Exploring Life, Faith, & All Things Nerdy
What is the Bible? If we’re honest, the Holy Bible can be a very intimidating book. Have you ever tried reading through it? If you got past Leviticus, congratulations! Keep going, it gets better.
Continue reading → Light the Way
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
(Genesis 1:3-5)
Light is one of the most common themes in all of Scripture. If you think about it, Light vs. Dark is one of the most common themes in all of literature and entertainment. Countless stories have been told throughout the generation of Light triumphing over Darkness – from Beowulf to Star Wars, from The Lord of the Rings to Mean Girls, from Harry Potter to The Princess Bride. Light represents good, and dark represents evil.
But I want you to notice something in the passage above. On the opening day of Creation, God created Light and separated it from the Darkness. Here’s an interesting thing to keep in mind – God still put the darkness to use. We need darkness in our lives. Our bodies survive on a natural rhythm of light and darkness. It’s how we are able to produce melatonin which helps us fall asleep. Many animals are nocturnal and would not survive in complete light. I love what David says about light and darkness in Psalm 139.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
The natural state of the universe is darkness. Without nearby light sources, like our sun, space is completely black and devoid of light. But that’s not the case if you look back far enough in time. When scientists pointed their radio satellites into the darkest part of the visible sky, they accidentally found light. In the earliest days of our universe’s existence, everything was full of energy and light. The whole universe glowed brightly with what astronomers now call the “Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.”
Let there be light, indeed.
When we look at the night sky, what looks like complete darkness can actually be filled with light if we look hard enough – just like the human heart. Even in the most corrupt, most evil of people, I believe there is still a spark of light waiting to be ignited. Otherwise, Jesus could not have said this to a huge crowd of complete strangers:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:14-16)
But how can we be the “light of the world” when we know how much darkness resides within us? Simply put, we can’t. On our own we try to hide our light out of shame for our darkness. Thank God he doesn’t leave us on our own.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
(1 John 1:5-7)
On day one God created light, but he also left the darkness. There may still be darkness within us, but the closer we walk with God the brighter the light shines forth. As we embark on this journey over these forty days, I pray that you will learn to walk in the light and overcome the darkness. As the saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn. That’s just how it was on that Good Friday so long ago when Christ was crucified and sealed in a tomb. The world seemed darker than ever before, but a new day would dawn with the resurrection.
Do you remember being afraid of the dark? Why do you think that happens?
In what ways do you see darkness in the world and in your life?
Are there specific areas of your life in which you may be afraid to shine a light? Is there anything you are worried that the light might reveal?
How can you be the “light of the world” in your family? in your workplace? in your school? in your community? online?
A prophet of God sleeping in a boat at sea during a particularly violent storm which has everyone else on board panicked. The prophet is rudely awakened and miraculously causes the storm to cease.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
The more I study the story of Jonah, the clearer it becomes that Jesus based a lot of his ministry and teachings on the life of Jonah. The connections become obvious to anyone paying attention. In fact, Jesus makes it obvious for us by coming right out and telling us that “something greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12).
So how is Jesus the new Jonah?
We’ll look at this throughout the story, but let’s just stay in chapter 1 for now.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
The opening phrase of Jonah’s story should perk the ears of Christians. “The Word of the Lord…” doesn’t that have some significance?
Look at how John’s gospel begins: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus IS the Word of God. Jesus’ story is inextricably connected to Jonah’s from the opening phrase.
GO TO NINEVEH
God calls Jonah to leave his home (Israel) and go to a foreign, hostile land (Nineveh) to proclaim God’s message. Jonah, somewhat understandably, is hesitant to do this. Instead, he runs away from the call to foreign missions.
Where is Jesus in this? How is Jesus the new Jonah in this regard? The answer is best summarized in Philippians 2:
Who, being in very nature God,
Did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
Rather, he made himself nothing
By taking on the very nature of a servant,
Being made in human likeness,
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself
By becoming obedient to death –
Even death on a cross!
Looking back at John 1, The Message version puts it this way:
The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.
Jesus was sent on a mission from God to leave his home in heaven, to come to a foreign land (the world), to preach to a hostile population, and ultimately to be killed for it.
Jonah didn’t want to leave Israel and go to Nineveh for fear of what might happen. Christ left heaven and came to Earth fully knowing what would happen. Christ is the greater Jonah.
THE STORM AT SEA
Then there’s the storm. I want to draw your attention to all the parallels between Jonah 1:3-16 and Mark 4:35-41.
Sailing in the opposite direction/other side
Violent windstorm on the sea and imminent danger of ship’s sinking
Deep sleep during the storm
Rude awakening by frightened shipmates
Calming of sea by protagonist’s actions
Shipmates’ awestruck fear at divine power
Before you start crying “Coincidence!” I must remind you that it was Jesus himself who drew the parallels between his ministry and Jonah’s. Jesus’ earliest followers purposefully pointed to these connections in the way they told their stories.
God was trying to teach Jonah (and subsequently Israel) the lesson that God cares about the Gentile nations, too. As Peter and Paul would put it, God wants all people everywhere to be saved (Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9). God loved the world to the extent that he sent his one and only Son (John 3:16).
Not long after Jonah, the Assyrian Empire would rise in power once again and overthrow the evil kingdom of Israel, taking their people into exile and erasing them from the annals of history. Even in the face of this unspeakable tragedy, God still had a bigger plan in mind:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
To restore the tribes of Jacob
And bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
That my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
Jesus, with this very passage in mind, would tell his earliest followers, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5).
Jesus is Jonah. So am I. So are you. Each one of us is called to leave the comfort and security of our own tribe in order to take God’s word to the nations.
Daniel N. Lee 