Coming to the Great Light
Pastor Tan Thai · Dec 1, 2025
This sermon explores the true meaning of Christmas through Isaiah's prophecy of a great light that will dispel the darkness of sin. Jesus Christ is that light, but people often reject Him for two main reasons: fear of having their sins exposed, and pride in believing they can solve all their problems on their own.
The sermon begins by distinguishing between the romantic, poetic images we typically have of Christmas and the harsh reality presented in Scripture. Rather than a peaceful scene, Scripture shows us a child born in a stable, in manure and darkness. However, the prophet Isaiah, writing 700 years before Christ's birth, prophesied about a great light that would appear to dispel the shadow of death—the darkness of sin and human suffering. This light does not come from any human enterprise but from God, from a child who would be born.
The sermon continues by analyzing the darkness in which the people of Israel were living in Isaiah's time: a society full of calamity, sin, oppression by Assyria, but more importantly, the inner darkness of human sin. The people sought out spiritists, various political leaders, but these efforts only drove them deeper into darkness. The main reason people do not seek the great light is fear—fear that their sins will be exposed before the holy light of God. Since Adam and Eve, after sinning, humanity has fled from God because they knew they were naked and exposed. Today we hide this fear in more sophisticated ways: appearing knowledgeable, accumulating possessions, seeking fame and status, but the essence remains the same—fear of being exposed.
The sermon analyzes this fear more deeply through the reaction of the shepherds when an angel appears to them on the night of Christmas. Their fear is a natural response when confronted with God's light. However, the angel reassures them and announces good news: a Savior, the Lord, has been born. The shepherds, in their humility, decide to seek out and receive this light. Scripture tells us that this light came in humility, fitting for the lowliest in society, so as not to frighten those who receive it excessively.
The second reason people reject the great light is pride—the belief that they themselves can solve all the problems of life without needing God. The sermon points out that the reservoirs that people dig for themselves (work, wealth, status, relationships) all fail to hold water because they are cracked. Politicians promise to solve all social problems; scientists and philosophers believe that through reason and knowledge they can create a paradise on earth—this was the Enlightenment. Yet despite great material progress, humanity still lives in darkness: nuclear weapons, pandemic, crime, tyranny, and inequality. Scripture teaches that to come to God, we must recognize ourselves as sinful and in need of Jesus Christ—something that pride refuses to allow us to accept.
In conclusion, the sermon emphasizes that receiving this great light must be expressed through concrete action. Like the shepherds who decided to leave their flocks to find the child, we must willingly come to Jesus Christ, place our trust in Him, and commit to living in His light. Only those who receive Him are given the right to become children of God, those born again by God, not by human effort or desire.