Advent: Light Has Come
Isaiah 8:22–9:7; Luke 2
Jesus is the Light who enters our darkness, heals what’s most damaged, and restores our hope.
Every December, there’s a moment that stops me in my tracks. I step outside into the cold night air, look up, and suddenly the sky is crystal clear, no haze, no fog, just a black canvas pierced with a billion stars. Some of the light we see is ancient, older than nations, older than the pyramids, still cutting through the darkness.
And every time I look up, I feel what Isaiah describes: the tension between the darkness around us and the hope God promises. Because the truth is, life gets dark. Headlines stay dark. Our own stories can drift into disappointment, unanswered prayers, loneliness, confusion, and the consequences of brokenness. Isaiah calls it “deep darkness.”
But woven into that darkness is a truth Christmas refuses to let us ignore:
Light breaks through.
And the Light has a name, Jesus.
Advent = When Our Need Meets God’s Rescue
This is why we celebrate Advent, this season where our deep need meets God’s rescuing grace. Advent slows us down, awakens our awe, and reminds us that the Savior who came is the Savior who is coming again. Scripture marks His arrival with one sign: Light breaking into darkness.
Think of Luke 2: shepherds in a cold, silent field when suddenly the glory of the Lord explodes into the night sky. Or the wise men, guided by a star across the desert. But this theme begins long before Bethlehem. Seven hundred years earlier, God gave His people a promise through Isaiah:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2)
Before the manger, before the angels, God’s people were living under oppression and spiritual drought, wondering, “Is God still going to keep His promises?” Into that world,
Isaiah speaks a word strong enough to cut through despair:
Nevertheless.
In spite of the darkness.
Against all odds.
Light is coming.
Jesus Enters the Darkness We Cannot Fix
Isaiah 8 ends with a devastating picture: people looking up and cursing God, then looking out and seeing only distress and gloom. Without God, humanity is trapped in a darkness that’s moral, emotional, spiritual, and eternal.
But Isaiah’s next words change everything:
“Nevertheless… there will be no more gloom.”
God Himself steps in.
Jesus Heals What’s Most Damaged
Isaiah names regions like Zebulun and Naphtali, places first crushed, most compromised, spiritually overlooked. And God says, “My light will rise there first.”
The forgotten places become the first places Jesus begins His ministry.
That’s how God works.
Where we feel small, unqualified, or overlooked, those are often the exact places where God plants His brightest light.
Jesus Restores Our Hope
Isaiah piles up a stunning list of what the Light brings:
This isn’t sentimental glow. In Scripture, light is God’s holy, saving presence. When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” He isn’t offering inspiration, He’s offering transformation.
The Light doesn’t just reveal our sin.
He removes it.
He enters the darkness and defeats it from within.
The Light Has Come, and Is Coming Again
The story ends with a world where there is no sun or moon because God Himself is the Light (Rev. 21). Until that day, we shine where He places us—for the good of our city and the glory of Jesus.
The Light has come.
And the Light is coming again.
Until then, we carry His flame into a world desperate to see Him.
Every December, there’s a moment that stops me in my tracks. I step outside into the cold night air, look up, and suddenly the sky is crystal clear, no haze, no fog, just a black canvas pierced with a billion stars. Some of the light we see is ancient, older than nations, older than the pyramids, still cutting through the darkness.
And every time I look up, I feel what Isaiah describes: the tension between the darkness around us and the hope God promises. Because the truth is, life gets dark. Headlines stay dark. Our own stories can drift into disappointment, unanswered prayers, loneliness, confusion, and the consequences of brokenness. Isaiah calls it “deep darkness.”
But woven into that darkness is a truth Christmas refuses to let us ignore:
Light breaks through.
And the Light has a name, Jesus.
Advent = When Our Need Meets God’s Rescue
This is why we celebrate Advent, this season where our deep need meets God’s rescuing grace. Advent slows us down, awakens our awe, and reminds us that the Savior who came is the Savior who is coming again. Scripture marks His arrival with one sign: Light breaking into darkness.
Think of Luke 2: shepherds in a cold, silent field when suddenly the glory of the Lord explodes into the night sky. Or the wise men, guided by a star across the desert. But this theme begins long before Bethlehem. Seven hundred years earlier, God gave His people a promise through Isaiah:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2)
Before the manger, before the angels, God’s people were living under oppression and spiritual drought, wondering, “Is God still going to keep His promises?” Into that world,
Isaiah speaks a word strong enough to cut through despair:
Nevertheless.
In spite of the darkness.
Against all odds.
Light is coming.
Jesus Enters the Darkness We Cannot Fix
Isaiah 8 ends with a devastating picture: people looking up and cursing God, then looking out and seeing only distress and gloom. Without God, humanity is trapped in a darkness that’s moral, emotional, spiritual, and eternal.
But Isaiah’s next words change everything:
“Nevertheless… there will be no more gloom.”
God Himself steps in.
Jesus Heals What’s Most Damaged
Isaiah names regions like Zebulun and Naphtali, places first crushed, most compromised, spiritually overlooked. And God says, “My light will rise there first.”
The forgotten places become the first places Jesus begins His ministry.
That’s how God works.
Where we feel small, unqualified, or overlooked, those are often the exact places where God plants His brightest light.
Jesus Restores Our Hope
Isaiah piles up a stunning list of what the Light brings:
- Joy: “You have increased its joy…”
- Victory: “As when dividing the spoil…”
- Freedom: “You have broken the yoke…”
- Peace: “Prince of Peace…”
- A King: “To us a child is born…”
- A Kingdom: “Of His peace there will be no end…”
This isn’t sentimental glow. In Scripture, light is God’s holy, saving presence. When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” He isn’t offering inspiration, He’s offering transformation.
The Light doesn’t just reveal our sin.
He removes it.
He enters the darkness and defeats it from within.
The Light Has Come, and Is Coming Again
The story ends with a world where there is no sun or moon because God Himself is the Light (Rev. 21). Until that day, we shine where He places us—for the good of our city and the glory of Jesus.
The Light has come.
And the Light is coming again.
Until then, we carry His flame into a world desperate to see Him.
Recent
Archive
2025
August
September
October
No Comments