# 100 The Burning and Shining lamp

# 100 The Burning and Shining Lamp

Joh 5:31 "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 "There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 "You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 "Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.

 35 "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.”

The testimony of John was very important. He pointed the way to salvation. He did what all the great prophets did, he pointed to Jesus! The Law and the prophets testify of Jesus. John  was a “burning and shining lamp.” When he arrived on the scene, he stirred up hope once again in the hearts of the people who had not heard from a prophet in 400 years!

I have two cross references for this portion of John in my Bible that are worth pursuing. The first is  from  2Sa 21:17,  The men of King David said to him "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

David was the embodiment of hope, a lamp, for the people. John was like a lamp to Israel, a flicker of hope, a light that had been darkened for 400 years was now lit in his preaching as he prepared the way for the true Light of the world, Jesus.

The second reference is from  2Pe 1:91, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place”

John proclaimed, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!” That’s what a light does! It makes paths straight. You can see where you’re going if the way is lit. The Jews were willing for a time to rejoice in John’s light, after all, they had been living in darkness for 400 years! No wonder they rejoiced!

But alas, the rejoicing didn’t last long, for when light comes, it shows our need for change, and if we are not willing to change, it get’s a little uncomfortable. . Jesus said in  Joh 3:19 "the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Friend, the Light has come! His name is Jesus. Rejoice in Him! And when that Light gets a little uncomfortable, pressing in for personal change in your way of living, that’s the time to press in to the Light! Don’t flee back to the shadows, like a frightened scorpion. Don’t keep living in your sin as if it isn’t there! Press into Jesus. Let Him reveal your impurities and cleanse you from them. Let Him set you free!