but there are
some,
maybe many,
in our congregation
who know that evil
is never an illusion,
that evil is real,
that darkness is real.
And the Bible
affirms that,
but it affirms
that it's always
a bending,
breaking,
distorting,
misuse of that
which is good.
I mean,
even think of this
terrible thing
in Peshawar.
You know,
the fact that the men
had ability to plan
is a good thing.
The fact that men
had strength
and health
and all of those things,
those are good things.
You know,
we pray for those things
in our kids,
don't we?
That they can plan,
that they can be strong
and that they can be healthy
and that they can accomplish
their plans,
that they can have
determination
and will.
And yet,
all these things
that are good
are completely
and utterly misused
and we wonder
what on earth
goes on
in their souls,
in their minds,
in their hearts.
Like,
what did they put
to death?
What did they
cancel out?
What did they exaggerate?
How could they possibly
take the normal,
good human concern
for your group,
which is a good thing
to have a concern
for your family
or your group?
That's not a bad thing
to have a concern
for that,
but how is it
that they so exaggerated
that concern
and put to death
anything to do
with human compassion
and how could they
exaggerate
and darken
and remove
and bend
and misuse
so that the good things
in them
were used
to create something
which is,
if not pure evil,
really close to it.
And that's what
the Bible claims.
That's what the Bible
claims.
In God,
there is no darkness.
In God,
he is only light.
He is only life.
To walk towards
the true and living God
is to walk towards light.
To walk towards
the true and living God
is to walk towards life.
To walk towards Jesus
is to walk towards life.
Always.
And the darkness,
which is real,
not an illusion,
is a bending,
breaking,
distorting,
misuse,
emptying,
blurring
of good things.
And that's why it is,
on one hand,
we have this sense
that surely
if there is a God
that does exist,
he must be good.
We have problems
as to why these things happen.
I'm not going to talk about that
very much in the sermon.
But we have these
dual senses
that that is evil
and that there is
this thing which is good
and that to be human
is to choose goodness.
To be human
is to try to move
towards goodness.
And we believe that.
the Bible teaches,
in fact,
I would say that only the Bible,
the biblical worldview,
properly articulates
in both ideas
and grand narrative
that fundamental
human
sense
that,
you know,
many of you,
maybe some of,
maybe only a few of you
know that for me
when I was on my,
in my early,
I became a Christian
in grade 12
and I had many,
I've had times of doubt
throughout the years
but most of my,
my real doubts
were when I was at university
and then in my two different times
in graduate school.
And,
but,
you know,
for me,
as I was struggling
with different things
about whether the Christian faith
was true,
for me there was
sort of always a bit
of a touchstone
early on
and that was a statement
by Dostoevsky
that if God is dead,
all things are permissible.
If God is dead,
all things are permissible.
And I,
I actually think
that outside of the Christian faith
that's unanswerable.
I think it's unanswerable.
And,
um,
if God is dead,
all things are permissible.
And,
um,
and that was always part of the thing
that helped me to frame it
that other systems of thought
weren't really wrestling with this
that amongst other things,
whether,
whether I was just dealing
with the claims of science
or,
because I,
I did sociology,
social science backgrounds,
which as you know
have a,
a leeching effect
of taking away
the Christian faith.
There are far fewer sociologists
or psychologists
who are Christians
than physicists.
Um,
that's a whole other topic
of conversation
as to why that would be.
There's a physicist
in the room.
You might want to talk to him
after,
after the service,
get his thoughts about it.
But,
um,
but if God is dead,
all things are permissible.
But how could what happened
in Peshawar
be permissible?
How can it not be the case
that that is wrong?
How could it not be?
So some of you might say,
okay, George,
so you reject evil
as an illusion.
Um,
and you're really also saying
that the idea
that evil is just an opinion,
that it's a social construct,
that it's just somebody's view.
You think it's evil,
but other people
don't think it's evil.
That things like Peshawar
show that that's not the case.
But, George,
don't you sort of maybe think
that,
um,
you need to have
some evil and darkness
in the world
so that you can understand
what's good?
Um,
a couple of weeks ago
I saw on DVD
the movie The Giver.
And, um,
and part of that,
in fact,
is, uh,
that's actually part of the dialogue
in the movie.
It's a very, very common thing.
I've heard many people
say it to me in coffee shops,
I've seen it in many movies,
that, uh,
the reason there's darkness,
the reason there's evil,
is because you need this
to be able to see
and understand,
uh, the light.
You need it to be able to see
and understand goodness.
Is,
is that sort of what
the Bible is saying here?
Is that why there's sort of
evil in the world?
Well, let's say verses
four and five again,
if you could put that up.
There we go.
Say it with me.
In him was life,
and the life was the light
of humankind.
The light shines on
in the darkness,
but the darkness
has not mastered it.
That's the verse
which we're looking at.
And, um,
so first of all,
um,
you'd see that if God,
if,
if God is good
in and of himself,
then he doesn't need evil
to be able to understand him.
Um,
and if God is light,
like,
you can understand light
without there being darkness.
You can understand that,
but,
but the Bible's gonna actually
say something,
uh,
far more profound.
It's going to say,
and if you could put this up,
Andrew,
evil is real,
but it cannot master
the uncreated light
which shines on.
Evil is real,
but it cannot master
the uncreated light
which shines on.
You know,
you look at verse four,
in him was life,
and the life was the light
of men.
It's saying
that Jesus,
God,
the son of God,
is uncreated life,
and that he is
uncreated light.
Unless some of us
have had some type
of a mystical vision
of God,
all we see
is created light.
But there is
an uncreated light
behind all light,
and an uncreated life
behind all life.
And in Jesus,
that's what we see.
We see
uncreated life
and uncreated light.
And in,
in verse five,
actually,
Andrew,
could you put up
verse four and five again?
Could you say it
with me again?
In him was life,
and the life
was the light
of humankind.
The light
shines on
in the darkness,
and the darkness
has not mastered it.
The Bible here
is saying
that evil is real,
but it cannot
master the uncreated
light which shines on.
And in some
of your Bible
translations,
probably none
of your Bible
translations
uses the word
mastered.
Most of your
Bible translations
probably either use
that the word
can,
that the evil,
darkness,
has not
overcome it,
or it says
that darkness
has not understood it.
And this is a very
interesting thing.
In the original language,
the word that John chose
means one of those
two things.
And it means
both of those
two things.
And most scholars
believe that John
chose the word
precisely,
and phrasing it
in this precise way
to try to communicate
these two ideas
at the same time.
And that's exactly
what John intended
to do.
But because in English,
generally speaking,
you can't do it
until actually
just a translation
just written
a couple of years ago
suggested that
mastered it
captures it better
because you can talk
about mastering
a subject
in terms of
knowing it,
and you talk
about mastering
something in terms
of overcoming it,
you know,
that you mastered
your opponent
or you mastered
your subject.
It's still not
perfect because
the word means
both understand
and overcome.
And the first
thing it's saying
is that darkness
can never
understand light,
that evil
cannot understand
goodness.
It just can't.
Like,
do you think
that those men
who killed
those 148 people,
do you think
they could understand
Mother Teresa?
I mean,
let's be honest,
most of us
couldn't understand
Mother Teresa,
and we're not
nearly as wicked
as them.
You know,
and you just
think about it
in general.
Like,
can a man
who's captivated
and consumed
with lust
in pornography,
while he is
consumed with
the lust
and the pornography,
can he
appreciate
the goodness?
Can he create,
can he at that
moment understand
the goodness
of sex
in its proper
place,
or the goodness
of a woman?
when one
of us
is consumed
with anger,
when we're
just so angry
and maybe
storming around
the house
and yelling,
at those moments
that we are
filled with anger,
do we understand
peace or quiet?
Do we understand
turning the other
cheek?
Do we understand
stillness and
self-possession?
sobriety?
In fact,
you know,
when a person
is completely
drunk,
do they understand
sobriety at that
moment?
Like,
if you think
about it for a
second,
isn't all evil,
isn't all
darkness,
do something
which stops
the human being
from being able
to understand
that which is
virtue or good?
And that's
what the Bible
is saying here.
The light shines
on in the
darkness,
but the darkness
has not understood
it.
And it's also
saying,
and it's here,
scholars think
that John is
in some ways
already pointing
to what's going
to happen at the
end of the
gospel,
the fact that
the God,
the Son of God,
the uncreated
light,
the uncreated
life will come
and walk
amongst us,
he'll die
upon the cross,
and that
that moment
that would
for darkness
seem as if it
was darkness's
greatest victory
with God,
the Son of God
dying upon the
cross,
is in fact
the moment
that darkness
is completely
and utterly
defeated.
It doesn't
understand that
the wrong thing
to do was to
put Jesus on
the cross
to kill him.
And that it's
moment of appearing
to overcome
God,
the Son of God
is the moment
that it's
defeated,
and that
Jesus,
tasting all
there is to
taste of
death,
after he's
tasted all
there is to
taste of
sin and
evil and
hostile
spiritual
powers,
rises
triumphant
over sin
and death
and all
hostile
spiritual
powers in
his
resurrection,
because the
darkness
has not
overcome it.
And that's
why it says
the light
shines on.
I chose
the net
version of
the Bible
because it
emphasizes that
the light
shines and
that it
shines on.
You see,
friends,
this is the
reason that
as texts
like this
enter into
our heads,
that's why
it is,
in confidence
of this text,
that we can
walk towards
darkness.
Not walk
towards darkness
so that the
darkness will
overwhelm us.
The darkness
will claim
that it has
to always
exist.
The darkness
will claim
that it's
necessary for
us to
understand the
good.
darkness
will claim
that we
have to
make our
peace with
it,
that we
have to
make our
peace with
our alcoholism
or with
our addictions
or with
pornography or
we have to
make peace
with prostitution
or all
sorts of other
things that we
need to make
peace with
this because
these things
are somehow
necessary,
that we
need to
make peace
with people
who will
butcher 148
innocent people
and evil
and darkness
will always say
that it is
necessary and
this text
says that the
light shines
on and
that we
are to
walk towards
the darkness
to shine
light,
that the
darkness
will be
no more.
We understand
that the
darkness,
that that final
overcoming the
darkness will
only happen
when Jesus
returns in
his second
coming and
the new
heaven and
the new
earth are
brought in,
but on
this side
of the
grave still
we walk
towards the
darkness in
our own
life.
No,
I do not
have to
make peace
with my
addiction.
No,
I do not
have to
make peace
with these
memories
that completely
torment me.
No,
I do not
have to
make peace
with the
voice of
accusation
in my
head.
No,
we do not
have to
make peace
with darkness
in the
world.
We can
walk
towards it
because the
light shines
on and the
darkness has
not mastered
it and never
will.
It is the
basis to
walk towards
evil,
to humbly
walk towards
evil,
to resist
it,
to say
no,
to shine
light,
the light
of life,
the light
of truth,
the light
of goodness,
the light
of mercy,
the light
of peace,
the light
of justice.
So some
of you
might say,
oh,
George,
now you
just all
of a sudden,
George,
I thought
you said
that you
were a
marsh wiggle.
All of a
sudden,
you sound
like some
blind
optimist.
Good grief,
George.
What happened
to George,
my marsh wiggle
puddle glum
friend at the
front?
All of a
sudden,
the evil
is not the
final word
and the
words of
Winston
Churchill.
We will
fight it
on the
beaches.
We will
fight it
in the
fields.
We will
fight it
street to
street.
We will
fight it
in our
hearts.
Well,
you see,
the fact
is,
let's look
at the
text and
then let's
look at
what happens
just after
verses 4
and 5.
I wonder
if you
could put
verses 4
to 8
up there
on the
screen
and let's
read it
together.
There we
go.
Please read
it with
me.
In him
was life
and the
life was
the light
of humankind.
The light
shines on
in the
darkness,
but the
darkness
has not
mastered it.
There was
a man sent
from God
whose name
was John.
He came
as a witness
to bear witness
about the
light that
all might
believe through
him.
He was not
the light,
but came
to bear
witness about
the light.
all of
a sudden
it goes
in verses
1 to 5
of these
profound
philosophical,
theological,
spiritual
categories and
ideas,
and all of
a sudden
it shifts
to history.
Notice that?
There was a
man sent
from God
whose name
was John.
John.
There was
a man sent
from God
whose name
was John.
And now
John is
starting to
narrow it,
the gospel
is starting
to narrow
it as
he's
introducing
Jesus to
talk about
Jesus of
Nazareth.
In fact,
if you could
put up
verse 14,
Andrew,
you folks
could say
that with
me.
And the
word became
flesh and
dwelt among
us,
and we have
seen his
glory,
glory as of
the only son
from the
father,
full of
grace and
truth.
See, the
Bible is
saying a
most profound
thing.
John wants
to introduce
Jesus.
He wants
to say,
here's
Jesus.
Who's
Jesus?
And John
chooses to
introduce
Jesus in
these grand
narrative,
in these
grand
philosophical,
theological,
spiritual ideas,
and he's
saying,
if you could
put up the
point,
Andrew,
that Jesus,
Jesus of
Nazareth,
in a sense,
is the
uncreated
light made
flesh.
He walked
among us
where darkness
is.
That's what
the Bible
is saying.
That's how
John is
introducing
Jesus.
Who is
Jesus?
How should
I talk
about
Jesus?
Jesus is
real.
He was a
person in
history.
He had an
adopted father,
he had
mother,
he had
brothers and
sisters.
brothers.
We don't
know,
but if
you went
back in
time,
you'd be
able to
find out
that he
probably
thought his
mom's
homus was
the best
homus in
the world.
Just like
probably most
Jewish boys
thought their
mother's
homus was
the best
homus in
the world
back then.
I don't
know,
maybe still,
I don't
know.
And all
of a sudden
it comes to
history.
But this
person,
born in
Bethlehem,
but known
as Jesus
of Nazareth,
he really
is the
uncreated
light made
flesh,
and he
walked among
us where
darkness is.
I mean,
we remember
the Roman
Empire for
its many
great things,
but we also
have to
remember that
it was a
place that
one-third
of the people
who lived
in the
Roman Empire
were slaves.
One-third.
Isn't that
mind-boggling?
One-third.
And he
walked among
us.
And that's
why you see
that John
is going to
actually,
as all of
the gospel
writers and
all of the
gospel witnesses,
they'll make
claims that
Jesus really
did exist,
that you
read the
gospels and
you read the
other early
Christian witnesses
and they get
the historical
details.
They try to
get them
right and
they do
get them
right.
And they
get the
details right
and they
tell the
story right
and they
want to
communicate
that this
guy actually
did walk
amongst us
and he had
a three-year
ministry and
that he
really did
perform these
miracles and
that here
we're giving
you a copy
of the things
that he
actually said
and they're
going to
culminate with
this other
massive historical
claim that he
really did die
upon the cross,
that he was
sentenced upon
death,
that he died
upon the cross,
that he was
buried in a
particular tomb
on the outskirts
of Jerusalem on
a particular day
of the week and
that on another
particular day of
the week that
there were women
who went to go
and anoint the
body as a sign
of respect and
the body was
gone and other
people went and
the body was
gone and the
stone was rolled
away and many
people could have
gone to see that
the body was
gone and then
people claim that
they'd seen him
alive and not
alive as a person
who'd been
crucified.
In fact, in all
of Roman history,
in all of Roman
history, there were
thousands and
thousands, hundreds
of thousands of
crucifixions in all
of human history.
There is only one
record, one record
of one man who
ever survived
crucifixion and
that was with
crucifixion
interrupted and
medical help
immediately there to
try to care for
him and he
barely survived.
all of history,
one survival of
crucifixion and
it is undeniably
historically the
case.
Mentioned in Roman
and other
historians that
Jesus died upon
the cross and
John and others
want you to say
and understand that
this same Jesus of
Nazareth predicted
that he would die
upon the cross,
predicted that he
would rise from
the dead, that the
tomb was empty, that
the historical records
show it, that there's
historical records that
he appeared alive,
fully, completely,
massively alive to
many people in many
locations in over
40 days and that the
resurrection of
Jesus vindicates the
person and the
message of Jesus,
that Jesus was
uncreated light,
made flesh, who
walked among us
where darkness is.
Now, this week I've
had two conversations
about God and
evil.
The first one was
with a person, I
won't say anything
more, but she
shared with me that
any time she starts
to feel getting a
little bit drawn
towards the
Christian faith or
some other religion,
she goes to
Netflix and she
watches the movie
Frailty.
I haven't seen it
yet, it's on my
to-do list, but I
read the Wikipedia
summary, it's about
a man who comes and
tells his two boys
that God has told
him to start
murdering people.
And the movie then
is about the man,
with or without the
help of his sons,
murdering people
because that's what
God has told him to
do.
And my friend said
that any time she
starts to feel that
she's getting close to
accepting something
to do with
spirituality or
religion, to
cleanse her mind,
she watches that
movie.
And a fellow just
told me, we had a
long talk in a
coffee shop just
yesterday, just
before I started to
work on this, finish
up the sermon, and
he was talking about
what just went on in
Peshawar, and he
was saying, George,
that's what religion
and that's what
spirituality does.
It creates within
you that I'm right,
that we're right,
that our tribe is
right, everybody
else is wrong,
therefore we can
go and kill and
do whatever we
want because we
have some divine
special place.
And he said it
justifies evil, it
justifies cruelty, it
justifies wickedness,
it's justified in
Christianity, it
justifies in Islam,
in Buddhism, in
every religion.
That's what it does,
George.
Let's read the
text again, if you
could put up verses
four to eight.
Could you read this
with me?
In him was life, and
the life was the
light of humankind.
The light shines on
in the darkness, but
the darkness has not
mastered it.
There was a man sent
from God whose name
was John.
He came as a
witness to bear
witness about the
light, that all
might believe through
him.
He was not the
light, but came to
bear witness about
the light.
What I said to my
friends are a
little bit different
than what this text
is similar, but I
said to the first
one that Christians
should never feel
that they're special,
and Christians should
never feel that
somehow their ideas
or their sacred
text,
or their poetry
or their
philosophy,
that if a
Christian doesn't
understand that
they're a beggar
who's received
something from God
completely undeserved,
they haven't
understood the
Christian faith.
I told her, I am
one beggar telling
another beggar where
to find bread.
people who are a
Christian faith in the
world.
I said to my
other friend that
the problem of evil
and the problem of
murder is not a
religious problem, it's
a human problem, and
that's why the
countries that he
posits or points to
as being spiritual but
not religious, high
percentage of people
saying that that's what
they are or that they
don't believe in any
God, that one of
those nations that is
very high and that is
China, which is one of
the worst abusers of
human rights on the
planet.
Another one is North
Korea, the worst abuser
of human rights on the
planet.
And I said that the
atheistic states that
have existed like the
Union of USSR, terrible
abusers of human rights.
And I said the issue
isn't whether or not
evil happens, but
whether your philosophy
and your worldview can
understand it and has
the resources and the
help to deal with it.
See, here's the thing to
understand with all of
these things.
You know, so far I've
said that God is light
and in him there is no
darkness at all.
I've said that the true
and living God created all
things good.
He did not create evil.
Evil is a blinding,
breaking, bending,
hiding, blurring,
emptying of the good.
And that evil is real,
but it cannot master the
uncreated light which
shines on.
And that Jesus is the
uncreated light made
flesh.
He walked among us where
darkness is.
And here's the thing we
have to understand when
we hear this.
The fifth point.
The dividing line between
light and darkness, good
and evil, is not between
people.
It is a line within every
person.
The dividing line between
light and darkness, good
and evil, is not between
people.
It is a line within every
person.
If you leave here thinking
we are the people of light
and out there is darkness,
you've misheard the
scripture.
If you go away from here
thinking that Canada is the
place of light and the rest
of the world is darkness,
you've misheard the
scripture.
If you go away thinking
that all Christians are
light and the rest of the
world who are not
Christians are darkness, you
have misheard the
scripture.
The scripture wants to
understand that Jesus
walked amongst, walked
among us where darkness
is and that he looks you
and me in the eyes and he
sees that the dividing line
between good and evil runs
right down the center of who
we are.
That part of us is darkness
and part of us loves
darkness.
And in fact that there is
something within us which is
good and beautiful and whole
and that the line between them
is often very blurred and
confused and we are often very
blurred and confused in terms of
what we want.
because the line between light
and darkness runs down the
center of every single person
who is here.
See in fact the Bible is trying
to tell us that if God is light
and in him is no darkness at all
how can we come to God when
darkness clings to me and darkness
darkness clings to you and you
cannot shake the darkness and you
never can shake the darkness and
even in great moments of moral
triumph you often can end up being
proud of your moral triumph and so
the darkness rears its head.
We're not going to read the text.
Just listen to me as I read part of
the text.
In verse 7 it said he came as a
witness to bear witness about the
light that all might believe through
him.
He was not the light, that's John the
Baptist, but came to bear witness
about the light.
And in verse 7 when it says the word
believe it says it gives us the most
important verb in the book of John.
The word believe will occur 98 times.
It sort of gives you an idea that
that's what John wants us to do is to
believe in Jesus.
In fact, if you could put up the final
point, Andrew.
The Bible is teaching us that Jesus of
Nazareth did it all in his life and in
his death upon the cross.
And when I believe in him, I receive it
all.
See, that's what the text says.
It's pointing to why Jesus comes, that
Jesus in whom there is no darkness takes
upon himself my darkness and your
darkness.
That Jesus in whom there is no darkness
and evil takes upon himself the
consequences of our darkness, the
punishment that our darkness deserves.
He takes that upon himself when he dies
upon the cross in our stead.
And he goes into the place of death, into
the place of darkness, into the place of
sin.
He tastes all there is to taste of that
with nothing left over.
And he does that in my stead and in your
stead, in our place.
And then he rises from the dead,
triumphant over sin and death and all
hostile spiritual powers in his
resurrection.
And when we put our trust in him, believe
him, receive him, we receive all that he
does for us.
That's what we receive.
He does it all.
You know, in fact, which is very
interesting in the Gospel of John, there's
98 times where the verb believe happens, and
not once is there an adjective or an
adverb with it.
What that means in simple English is that
it never says strong belief, pure belief,
deep belief, full belief.
It never qualifies it.
Because, you see, if John qualified it, then
it would be a type of work that we have to
add to what Jesus does for us on the
cross.
That I have to have my discipleship in
order.
I have to be exemplary.
I have to have the right psychological
condition.
I have to have the right type of emotional
experience.
I have to have the right type of life.
I have to get the right types of things
organized in my life because I have to
add these things to belief.
But the Bible is telling us that we are to
understand ourselves as beggars who can
only stand empty-handed and say to the
Father, Father, darkness clings to me.
There is a darkness which is in within me,
which I am powerless to overcome and to
rid myself of.
And I thank you that uncreated life came and
walked amongst us and died upon the cross.
And that in his death upon the cross and
resurrection, that he accomplishes something
that I cannot accomplish by myself.
And so, Father, I come to Jesus.
I invite him to come into my life.
I give him permission to be in my life.
And all I can do is ask that I can receive that
which only Jesus can do and has done for me.
All I can do is receive Jesus.
All I can do.
And as I receive Jesus alone, he changes me.
He leads me to change us.
We're gripped by the gospel.
We realize that we can walk towards the evil in
our culture and walk towards the evil in
our society.
That we can walk towards the evil in
ourselves.
That we can walk towards it to deal with it.
Because the idea that Jesus walked amongst
us and that the uncreated life will never be
mastered by darkness is not now just an
abstract, optimistic truth, but a real lived
experience as the gospel grips us.
That I might not have the power to overcome the
darkness, but I am carried by the one who has
overcome all darkness.
And so, as I am carried by him, I can walk towards
darkness to shine light.
Darkness outside and darkness within.
Please stand.
Thank you.
Just bow our heads in prayer.
Father, we give you thanks and praise that you see us
perfectly and still you love us.
We give you thanks and praise, Father, that you
have known us from the moment of our conception to
this very moment.
And, Father, since all things are present for you, you
even know, well, Father, you know whether I'm going to
live another day or live another 50 years.
And, Father, you know me from the moment of my
conception to the moment of my death.
And you know me perfectly.
Father, you know the dreams I have at night that I do not
remember when I wake up.
You see every mask that I wear.
You see every how I move from mask to mask.
Father, you see everything there is to see about me.
You know, Father, the darkness in me.
You know the darkness that clings to me.
You know the darkness, Father, which I am blind to and
which I'm afraid of.
And you know the darkness I delight in.
And still you love me, seeing me so perfectly.
Still you love me.
And still your Son, knowing who I am and knowing who we are,
died on the cross for us.
Uncreated light dying for us who have darkness within and
clinging to us.
Father, we thank you that you know us so perfectly and that
your Son still came to rescue us and to deliver us.
We thank you for his sinless life, his mighty miracles, his
mighty teaching.
And most of all, we thank you for his death upon the cross on
our behalf and his mighty resurrection.
Father, instill within us, grow within us, a simple belief and
trust in Jesus.
May we be disciples of Jesus, gripped by the gospel, who now live for
his glory.
And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior.
Amen.