Your Light Will Shine
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5.16
Sermon for The Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt Olive, Illinois, February 8, 2026
Audio: https://open.spotify.com/episode/27vJxWkifSVQLU1mT0JtxL
Introduction
Dear Disciples of Jesus, on the first day of creation God created light. Light is the beginning of this world. Jesus told us that the problem of this world is that “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light… But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3.19-21). Everyone knows that light is important. It is important for life, and as the Bible says, it is important for goodness and holiness.
When we first moved up this way from the Metro-East, I noticed a charge on my electric bill for a large pole light - $12 a month! I thought, we don’t need that. I can save twelve dollars a month. I called the electric company to have that shut off. Right away we noticed how dark it was on our property. I had forgotten how nice it was in the city to have street lights everywhere. My family started to complain, so I called the electric company back, and told them to turn it back on. “I had been over-ruled.” The lady on the other end of the line just chuckled. Yet more important that physical light is spiritual light, and that is our theme for this week. Consider carefully what the Bible and what Jesus says about: 1. The Need of Spiritual Light, 2. The Source of Spiritual Light, and 3. The Shining of Spiritual Light in This World!
The Need for Spiritual Light
The Bible is very clear about this: Sin plunged the world into spiritual darkness. Isaiah said, “We look for light, but there is darkness!” (59.9). Paul warns us to “cast off the works of darkness… revelry and drunkenness… lewdness and lust… strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13.12-14). And John tells us, “He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2.11).
Not only is this the natural course of the world, the world tries to convince us that the darkness of sin and life without faith in God is normal. It creates false categories of truth, saying that we can be sure of some truths, those we can see like the temperature outside or the distance of a mile. But other truths, the truths which the darkness calls “religious,” are less certain. These are the reality of God and His laws against sin. The darkness goes even further, arguing there is no such thing as sin. It replaces sin with “problems” and “mistakes.” And, in many cases, these are not your fault. They are your parent’s fault or your neighbor’s fault, or your boss’ fault, or the government’s fault, or the church’s fault.” Isaiah warned: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5.20). When we look into our hearts and see that we have sinned, that we have lied, that we have had bad thoughts about others, that we didn’t do that good we should have done – we should recognize this as the darkness of sin.
In vain the world tries to overcome the darkness of sin with its own artificial lights. These “lights” would include things like better communication, better relationships, better education, better government. All of these things are good gifts from God or can be if used in the right way. However, none of them get to the root problem of the darkness of sin. Sin is spiritual, and it needs a spiritual cure. That is why going home, going to school, going to work are all good things. But going to church is the best thing in addition to all of these.
The Source for Spiritual Light
When I was a boy, I remember how certain businesses or cities would use giant search lights at night to attract attention. They would shine them up in the sky at night and move them around. You couldn’t help but see them and wonder, “Where are those coming from?” If you got in your car and drove around, you could usually find them. They might be coming from a car dealership that was running some kind of promotion, or a new movie premier, or a carnival. In Jesus’ time there was something similar. During the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem four giant menorahs were set up, each over fifty feet high. Young priests climbed ladders to fill the bowls with oil. They used old priestly garments for wicks. When they were lit, it was said that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up. Jesus came to one of those festivals, and it was there that He proclaimed “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8.12).
The only thing that overcomes the darkness of sin is the light of God. David said in Psalm 18.28 “For You will light by lamp.” Paul said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…” (Ephesians 5.8). Micah (7.8) said, “When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me.” Jesus is the true source of the spiritual light that brings us out of the darkness of sin. He is the “light of life.” You notice that in our church we have candles. They are carefully lit at the beginning of the service and carefully extinguished at the end of the service. Those candles are a symbol of this “light of life.” When they are lit, it means that we are gathered together to hear God’s word and to be enlightened by it. Jesus is the light in the sense that His truth and love come into the darkness of our hearts to forgive us, heal us, and cleanse us. He died for our sins so that our guilty feelings are banished. Our regrets are wiped away. Our fear is turned to courage. Our doubt is turned to faith. Our hate is turned to love. Our sadness is turned to joy. This is the light of life. This is Jesus.
Shining the Spiritual Light in the World
Now we come to our main teaching of Jesus for this week. In the Sermon on the Mount He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.16). This light is such a wonderful gift that it is impossible to keep it to ourselves. Once God lights us up in Jesus, the world will notice. A young college student was very worried about an important physics test that had to do with the deep, physical properties of light. He and his classmates were worried about this difficult test. The day of the test came, and they all worked feverishly to answer the questions. After it was over a group of students walked away from the science building. They were all pretty sad-faced and thought they might have done poorly. But one student was smiling. “What are you smiling about?” they asked. “Do you think you aced that test?” “No,” the student said, “I just know that there are other things more important than physics. I have the light of life in Jesus.” This is what Jesus means when He said, “Let your light shine.”
When you hear this command, don’t be afraid of it. There is a little translation challenge here. In the Greek language this is not a command to a person. It is a command about a person. Unfortunately, we just don’t have a way of saying this in our English language. Perhaps a better way to say it is: “Your light will shine.” Jesus isn’t telling you to do something that is difficult or something that you have to do by your own power. Remember this truth: Whatever God commands in the Bible, He gives us the power to do it. When we find ourselves in a situation in which we can shine the light of Jesus, we look to Him. He will make it happen. There are many ways this happens. Here are two examples:
A man decided to find out which mechanics in his town were honest. He was a retired mechanic himself. He would take a car with a problem that only needed a simple fix, and he would see what happened. Many of the mechanics told him his car needed serious repairs. But one mechanic was honest, it was as easy, inexpensive repair. The retired mechanic asked him why he was honest when many others were not. He told him, “Jesus told me ‘whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them’” (Matthew 7.12). Another example is a hairdresser who would pray every morning, “Whoever sits in my chair today, please let them see Jesus in me.” Eventually one of her customers asked her, “Why do I feel so good when I leave here? It’s not just my hair that gets fixed.” The hairdresser told her about the prayer, and it eventually led her customer to Jesus.
Conclusion
This week remember the need for Spiritual Light. Our sins are darkness. Remember Jesus is the Source of the Light of our salvation. Pray for God’s command to come true: “Your light will shine.” Amen.
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