Jesus' Messianic Claim - The Light

As far as most Christians know, the first Messianic promise in the Bible is Genesis 3:15 - speaking of the "Seed of the Woman" that was going to crush the head of the serpent. While this passage is a powerful prophecy of the Messiah and His redemptive work, it isn't considered by most orthodox Jews to be the first Scriptural reference to the Messiah.  That reference, they say, is found in third verse of Genesis.

The First Glimpse At The Messiah

Genesis 1:3 "The God said, 'Let there be light"; and there was light."

The Hebrew word for "light" is nehorah. For centuries, this word has been considered a hidden name of the Messiah in the Scriptures. It was taught among Rabbis that a brief glimpse can be seen of the Messiah - the promised One that would bring light to the world - in the very first thing God said in Scripture.

Granted, this was an act of physical creation. When God said "Light be!" - light was...physically illuminating the whole of creation. (Side note: Before God "divided" the light and darkness in verse 4, this light literally permeated every atom of creation! Before the end of the first day, God drew back the light to shine in a direction...but before that, there was no darkness!) But even though this light affected the physical world, it was not actually coming from a physical source.

It is an interesting realization that the sun was not created until day four! Where was this all-illuminating light coming from? It could not have been coming from a physical source...but a spiritual one. Perhaps, there's something to this Jewish tradition that says the light was a person.

Those Sitting In Darkness Have Seen A Great Light

Isaiah 9:1-2 "Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."

This was a well-known prophecy during Jesus day, speaking of the coming Messiah. Here, He is clearly called a light. Not just any light, though; He's called the "great light". Because this passage speaks of this great light shining among the Gentiles, Jews who read this began to refer to the coming Messiah as "the light of the world." Clearly, His light was going to affect more than just the land of Israel.

Somewhere around 30 AD, this prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

Matthew 4:13-16 "And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.'"

Jesus was born and raised in the city of Nazareth. But there came a point at the beginning of His ministry that He relocated. Jesus purchased a house in the city of Capernaum and moved there. This was done as a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 9...the Messiah moved to the exact region that was prophesied - Zebulun/Naphtali. The Light of the World now shone in the "region of the shadow of death". 

If anyone back then had been paying attention, they would've seen this. They would've realized the connection between Jesus' ministry and the promise of a Messiah dwelling in the region of Zebulun/Naphtali. As if that weren't enough, Jesus then began to clearly preach a Messianic message - "Repent, the Kingdom of God is here!"

Fast forward to John chapter 8.
Jesus, the great miracle-working prophet from Capernaum had come to Jerusalem. In a attempt to catch Him in a trap, the Jewish leaders brought an adulteress to Him and demanded a verdict. Their plan failed, and Jesus ended up humiliating them with their own Law and their own sin. Then, after He forgave and released the woman, Jesus made a bold and clear declaration for everyone to hear:

John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

What a powerful statement! Make no mistake about it, every one in His audience knew exactly what He was claiming here. Jesus told them directly, "You know that 'light' you're waiting for...the one who was going to shine out from Israel to the Gentiles? Well guess what...I am that light!"

Forever The Light

There's no doubt about it...the Bible clearly calls Jesus the Light of the World...making the bold claim that He is the Messiah.

In Luke 2:32, the priest Zechariah prophesied that his son (John) would prepare the way for the Messiah that was coming - Who would be the "Light to bring revelation to the Gentiles..."

John makes it as obvious as possible...Jesus is the Light that shines in the darkness. Take a look at what he says:

John 1:4-5 "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend."

John 1:9 "That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world."

John 9:5 "As long as I [Jesus] am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John 12:46 "I [Jesus] have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."

Even now, the Good news of what Jesus did for us is lighting up the world. Take a look at what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, "...whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ (the Messiah) Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah)."

Do you see it? The gospel of what the Messiah did for us while He was here on earth is still bringing light into the darkness! Ephesians 5:14 echoes this by saying, "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead and Christ (the Messiah) will give you light."

One day, we will see a world that is physically illuminated by this light. You see, the Messiah - Jesus - will forever be the Light of the world!

Revelation 21:23 "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."

For all of eternity, we will walk in the light of Jesus, the Messiah!

This is the first of Jesus Messianic claims. It was promised in the Old Covenant, and it is fulfilled for us in the New Covenant...Jesus is the Messiah, the Light of the World!