I confess that it is very hard for me to get my head around the idea that Jesus is God. I believe it, but I don’t understand it.
Part of the reason is that being a man, I keep wanting to stuff my image of Jesus into the limitations of what I understand being a man to be all about. But because he is God, he draws on His knowledge of what heaven is like and what his Father is like. When he speaks, he speaks in human metaphors, but he is often talking about things no human has ever seen.
As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
John 9: 4-5
What does he mean that he is the “light of the world?” What does it mean that “night is coming?” What does he see and know that you and I cannot see and know?
Q: What do you think Jesus meant when he said that night is coming when no one can work?
A couple years ago I was preparing a message on Jesus’ deity.
Putting Hebrews 1:3 which tells us: ” The Son is radiant of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being ” together with John 10:30: ” I and my Father are one” , an interesting idea came to mind.
I took the book of Mark, did a search and replace for “Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, and “he” when in ref. to Jesus, etc. and replaced them with”God” and printed it out.
Made for a very strong reading emphasizing Jesus’ deity.
And after all, did He not tell Phillip in John 14:9 anyone who has seen me as seen the Father.”
Tad,
Thank you for joining us here! You make a great point: Technically “Jesus” and “God” are interchangeable. Thank you!
I think He means that we should make most of our time on earth. Night, death, is coming when no one can work. Ephesians 5: 14 – 21 comes to mind.
Rich,
Thank you! Life on earth, like breathing, is easy to take for granted. It is a very limited commodity!
I think the metaphor is a metaphor that makes the point that you need light to work. Jesus the light by which work can be done. I guess night would be when he is not present – perhaps the three days when he is in the grave? I try to focus on the main point of metaphors, allegories, and parables rather than trying to find a correlation for each symbol (unless Jesus gives a specific interpretation). : )
Much like exhortations to run the race, and fight the good fight; we are to act now.
I think it’s interesting how the God of all eternity would make statements of acting immediately. I assume it’s for our benefit.
Great discussion! I’ll throw my two cents in here as well. Let’s look at the two parts of what Jesus says. First:
“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. … While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus is still the light of the world. His light still shines. It will shine until the He returns and he calls his people to himself.
Then, “Night is coming, when no one can work..” might be a reference to the time of tribulation.