Darkness and Light

Matthew 12:38-41
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Have you ever been alone in the dark? Not just the darkness of your bedroom, but that type of darkness where you can’t even see your hand if it is right in front of your face? That type of darkness feels like the ink of a pen.  There’s something that feels unnatural about being in this type of darkness. Our society moves in the daylight. We were born for the light. So, when we find ourselves in the middle of an inky darkness, we often feel scared and disoriented.

This was the type of darkness that Jonah experienced in the belly of the whale. Can you imagine what Jonah was thinking while he sat there helplessly? The pressure of the depths of the sea bore down on him and since there was no sun or light, Jonah would not have been able to know just how long he was inside the whale. He didn’t have an iWatch to light up the time, but surely sat isolated and scared thinking he’d been inside for weeks! There’s no doubt Jonah didn’t sleep much, if any, which only compounded his disorientation. For three long days, Jonah sat isolated and alone in the dark…that is until after the third day when the whale spat Jonah back into the world of light.

While Christ’s descension into the grave would serve as a sign, its ultimate purpose was one of reconciliation. Christ voluntarily placed Himself in the dark depths of death so that we might dwell in the light. Jesus illustrates this idea in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.” Because Christ descended into the darkness on our behalf, we now have been given the light of life. We have been reconciled with God. All praise to God forever for this wonderful work of grace!

Now, as children of light, God calls us to walk similarly. “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Johnn 1:7) Christ has defeated the grave so that you might find victory over death. Now, as children of light, we have been called to walk in the light.

Can you think of a time when God led you through the darkness of life into the light? How did God remain faithful to you during that time?

What areas of darkness are you surrounded by in your day-to-day life? In what ways can you reflect the light into those areas?


Dear Lord, we praise you that you are a God of light. We praise you that you sent your Son to willingly experience the darkness of death so that we might be brought into the light with you. As we go about our days help us walk with you as you are in the light.