Jeremiah 20-21

2 Timothy 4

“For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we 
see light.” —Psalm 36:9

When we see Jesus, we see the full expression of what God is like. This is good news as we study the New Testament, because when we read about Jesus, we see God’s love, grace, mercy and forgiveness in action. Jesus described this reality in a conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Jesus came onto the scene, and He outlined the reality of God and the reason He came, which is pretty straightforward—God loves, God gives, God saves, man believes and man receives.

But, even when people met God in the person of Jesus Christ, they resisted His rule. Jesus exposed the real problem with humanity in John 3:18: “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s One and Only Son.” From this verse, it begs the question, “Why would one choose not to believe?” If we were offered eternal life, a pathway to peace with God, why would we turn down this offer from the Creator? Jesus tells us the answer: “This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20).

The reason why people do not come to Jesus is not because there is anything wrong with Him; rather, it is because humanity loved the darkness, and they hated God’s light, preferring chaos over God’s revelation. Even after Jesus’s resurrection, when we read of the events in the book of Acts, there was a refusal to believe on the part of the religious leaders and many within the nation of Israel because there was a hardness of heart that settled into God’s covenant people. Why did this happen? Because light had come, but man loved the darkness.

Scripture tells us, in Jesus’s first coming, He came to rescue and liberate humanity from sin by offering His own life in their place. In His second coming, He comes to judge the nations and establish His rule and reign. For some of us, we look forward to that day with longing. For others, however, that may be a day of dread and terror. Where will we stand on judgment day?

Precious Jesus, You are the Light of the world. I pray that Your Light will pierce through to those who love the darkness, so that none may be lost. Thank You, Jesus.