◆“When the Glory of the Lord Appears” (Isaiah 60:1–2) June 15, 2025

What kind of time is it when the glory of the Lord appears?
And how does the Lord reveal His glory?
I would like for us to consider these questions together.

As I have said several times before, there are key “sign words” in the Bible.
“Behold,” and “But” are such words.

When God’s Word says “Behold,” it proclaims something wonderful that far surpasses our imagination—
it is a call to pay close and careful attention.
And “But” is a very strong word—
it means that the reality may be as it is, however…, what is said next is the complete opposite of what came before.
Do you notice that both “Behold” and “But” appear in this passage?

First, “Behold.”
Verse 2: “Behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples.”
This is the reality before our eyes.

And then it says “But.”
Yes, the current situation may indeed be so. But,
“the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.”
What unfolds is a completely different scene from what was previously seen.

From this passage, we can understand that if we look at reality as it is, we may become discouraged and find no hope.
However, it tells us that true hope is found right there.
God’s works always seem to happen this way.

In fact, the Bible opens with this very pattern.
Genesis 1:2–3 says,
“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
There was darkness—
and into that, light burst forth.
Powerfully and brightly, light pierced the darkness.
The Bible consistently tells us that this is how God works.

This was also true when Jesus came into history.
The hearts of the Jewish people were weary and broken.
They remembered their former glory—
the days of David and Solomon, when they had reached their zenith.
But that was a distant memory.

Their nation had been destroyed by Babylon.
Later, it seemed they might be restored by the Persian Empire—
but soon, they were under Roman rule.
Even a brief moment of liberation proved fleeting.
Now, they were suffering under the oppressive hand of Rome.
Perhaps never before had they longed for the coming of the Messiah more desperately.

And it was precisely in such a time that the Savior, the Messiah—Jesus Christ—came.
Light pierced into the darkness.

But the people did not recognize that Jesus was the light.
John tells us this in the first chapter of his Gospel, verses 9–11:
“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every person. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.”

Though the Savior had come, many rejected Him as unnecessary.
But, verse 12 says,
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

This same thing continues to happen throughout history, and even today.
Many people today feel as though they are in darkness.
They suffer economically or physically.
They are wounded by relationships.
They have no self-confidence—
they can’t find their worth or the meaning of life.
All of these are deep forms of darkness.

To such people, Jesus came as light.
He came to give us meaning in life,
to give us courage and strength,
to free us from sin and restore us to God.

As we read in the Gospel of John, Jesus is the true Light who came into the world to illuminate all people.
Regarding John the Baptist, who was sent by God to introduce Jesus, chapter 1 verse 7 says:
“He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.”

Jesus came so that people might know and receive Him as the Savior,
the one who bore our sins.
Yet, just as many in Israel rejected Him at that time,
the same thing happens today.

But at the same time, just like back then,
many are coming to know, believe, and receive Jesus.

And God has placed the church to bear this light of Jesus and shine it into the world.
The church is a gathering of people who, though forgiven, still carry the nature of sin.
It is imperfect.
There are many people in the world with better character than Christians.
And yet, God purifies the church through His Spirit,
uses it,
and has chosen it as a means to invite more people into salvation.

The church is given an incredible grace.
Ephesians 1:22–23 says,
“And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
And 3:21 declares,
“To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

The glory of God is meant to shine through the church into the darkness and into the lives of the suffering.

We, by ourselves, cannot do this.
But God has chosen the church—
though broken, ugly, and stained—
to reveal His glory through it.
Glory appears in the midst of darkness.

This is true in each of our lives as well.

Peter met the Lord in the deepest place of shame and self-loathing.
He had boasted he would follow Jesus no matter what.
But he denied Jesus three times—
saying he didn’t know Him,
had no connection to Him,
and even swore by God that he didn’t.

To this man, the risen Jesus spoke:
“Do you love Me?”

Peter was grieved after being asked three times.
Perhaps it was painful not just because Jesus asked three times,
but because Peter was reminded of how he had denied the Lord.

And right in that moment of darkness,
Jesus spoke light to him:
“Tend My sheep.”

Take care of your fellow believers.
Peter had a great mission.
He had a calling from God.

Jonah, too, saw God’s light in the darkness of anger.
He was sent to Nineveh—the capital of a nation that had oppressed his own.
He had to proclaim God’s message of repentance.
But deep down, he wanted revenge, not mercy.
However, the people of Nineveh repented.

In Jonah 4:1, he protests bitterly to God:
“Isn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? … For I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and One who relents of disaster. So now, Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

Such a dramatic outburst.
Jonah sat outside the city, hoping still to see its destruction.
The sun was scorching.

So God made a plant grow to give Jonah shade—
and Jonah was glad.
But then the plant withered.
The burning wind blew; the sun beat down.
Jonah again said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

God asked Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”
And Jonah replied, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.”

Then God said (v.10):
“You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

That’s where the Book of Jonah ends.

It doesn’t tell us how Jonah responded,
what he realized,
what light broke through his darkness.

We have to read it ourselves and reflect.

So how about you?

Perhaps I should end the message here,
but I want to say this:

The light that shone into Jonah’s heart was likely this—
that he was no different from the people of Nineveh.
He had judged them,
but God had every right to judge him too.
Yet, God—just as He said—had compassion on them.
And so He sent Jonah to urge them to repent and return.

Jonah came to know the righteousness and love of God—
that while he judged the Ninevites,
he himself needed judgment.
And still, God had mercy on both him and them,
loving them,
and sending light into their darkness.

Jonah was someone who saw light breaking into his own darkness.

So—where do we see God’s light?
Where do we come to know it?

It is not when we have become completely purified.
Because we can never be such a person.
It is not when everything is going well, smooth sailing.

Rather, it is when we are in darkness.
In the struggle of illness or financial hardship.
In the difficulty of relationships.
When we come to know our own weakness, darkness, and impurity.

That is when the light shines in,
and the glory of God appears—
when we come to know His righteousness and His love.

Sermon script modified based on proofreading and translation with ChatGPT.