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Author's Bias | Interpretation: conservative
Shortly after the birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit inspires Simeon to reveal how Jesus fulfills several messianic passages of the
prophet Isaiah.
"According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence
of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel."
(Luke 2:26-32)
Jesus is the Light that will "open blind eyes" and bring salvation to the world
(Isa 42:6-7; 49:6;
52:10). The birth of Jesus reflects God's faithful commitment to His promised New
Covenant. And the means by which God vindicates His holy name (Ezek 36:22-25).
Visiting a synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:14-16) where He was known as the son of
Joseph of Nazareth, Jesus began His ministry in Galilee by asserting that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has
sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
Jesus proclaims that He is the Messiah, the One who redeems, and who reveals the truth. This imagery of the Light is used in both the
figurative and literal sense:
Figurative
Physical salvation: Jesus heals the blind, lame and sick to demonstrate that He is the Savior.
Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
(Matt 11:4-5)
Spiritual salvation: Teaching about the kingdom of God, Jesus reveals that He is the truth that frees one from the
consequences of one's sins.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life." (John 8:12)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
(John 3:16-17)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
(John 14:6)
Literal
Glorification salvation: At the end of human history when there is a New Earth, Jesus literally becomes the Light!
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and
its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
(Rev 21:23-24)
To learn more, see:
The Light
The Names Jesus Calls Himself
The Proper Name and Title of Jesus Christ Messiah
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