Exodus 12:42: "Jesus is our light in a midnight world”.

Jesus, the light in a midnight world.

In Exodus 10:21, God sends the Ninth Plague, commanding Moses to, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt." The plague of darkness lasted three days throughout all Egypt, except the people of Israel had light.

In Exodus 11:4-8, the tenth and final plague involved the death of all the firstborn in Egypt, slain by an angel of death. All the firstborn of both animals and humans, male and female, were killed. [Exodus 11:5] The tenth and final plague was to occur at night. “At midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die…”

The Israelites were to put the blood of the “Passover Lamb” on the doorframes as protection from the angel of death that passed through Egypt that night, killing the firstborn of both humans and animals. The Passover Lamb is our Jesus Christ today, who was our sacrifice of Himself for our sins on the Cross. He is the Passover Lamb, as 1 Corinthians 5:7 states: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

We turn to Exodus 12:42, which says, “It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.”

The exodus of Israel from Egypt took place at night—during the dead of night. Yet we see the Lord was the watchman over His people as they hurriedly left the land of Egypt. In John 10:14, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd, I know my own and my own know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…”               

The world is in darkness, and those in it are blind; it is the present spiritual condition of those in the world.  Satan causes blindness to the light of the Gospel.  2 Corinthians 4:4: "The god of this age[Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

We as Christians are not blind, yet we live in a plague of darkness of worldly unbelief in Jesus Christ, who is the ‘light of the world.” 

As Christians, we are not of the night (remember there was light with the Israelites), but we are told not to fall asleep or succumb to the darkness of sleep. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 says:

 "For you are the children of light, the children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us stay awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we might live in him. Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing."

John 8:12 "Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."