"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
John 12:46
“I am come.”
Jesus Christ came to this earth and changed the course of human history. In the Gospels, He gives several reasons why He came. In His coming, He shows His sovereign care for us.
Why did Jesus say He came to earth?
He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17).
He came to call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13).
He came to send a sword, not peace (Matthew 10:34).
He came to set a man at variance[1] with his father, and the daughter against her mother (Matthew 10:35).
He came to save the lost (Matthew 18:11).
He came to send fire on the earth (Luke 12:49).
He came to bring division to the people of earth (Luke 12:51).
He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).
He came to be received (John 5:43).
He came to honor the Father (John 7:28).
He came for judgment, so the blind could see, and the seeing be made blind (John 9:39).
He came to give abundant life (John 10:10).
He came to be a light in the world, to alleviate man’s darkness (John 12:46).
“A light into the world,”
Even as He came to give all men light so they would no longer walk in the darkness, most have rejected the Light.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
“That whosoever believeth on me.”
But for those who will believe, they are forever changed. Note, Jesus doesn’t say “whosoever works for me,” for salvation is not of works, but is believing in Him, His vicarious death, His burial, and His resurrection (Romans 10:9-10).
“Should not abide in darkness.”
Only Jesus can remove the sinner from the darkness, and the darkness from the sinner! The question is, have you met the Savior, the one who can open your blind eyes, and remove you from your darkness?
[1] The Greek word for variance means “to make apart” and the idea is to “alienate” the one from the other. See Wave Parallel Bible, Greek definitions.