John 1:9-10(9) The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
John speaks of the true Light which enlightens every man. The same Greek word (photizo) translated to enlighten is used elsewhere in the Bible to describe salvation, but it is also used in Hebrews (Hebrews 6:4) to describe people who tasted of the heavenly things but were not actually saved. I believe John is tieing this to verse 7 in which he describes Christ coming into the world to save all those that the Father had predestined.
Was coming indicates that John was speaking about something different from the birth of Jesus. Had John been referring to Jesus’ birth, he would have stated has come. It seems clear that John was referring to the earthly ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ in this particular reference to Jesus as the true light, not just the physical presence of Jesus on the Earth. This distinction is drawn for this passage only, since Jesus, in all forms and in all respects, is the true light.
Combined with the true light, the Greek word ho seems to be used as a defining or restrictive pronoun distinguishing Jesus from other self-proclaiming prophets of the day. Given the context of the sentence, that (vs. which) would have been a better English word in which to translate ho.
John 1:10(10) He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
The world in which the Lord walked is the same world that He Himself created. John reiterates the deity of Jesus as He walked and ministered on the earth. He does this not just to drive home the point, but truly as words of deserved worship and exaltation. John came from the perspective of a believer, a disciple, and of a close and intimate friend. We should learn from this and pattern our lives in the same fashion by taking every opportunity to proclaim the attributes, name, holiness, and deity of our Lord in our daily lives, even in our routine conversation and when making simple references to Him. The very first elements of what we refer to as The Lord’s Prayer are to proclaim His authority as the Father (creator) of all, and that His very name is holy. We should never let His name escape our lips without acknowledging His majesty in heaven and on Earth.
John reminds us that although Jesus became an actual part of the very creation He created, His creation, as a whole, did not recognize Him as the sovereign creator. We know that those the Father draws, and only those the Father draws, are given the particular grace to recognize Jesus as the creator and to know Jesus as our mighty redeemer.
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