The image of Jesus being the light of the world is a very powerful one. Those six small words are such a bold statement as to who Jesus is and of the promise that we have through Him.

Reading or listening to the news, it is not difficult to see the darkness that is in the world: poverty, fear, sin and injustice. Perhaps we even at times feel darkness in our own lives; times when we have been far from God and have messed up.

Jesus is life and light; a promise to all who believe in Him:

The people were fascinated by this character John. They recognised him as someone special. His message was quite clear: “Do not come here to be baptised if you are not showing by your life that you have turned to God and away from your sin”.

John was challenging the people to look at their lives and to think about what the Messiah was coming to do.

“We’re expecting the Messiah” - but what kind of Messiah? Why did so few recognise Him and why is it no different today?

As we approach Christmas, with all the excitement and anticipation that it brings, lists being ticked off, and gifts being bought, these verses truly identify the selfless gifts that Jesus gives to us.

Jesus gave His life for us, so that we would be saved from our sin and have eternal life.
    
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (v.11.)

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Bread has been the staple food of human life in almost every culture, since the dawn of agriculture. It is served at any meal of the day. Its central role in life is reflected in the root of words like company’ or ‘companion’ which literally translate as ‘one that breaks bread with you.’

So here we have it: everybody’s favourite kind of biblical text- a genealogy! If that prospect does not send you into a state of giddy excitement over your morning coffee, well, I am not sure what will.

In all seriousness however, these texts can be difficult, and oh so tempting to just skip over. That, I think, would be a mistake. To dive into the narrative, rushing on at full speed, would be to do the very opposite of what Luke wants his readers to do.

For the last 37 years this slogan has been used to remind us that dogs do not just disappear once Christmas is over.

“Immanuel: God with us”.

One of the few sentences that I remember from my days of learning German at school, is asking how best to get to the railway station. Asking for directions in a different language can be the easy part, as you are in control of the phrasing of the question. The difficulty arises when the person
you are speaking to then responds! While you know how to translate the question, you perhaps were not ready for an answer that was not in the text book, and confusion is created!

There are two inevitabilities in life. We are born into life and we will die. Here we have one of Jesus’s great ‘I am...’ statements. A declaration at a time of death.

Words full of emotion. Let us look at the context:

Mary and Martha are grieving the death of a brother. There is grief/frustration/emptiness/delay.  Jesus tells the disciples He is going to ‘wake him up’. There is confusion and misunderstanding. Lazarus is raised from the dead. There is amazement/disbelief/relief/anger and plotting.

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, a public announcement of their marriage had already been made. This could only be broken through death or divorce. The options that Joseph faced seemed bleak: either divorce or have her stoned. As Joseph was a righteous man he decided to divorce Mary quietly to avoid public disgrace to her and her family.

It is interesting that Jesus was found, not only in the Temple, but sitting as an equal among the teachers there. As well as being eager to learn, He shows great understanding and wisdom as the teachers ask questions of Him.