A Word about the Powerful Light

 

Today we will continue a series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Powerful Light.

So far in this series we have seen that Jesus is The Perpetual Light and The Promised Light, for whom people waited centuries for His coming. We have also seen that He is The Perfect Light, without sin or mistake and who is one with His Father in Heaven. These are key aspects to the nature and character of Jesus which make Him able, as God, to be the Light of the World. However, He can only be The Light Of Our Lives if He can affect us and our circumstances. Blessedly for us, He has that power.

The power of physical light is often underestimated, but it is real. We have already noted in this series that light is a powerful disinfectant, but it is also an effective treatment for Newborn Jaundice. Light also has the power to change the behavior of people: one of the most common security measures against burglary is security lighting, which drives criminals to other, less illuminated locales. Lazers, which are a highly concentrated light form, have been used in medicine and industry for decades, and they have now become so powerful that they are a weapon of war. 

A theme of all these human developments is the destructive power of light. Naturally, however, light is a key to the process of photosynthesis, which produces and sustains all the life on our planet. Without light, life would cease to exist here.

As powerful as light can be, no physical light can be as powerful as the Light of the World, however, and The Powerful Light is the subject of our message for today. Let’s read Matthew 15: 29-39,

Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there, and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”  The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd?”  “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them. “Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.” After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

From this passage of Scripture, we see two dimensions of the Light’s power in our lives and two reasons why God has decided to exert His power to give us the Light of Life.

The Power of The Word:

The Bible is a collection of masterfully crafted books, poems, songs, and letters which contain many straightforward facts and descriptions of events. It also includes many subtle features and contexts which we will miss if we don’t pay close attention to them. This is one reason why we must read the Word regularly. When we watch our favorite movie again, or listen to our favorite song another time, we find new facets to them which we overlooked at first glance. The same holds true with the Bible.

The ostensible focus of this passage is the miracle of Jesus in which he fed the four thousand. It is easy, then, to gloss over or miss entirely the posture of Jesus when this event began. Jesus was sitting down. This is not a minor detail, but it is quite significant.

In the Jewish synagogue of the First Century, rabbis sat to teach. Jesus, of course, was the master teacher and the greatest rabbi, and He prioritized the teaching of the Word. This, of course, was the right path to follow, and being The Perfect Light, and one with God the Father, Jesus would know that. So, why should the Word have priority? Because its power is eternal and it has an eternal impact upon us. In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus taught His followers,

Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

In Ephesians 6, during Paul’s discussion of the Whole Armor of God, every item he described was defensive in nature except one, “the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.”  In Hebrews 4:12, we read that,

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Paul also counseled his protégé, Timothy, to allow the Word to have power in his life, saying in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have  known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The greatest power found in the Light of the World is the power of God’s Word, which will transform our lives from the inside out and give us both an abundant life here on earth, and eternal life in the hereafter. This is the most important power of the Light of the World, but not the only one. 

The Power of Provision:

The most obvious use of power in our focal passage is the power to provide for the needs of people. Amazingly, even that, however, was not apparent to some on that mountain on that day, although, as we look back upon those events, we should not be surprised.

We know from God’s Word that Jesus was the agent of creation. The Bible tells us that nothing was created which was created without Jesus. If Jesus was Creator, and He was, then Jesus is the Owner. As the owner, Jesus has the authority to do as He wills with His creation. As the Powerful Light, Jesus has the ability to do what He wills with His creation. Thus, it makes total sense to us today, that Jesus could use His power to provide for human needs, and He did.

As we see in the beginning of this passage, Jesus had power over disease. Here we see Him exercising His power, because everyone there saw, “those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.” In other places in the Scripture, we know that Jesus healed lepers and people with fevers and chronic bleeding as well. And power over disease is only the beginning of how Jesus provided for the daily needs of people in the Bible. 

* In Matthew 14 Jesus demonstrated power over storms.

* In Matthew 14 Jesus also demonstrated power over the Laws of Physics when He and Peter walked on the Water.

* In Matthew 4 Jesus demonstrated power over temptation.

* In Matthew 9 and 12 Jesus demonstrated power over religion.

* In Matthew 22 Jesus demonstrated power over politics.

* In John 11 Jesus demonstrated power over death.

* In this passage and others, Jesus demonstrated power over hunger.

This last point is interesting, because when Jesus wanted to feed the people, His disciples were doubtful. Jesus had just been demonstrating His power, and He literally had done some amazing things. Plus, the previous chapter in Matthew recorded that He had already just fed five thousand people, and in this case, He even had more supplies to work with. Why did they doubt?

First, we must remember that the Holy Spirit had not yet come. We know that “the Spirit bears witness with our spirit,” and so we have a great advantage that the followers of Jesus didn’t have on that day on the mountain. We say that “seeing is believing,” but that is not necessarily true, as we can see here. We should give the disciples the benefit of the doubt.

On the other hand, what about us? Why do we doubt the power of Jesus in our lives? We have the testimony of the Bible to His power in people’s lives. We have the testimony of our fellow church members to His power in their lives. We have the testimony of our experiences to His power in our lives. We have the testimony of the Holy Spirit to His power in all of our lives. So, why do we doubt?  Maybe we wonder why Jesus would bother with us?

The Power of Compassion:

Why would Jesus devote Himself to blessing and ministering to frail, sinful, and rebellious people? Why would He be kind to those who rejected His Father? Why would He spend His time, attention, and effort to help us? Paul also asked this question in Romans 5:6-7,

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die

Of course, in our natural state we are the ungodly and we are not good. So, that leaves us out, right? In the human economy that is true, but not in God’s economy. Paul went on to say, in Romans 5:8-9,

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

John told us that God is love, and Paul told us that God proved that by offering Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sin. And, as Jesus said himself, “I have compassion on the crowd . . .”  So, compassion was the motivation of The Powerful Light to bless people, even when we were in rebellion against Him and His Father.

Although we know that compassion was the motivation for Jesus to act in our lives, He, like John the Baptist, had a specific mission. John’s mission was to testify to The Light. What was Jesus born to do? Jesus, Himself, described His mission clearly for us in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Make no mistake, Jesus came to save people from their sins and to provide them eternal life. Jesus always kept this mission in the forefront, to the point that He pushed back against His own mother, Mary, at the Wedding at Cana, and also calling Peter Satan when Peter pushed back against Him after Jesus told His disciples about His coming death, burial, and resurrection. When Jesus was at a place and all the people there wanted was for Him to perform miracles, Jesus would leave that place and move on. Why then did He attend to human needs of people at all?

The answer is that Jesus had both compassion and power. He could help people, and He loved people, and so out of His powerful compassion He acted. He turned water into wine so that a wedding would not be ruined. He healed the sick, blind, and lame so that people’s lives on earth would not be ruined. He died for us on the cross and He rose again so that our eternity would not be ruined.

I often share stories of my Father, but I had a wonderful mother also. I clearly remember a number of occasions, after I was an adult and had my own family, she would buy me a nice present or pay for a repair for my automobile. I would tell her, “Mama, you didn’t have to do that.” She’d just smile and say, “I know I didn’t. I wanted to. And I could.”  The same is true for Jesus. He doesn’t have to bless us, but He wants to. And He can. So, He does.

The Powerful Light becomes the Light of Our Life by giving us His Word and satisfying our human needs by His compassion. But there’s more.

The Power of God’s Glory:

Another, almost hidden, statement in our focal passage gives us the second reason Jesus uses His power to bless us. Let’s read Matthew 15:31,

So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

Jesus wanted to exercise His power in the lives of people because of His love, but also because He wanted to enjoy receiving the glory that is due Him as the Almighty God of the Universe. He taught this principle from the very beginning of His ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Mathew 5:14-16, He said this,

You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

As a former colleague used to tell me, “You can’t hide money!” Jesus is glorious and He deserves all the praise and the honor that He is due. One way to gain that praise, one way to receive the honor that He is due, is by “Showing up and showing out.” He did that in this passage, and He does that when He works in our lives, showering us with His power and His blessings. He has done that through out His relationship with His people.

* In 2 Chronicle 5:14, the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple on the day it was dedicated to Him.

* In Mark 2:12, a lame man was healed by Jesus and then, “Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’”

* In Luke 17:15-6, a leper healed by Jesus, “. . . seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.”

* In John 11, Jesus delayed going to heal Lazarus, and told Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

* In Acts 7:55, as Stephen was beings stoned to death, “[he] gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

* In Acts 12, when Herod was called a god after he had addressed a crowd, “At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.”

* In Romans 15:5-6, Paul said, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.”

* In I Corinthians 10:31, Paul said, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”

* In 2 Corinthians 4:14-15, Paul said, “For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.”

* John, in Revelation 14:7 wrote, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Artists create paintings so others can appreciate them. Athletes play to demonstrate their abilities to those in the stands. Entertainers take the stage to hear the applause of the crowd. God acts through The Powerful Light to gain the praise and honor and glory that only He deserves!

Conclusion:

 Our focal passage for today gives us great insight into actions and attitudes of The Powerful Light. We’ve seen how His power is applied to the lives of people and also why His power is applied to the lives of people. The only question remaining is, will we let The Powerful Light shine on us, in us, and through us?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Perfect Light

Today we will continue a series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Perfect Light.

Having just the right amount of light is often an important quality of life factor. As I get older, and as my eyes get weaker, I find that the more light I have, the better it is for my vision. That is not necessarily the case in every aspect of life. For example, in photography, it is important to have the right amount of light in the right tone for a photograph or video to have its best appearance.

My son is a news photographer, and he shoots video both day and night, and in all kinds of real-world lighting conditions. He does not have the luxury of shooting in a studio where the lighting never changes. One of the settings on his camera he must adjust is its white balance. In this procedure, a control item with a known shade of white is placed in front of the camera lens in the current environment where he is about to shoot video. He can then adjust the camera’s white balance to match the shade of the known object. He must do this before every shot for the video to be perfect.

Once he was offered the choice of color for a new work vehicle by his television station. Several options were available, but he asked for the plain white car. When asked why, he had a practical reason, “That way I aways have something with me I can use to set my camera’s white balance.”  That’s good thinking in my book.

As good as modern cameras are, none ever get the light perfect, and even modern editing software is not perfect either. One Perfect Light has existed, however, and He is the subject of our message for today.

Let’s read John 1:6-9 and 19-31,

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world . . . This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” “What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he said. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered. “Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord—just as Isaiah the prophet said.” Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.” All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

The Testimony of John:

It is always good to remember your purpose in life. It is possible to make a square peg fit a round hole, but a great deal of damage can occur in the process. I remember, sadly, the day I used a socket wrench given to me by my father as an impromptu hammer. Yes, it broke, because I forgot its purpose. What we see in John’s testimony was that he never forgot his purpose.

John the Baptist was born to Zechariah the priest and Elizabeth, his wife. They were a righteous couple who served God faithfully. They were also childless, and they were too old, humanly, to have a baby. That all changed when the Angel Gabriel came to them and announced that they would have a son, named John, and that he would be set apart and that he would have a special task. 

Later, John came to know that his only purpose was to proclaim the coming of the Perfect Light. This Perfect Light was greater than he was, and indeed, He had even existed before time. John testified to these things and even more while he called people to repentance.

Then, one day, John saw the Perfect Light, and he had the opportunity to proclaim the Perfect Light to the world. At this, the most important moment of his life, John didn’t fail. He pointed out the Perfect Light, and he loudly proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

If anyone ever completely fulfilled his assigned purpose in the world, it was John; however, he was not the only one who testified about Jesus. God, Himself did also as we will see in Mark 1:9-11,

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

The Testimony of God:

When scholars do research to write a book or to prepare a lecture for class, they consult two types of sources: primary sources and secondary sources. A secondary source is a book or an article written by another scholar which includes interpretation, analysis, or summaries of primary sources, offering second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. A primary source is a firsthand account or an original record of an event.  Scholars believe that the best information is found in primary sources, which are the closest sources to the actual event.

What then, would be a better source than God the Father Himself? No better source can exist, and we see in this passage His own testimony about Jesus as the Perfect Light. First, He claimed Jesus as His own Son. An old saying is that “apples don’t fall far from the tree.” If the Father is perfect, then it must be true that the Son is also perfect.

Second, and equally important. God the Father testified that He was “well pleased” in Jesus. Again, God is perfect and His standard is perfection. Could God be “well pleased” in a person who is not perfect? This is logically, practically, and spiritually impossible. Clearly, God testified that Jesus is the Perfect Light.

So, John and God the Father both testified to Jesus. What did Jesus say about himself? Let’s read Matthew 5:17-20,

“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

The Testimony of Jesus:

Most people who have been charged with a crime or who have been charged with a mission, either one, will try to explain themselves. Jesus was no different, and He testified to Himself as the Perfect Light on several occasions.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Mosaic Law. This would be an amazing feat, and a humanly impossible one. No human ever fulfilled the Law, but Jesus did, and not only that, He fulfilled it down to the smallest and most precise details. Only the Perfect Light could do that, but in John 8:46ff, Jesus made this claim even more plainly, saying,

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.

Here, Jesus tells us that His teachings are from God above, who is perfect, and that not only is Jesus telling the truth, but also, no one could convict Him of any sin. To be sinless is to be perfect, and this is more testimony that Jesus is the Perfect Light.

Later, in John 10:27-30, Jesus became even more explicit, saying,

My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

Here we see Jesus making a logical argument. God the Father is perfect, and Jesus is one with the Father. Therefore, Jesus is the Perfect Light.

One last time, before Jesus went to the Cross, He testified to Himself in John 14:6-7, saying,

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.

In this moment, Jesus made the connection between His identity as the Perfect Light and His identity as our Perfect Savior. To save us, Jesus had to be perfect, and He is.

So, John and God the Father and Jesus all testified that Jesus was the Perfect Light. What did the Apostles say? Let’s read 1 John 3:2-5,

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him. 

The Testimony of the Apostles:

Jesus claimed that He had committed no sin. His followers, the ones who lived with Him day and night throughout His ministry, were the ones who were best positioned to comment on that claim. The saying that you never really know a person until you live with them is true, and so the Apostles certainly knew Jesus. What did they say?

John, who was one of the inner circle, along with his brother James and also Peter, testified that “there was no sin in Him,” and “He is pure.” Because of that, not only do those who trust Him have hope, they also become “God’s children.” All of this could happen because Jesus is the Perfect Light.

What about Peter, the other member of the inner circle of Jesus who wrote an epistle included in the canon of Scripture? What did he say about the sinlessness of Jesus? Let’s read 1 Peter 2:21-25,

For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Peter, too, testified to Jesus as the Perfect Light, and he said that because Jesus was sinless, He could heal us by His wounds. He also could bring us back from going astray, and He not only modeled a righteous life, but he also empowered us to live righteously. Again, this could happen because Jesus is the Perfect Light.

What about Paul? Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, and later, God took him aside for three years to teach him about Jesus. Paul also testified to the Perfect Light in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Because of Christ’s perfection we are made new, and we are reconciled with God. Not only that, but we are also made His ambassadors, with the ministry of leading others to be reconciled with God as well. Once again, this is only possible because of Christ’s perfection.

What about the writer of Hebrews? His argument was that Jesus is the Greatest of All Time. What testimony does Hebrews provide us? Let’s read Hebrews 4:14-16,

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

The testimony of Hebrews is that Jesus was tempted, like we are, but that He did not fail, the way that we do. Therefore, He understands our situation and He identifies with us. More than that, He allows us to come to the throne of grace with boldness and find the grace and mercy we need. As we have seen above, this can only happen because Jesus is the Perfect Light.

We have seen the testimony of John the Baptist, the testimony of God the Father, the testimony of Jesus about Himself, and the testimony of the Apostles about the Perfect Light. Now, let’s remember our testimony, the witness of the church. Let’s read Acts 1:4-8,

While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

The Testimony of the Church:

One of the great privileges of being a member of God’s church is to work alongside Him. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:9, we “are God’s coworkers.” It is hard to believe that God has chosen us to work alongside Him, but He has, and we must step up to then plate and do our part. Most of our work is to testify to the Perfect Light.

Why is it important that the members of God’s church testify about Jesus? We are the only beings who have been redeemed by His perfect sacrifice. Another old saying is that the “Proof of the pudding is in the eating.”  

• Angels have never been redeemed.
• Demons have never been redeemed. 
• Animals have never been redeemed. 
• The earth has never been redeemed.

Members of God’s church perform all types of service to Him, but the one service no other part of creation can do is to testify to Christ’s redeeming work. As we witness to God’s work in our lives, we testify to the Perfect Light.

Conclusion:

Hanlon's Razor says, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." In the context of our study of the Perfect Light, we must realize that more people are hurt by mistakes than by malice.

For example, during the Cold War our Armed Forces almost detonated nuclear warheads twice by accident. Once, a technician dropped a wrench down an Arkansas missile silo and caused the rocket to explode. Fortunately, all the safety devices on the warhead worked as designed. Another time, a U.S. bomber broke apart in midair over North Carolina accidently dropping two nuclear bombs. One buried itself in mud so deep it has never been recovered. The other was recovered, and it was found that all but one safety device had failed and the bomb was only one switch away from exploding. These accidents could have killed an untold number of people.

Mistakes and failures are dangerous, but the Light of the World is the Perfect Light. He never makes mistakes, and He will never fail us!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Promised Light

Today we will continue a series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Promised Light.

Our modern electrical grid is an amazing way to provide electricity across our land. Not only is access to electrical power almost universal, but it is also very reliable. This is in sharp contrast to when my family lived in Africa. At one point we lived in a house with no access to the electrical grid, and we relied on solar power and a generator for all our electrical needs. Later, when we were connected to the power grid, we only had power two days out of three, and you never knew when, or if, the power would come back on. Because of that, we retained our solar panels and generator. We really appreciated the reliable power grid in the U.S. when we returned home.

Our power grid is very reliable, but it is not perfect. From time to time, particularly in the hot and stormy summer months, we will still experience a power outage. The experience of sitting in a dark, rapidly heating house, is not pleasant, but for those who require the use of electrically powered medical devices, it can be quite dangerous. In America, unlike many places around the world, we know that power will be restored, but sitting in the darkness, wondering when, can be quite frustrating and uncomfortable

One difference in the U.S. is that our electrical utilities all have mobile phone applications which keep customers apprised of the status of repairs. While technically not promising anything but their best efforts to resolve the outage, these applications, and also automated text messages, endeavor to keep customers informed of the progress of the work, and the anticipated repair time. This is encouraging to those looking towards the restoration of power.

In many ways, God’s Old Testament people were sitting in darkness waiting for the promised Light of the World to come and light up their lives. Sadly, much confusion existed about who this might be, or when he would make his appearance. Jesus shed some much-needed light on this issue in Matthew 16:13 and following.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

Who Did People Say That Jesus Is?

The Jews in the days of Jesus were looking for the Messiah to come from God. The problem was this: which Messiah were they looking for? Like in the days of the Judges, when “every man did what was right in his own eyes,” the individual visions that people had developed about the promised Messiah clouded their spiritual sight.

Some people were looking for a revolutionary figure who was not afraid to speak truth to power. In our modern world they would have been followers of George Washington, or Fidel Castro, or Martin Luther King, Jr. John the Baptist was such a man, one who was not afraid to confront King Herod Antipas with his sinful behavior. This cost John the Baptist his head, but some people may have thought that Jesus was John raised from the dead. 

Some people were looking for a miracle worker who would meet the human needs of people. In our modern world they would have been followers of figures like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Bill, “I feel your pain,” Clinton, or Mother Theresa. They would be just as happy if someone cured cancer as if someone could cure their soul. People with this vision of the Messiah thought that Jesus might be the prophet Elijah whom Malachi had said would return to the earth someday.

Others may have been looking for a religious leader who would come and reform Judaism and also discipline those who had led it astray. In our modern world they would have been followers of figures like Martin Luther, or L. Ron Hubbard, or Jim Jones, the cult leader responsible for the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana. In my home church, a considerable part of our church leadership were followers of Bill Gothard and his Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts, so much so that I began thinking of them as “Gothardites.” I became concerned that some were elevating Bill Gothard far beyond a mere Bible teacher. Gothard taught many good things, but he was not the Messiah, and neither was Jesus a reincarnation of the prophet Jeremiah, either.

It was not surprising that different ideas about the Messiah would spread among the Jews. People have loved to spread rumors since the beginning of humanity. Missionaries to Vietnam in the 1960’s learned a local saying that expresses this well:

What is whispered in Da Nang in the morning will be shouted in Saigon in the afternoon.

This was decades before the advent of social media, but centuries before that time, Jesus Himself commented about the Last Days, saying, “There will be wars and rumors of wars.” Even in such an agricultural society as First Century Palestine, urban legends were a thing.

So, that is what the “man on the street” thought. What did the Disciples think? Jesus asked them, beginning in Matthew 16:15:

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed  in heaven.” 

Who Did The Disciples Say Jesus Is?

Jesus probably did not expect very much from the ordinary Jewish person of His day. The Jewish faith had been in decline since Solomon died. Half of the Jewish leadership, the Sadducees, did not even believe in an afterlife, and so their understanding of the Messiah would be solely focused on the “here and now.” The other half of the Jewish leadership, the Pharisees, did believe in eternal life, but they believed that only they knew how to find it.  If the ordinary people of that day were confused, that was not unexpected, considering how confused their leaders were. It was sad, but not surprising.

Jesus expected more of His disciples, however. They had walked with Him daily and He had taught them by both word and deed. They had seen His miracles, and they had seen him leave places that only wanted miracles, and which did not receive His teaching. He explained His parables to them, and they had also faced opposition from both sides of the Jewish leadership together. He expected a better answer, and He got one from Peter.

It was clear that Peter wanted to show that he had been listening carefully in class. He proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and also that Jesus was the Son of God. The Messiah was the one God’s People waited for who would come to save the people from themselves and the fact that the Messiah was the Son of God gave Him the power and authority to do that. Jesus was the Savior of the World who had a divine origin, a divine power, a divine authority, a divine message, and a divine love for His people. Peter, who was rarely short of words, said a great deal more in that short answer than he ever had before.

Jesus approved of Peter’s answer, and then he told Peter why he had gotten it correct. He said that Peter had been blessed from a power outside of himself, and in fact, God had revealed that to him, the way that God reveals Himself today through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus went on to say, literally, that Peter had been “supremely blessed.” This blessing came from God, of course, and it came in a multidimensional form. Some of these applied only to Peter, but some of these still apply today, when lost souls make a confession of faith in Christ as their Lord.

• Peter was blessed to have God reveal Himself to him.
• Peter was blessed to be given a new name by God. 
• Peter was blessed to have his spiritual eyes opened.
• Peter was blessed because he gave Jesus the perfect opportunity to announce the founding of the church.
• Peter was blessed to participate in the eternal ministry of the church.
• Peter was blessed to be welcomed into God’s Kingdom.

A much more positive outcome was available for Peter, and for us today, than simply repeating the tired old false rumors and fake news about Jesus.

So, we have seen who the people said that Jesus is, and we have also seen who the disciples said that Jesus is. So, what did Jesus say about Himself? Let’s read Matthew 16:20 and following:

Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah. From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Who Did The Word Say That Jesus Is?

First, Jesus is the one who was promised to come as the Messiah, and as the Light of the World, in God’s timing. It is important to notice here that Jesus told His followers not to tell people that He was the Messiah, at least not yet. An old saying is that “timing is everything,” and in fact when it comes to the supply of electricity, that is a very true statement. When the power goes out, it won’t come back until all the repairs are made, otherwise more damage to the transmission equipment may occur. Spiritually it is also a true statement. God’s timing is not our timing. Two Greek words for time apply here.

The first word is kronos, from which we get our English terms chronometer and chronological. This is the passing of time as recorded by clocks and the movement of the Sun and Moon. God created this type of time, and it is good, but He is not bound by it the way that people are.

The other Greek word is kairos, which implies the right time, the correct time, the perfect time. In Romans 5:6, Paul told us, 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 

Also, in 1 Peter 5:6-7, Peter himself taught us to,

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

In God’s timing, not before and not after, Jesus came to be the Light of the World. As Jesus spoke to His disciples, a day would come when that Light would be revealed to the world, but it was not yet time.

Also, the Bible tells us that Jesus is the Head of the Church. He started it, He designed it, He bought it with His own blood on the Cross, and so He owns it. Because He owns it, He guides it, He controls it, and he establishes its purpose. And, in addition to all that, He helps it accomplish the purpose which He set out for it. Because He created it, and He owns it, and He guided it, Jesus is the Governor of the church.

People who should know better say that Baptist churches are “independent.” Many of them are, to be honest, but that is not what our doctrines say that we are. Baptist churches are self-governing to be sure, but under the Lordship of Christ. Baptist churches are not empowered to do whatever the membership feels like doing, instead, Baptist churches are empowered to do what the leadership of our Lord and Savior wants us to do. 

The Word also tells us that Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:22 reminds us that,

According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Although Peter didn’t understand it, only one perfect and permanent sacrifice for human sins exists, and He is Jesus. Jesus was willing to humble Himself in a way that is beyond human comprehension, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5 and following,

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

One last thing that this passage tells us about Jesus is that He was focused on fulfilling His Father’s priorities. Jesus was unwilling to allow anything, or anyone, to prevent Him from being obedient to His Father, or to prevent Him from accomplishing God’s will in His life. He was even willing to rebuke the very first person who recognized who Jesus was, Peter, but who also didn’t fully understand what Jesus had to do.

So, we have seen who the people said Jesus is, as well as who the disciples say He is, and even who the Bible says that He is. One group of people remains, however, who need to be asked that all important question. Let’s read Matthew 16:24 and following:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Who Do We Say That Jesus Is?

So, who is Jesus to us? We have seen the people in the time of Jesus got the answer wrong. We also have seen Peter get the answer right, before he got it wrong. What about us? Who do we say Jesus is? Our answer may depend on where we are looking for victory in our lives.

• If we have health problems, Jesus is the Great Physician.
• If we have emotional problems, Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor.
• If we have faith problems, Jesus is the Everlasting Father.
• If we have relationship problems, Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
• If we have obedience problems, Jesus is the Lord of Lords.
• If we have spiritual problems, Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
• If we have vision problems, Jesus is the Light of the World.

The real issue is not who Jesus is, but what are we willing for Jesus to do in us? Are we willing for Him to change our hearts?  Are we willing for Him to change our attitudes? Are we willing for Him to change our actions? Are we willing for Him to change our priorities? It does no good to have a light and not turn it on when the Sun goes down!

Another question to ask is what are we willing to do so that Jesus can act in our lives? Are we willing to confess Him to the world? Are we willing to obey Him? Are we willing to worship Him? Are we willing to give Him control? Are we willing to engage Him in prayer?  When the power is restored after an outage, what do we do? We take it for granted again. We must not do this with the Light of the World!

Conclusion:

An old saying is, “A promise kept is a trust fulfilled.” Jesus was the Promised Light, and God fulfilled the promise He’d made with humanity to send us a Messiah, the Savior of the World. God has not changed, and He will not change. He is just as trustworthy today as He was when Jesus came. 

Trust God’s promises. He will never fail us!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt