RA Post: Disability Status

Well, my disability went through in one month and two days. It's a hard thing for me to have even applied for it, because it is admitting how bad I am. And it is proof that the medical professionals I see and the disability review board of the government see me as in poor shape. Technically the doctors do not really make a statement on how they think I am, but just have on record what code I still am. 
It was terribly writing down what I cannot do that I did do all but three years ago. I knew I was bad off, but I did not realize how bad off I really was. The fact that I rarely drive myself anywhere, even more rarely go anywhere at night because I am just too tired and likely to feel sick. The amount of things I do differently so that it is easier to manage. 
 I still want this to go away. I wrote on my application of how I try to make it to my volunteer job---and while I talked to the team twice on the phone, they never asked anything about that job. It is a hard thing to admit how much help I need now. Even if I am now a little better, I still need so much help. Probably more, now, since my eyes bother me. 
Well, just keeping you in the loop, any who read my blog. Hope you and yours have a merry Christmas and numerous blessings throughout the next year.

John 1.35-42

³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter^[g]). John 1

It is perhaps important to discuss that, earlier in this book, the verb usage of the crowds of people and the people from the priests coming to John meant that they kept coming; coming and leaving and returning. And that this journey was not an easy one--a rocky terrain that had its ups and downs both coming and going.  (Mack)

John knew that he would lessen, his job was winding down as Jesus' job was taking off. He needed the people to turn and see Christ, not continue to see him. Think, if you will, of Paul writing to the Corinthians, thanking God that he had not baptized but a few men. The people were arguing of who they followed, who, as a teacher, was more right---when in all honesty none is "right" enough, good enough, or perfect enough but the one true Teacher, our Christ. 

2What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^b ”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1 Cor 1 NIV

John's work would be defeated if the people continued to follow him, insisting that he was the teacher they expected. In fact, in Acts 19, Paul comes across some followers of John the Baptist who had not heard the Holy Spirit and were still going on what John had taught them but we're pleased to hear and receive the Spirit.

John, therefore, pointed out to his followers the Lamb of God. If John, whom they had known for at least some time, pointed out this man, a certain amount of curiosity had to be raised. Who was this man, that John said such thing of him? And, if John's loyal followers shift their attention over to another Man, this will bring attention (I assume) to the Man in question by the people coming and going from the river to hear John. After all, how fast does gossip, true or false, take to wander about a group of people to reach further and further circles? Especially of such a grand idea as a possible Messiah!

So off they go, to speak to this man. They honor Him with the name "rabbi", teacher---  "it was a word meaning "great one" or "my master" which was applied to many kinds of people in everyday speech... a measure of their great respect for him as a person and as a teacher and not just a reference to the activity of teaching he was engaged in." Any "advanced" teacher, such as Christ,  or John, would attract many disciples who were desperate to learn, as became more and more prevalent as teaching took off. ( Vander Laan )

Jesus asks what these men want, and they ask where He is staying---and HE INVITES them to go along. This, as I have learned, is a bigger deal than I have ever been told. Anyone might ask someone to coffee that they are enjoying speaking to. Some might invite new people to their home after church.This is no let's go have coffee sort of question as we will find out.

Asking where Christ was staying has a deeper meaning than we might think: "In the Jewish world, this question was the means by which a talmid [disciple] would submit himself to the teaching of a rabbi. If the rabbi essentially said it was none of his concern, then that person would be rejected as a talmid. But the opposite was also true. If the rabbi said, “Come and see,” that person would be accepted as his talmid." ( Mack )  As our story progresses we will also find the usual trait if Christ that He asks the followers to follow Him. Most rabbis had want-to-be students following them about to see if the teacher might accept them. Children applied to become disciples of rabbis of good standing. Few rabbis ever asked random people they passed by to become followers. (Vander Laan):

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Luke 5 NIV

  

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” John 1 NIV

Rabbis of any repute had disciples under them constantly. It was said by Jewish teachings " 'Let your house be a meeting place for the rabbis, and cover yourself in the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily (Pirke Avot 1:4)'. The best talmidim [disciples] (plural) were the ones who stayed so close to their rabbi that they could take in every detail of their mentorship. That should be a fresh challenge today as we consider the call of Yeshua upon our lives."(Mack ) 
Further, the disciple was a "mirror" of the teacher, and as such, the teacher was a "mirror" of the disciple---puts a new perspective on if we act poorly, we reflect poorly on our Lord, though He Himself never acts poorly:

“The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord.” Matt 10.24-25; .Moss

May the Lord help us to be like Him and to not reflect poorly on the One and Only God!

Another interesting point is that the disciple was to be able to represent his teacher in legal discussions, and the actions of the disciple were a reflection on the "family name" of the teacher, as they were considered a "household" with the rabbi. Disciples, lastly, were also students in whatever trade that the teacher was in, if he had a trade. Moss gives the example of a blacksmith rabbi who would then teach his followers to do as such.( Moss )

There could be a deeper learning by being with the Teacher at all times, seeing Him at nearly every moment of every day. Seeing a Man who was Perfection in and of Itself. Seeing a Man and how He knew the Word, teaching constantly of how the Word was, how to teach, how to minister, how to act. Seeing how He was with others spoke beyond measure to the disciples--of any teacher ever. He, who spoke to a Samaritan woman, a terribly shocking thing to do, and reached the town of people by this would have changed His disciples opinions and actions. John 4.1-42 ; Moss

Part of the teaching of a rabbi was to ensure that his students have the ideal opportunities to study and listen to him. ( Moss ). He also spoke seperately to the disciples to make certain that they understood what He had been saying. He allowed them to ask questions: 

 
 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. Matt 5 NIV

 10The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Matt 13

As we know, eventually, some people believed in Him, and some were merely entranced by the man who made miracles and puzzling statements. It was important for the closest followers to learn deeply, to then later, as we know they did, teach others the words He spoke. It was tremendously important for the different crowds to hear what Christ had to say also; we will look at teaching the crowds vs the disciples at a later entry--- 

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. (Mark 4). 

And, as a good rabbi does with His talmid (disciples), when they have become like Him, He sends them out to the world to find more who would imitate them, and thus imitate Him. ( Matt 10 NIV  ;  Vander Laan    )

After listening to Jesus all day, Andrew rushes off to find his brother, for who else might one run to with such news as the Messiah but to one's own family member?

 Upon their return to Christ's side, it seems that no names were ever even said, but that He who made all knew Peter by sight, studied him with an intent, piercing gaze which reads the heart, according to the Greek, ( Mack )--and renamed him. An interesting section from Barnes' Notes on the Bible states (BibleHub):
"Cephas - This is a Syriac word, meaning the same as the Greek word Peter, a stone. See the notes at Matthew 16:17. The stone, or rock, is a symbol of firmness and steadiness of character - a trait in Peter's character after the ascension of Jesus that was very remarkable. before the death of Jesus he was rash, headlong, variable; and it is one proof of the omniscience of Jesus that he saw that Peter "would" possess a character that would be expressed appropriately by the word "stone" or "rock.""

So calming, really, to consider that this was what Christ thought of Peter even though he would deny Christ three times before His death, followed with Christ's post-resurrection questioning three times  if he loved Christ, as I think, a solidifying of their relationship.   

 

RA Post: Caged

There are so many days, especially now, when winter, once a favorite season, brings me such terrible bone deep nausea, that I despair of life. I despair so much I do not see how I can possibly last another day. The days when I am so sick that I wait as long as possible to empty my bladder, for the movement from my three layer foam bed will make me so terribly sick that I feel as if the earth herself is sending her sickness at man's behavior out through me. Such terrible nausea with a horrendous dull ache at its center. Hopelessly trapped, now with an eye condition that forces me to doctors far and wide, not to mention frequently, makes me shudder at the idea of long, jarring car rides for a ten minute doctor visit. I feel as though I am a caged tiger, once free and as innocent as any other tiger, delighted finally in my life, when a trap sprung up. Now children are handed electric cattle prods to jeer at me in foreign languages for my wickedness all the while stabbing me relentlessly with the cattle prod. 
I so desperately want to be free of this. I want to be able to walk without regretting it. To drive a car without getting somewhere and being too ill to stay and too ill to drive home. To be free of those who shun or criticize me for faking, all the while my heart breaks and slips away while they themselves torture me by buying some coffee, holding their child, going on vacations, throwing parties, doing anything that is living...while I sit alone day after day after day, waiting. Waiting until I can be tired enough to go to sleep and not be sick. Waiting until a good day comes, those tormenting tidbits of life dangled before me, when I can drive with ease, visit with ease, and then go home and cry because that day is gone, and I still do not live. 
And still I am forgotten. Or worse, criticized. I, who desired to further my education, to raise children and homeschool and do fun neat school things for them. To have art, crafts, and laughter with the devotion I would have had to them. To have a home mimicking my mother's, with cooking, baking, canning, and all the good comforts of a well run house such as she has done. To volunteer, teach my children to follow their strength in God. 
Instead I wait, waiting for the remission required that never comes and never has. Waiting for any healing. Waiting for the next symptom with dread. Waiting and waiting, feeling sands of time slipping away from me, wasted because of the dreams that die a little more each day. 
My education in God and the Word may be beginning to expand further than I ever imagined, with its own dreams for spreading that Word, but the despair I feel at times smothers me. Tonight is one of those nights, since I have been so nauseated the last several days, and for no apparent reason. Another dream is to be able to write a book, or an instrumental blog that changes people's lives, whether they, like me, walk through daily despair, or they merely want to learn. Knowledge of God is the truly useful knowledge. We fool ourselves into knowing about other things, telling ourselves it is important to know. Those things are broken mirrors, distorting God's person. Somehow, medicine, as fascinating as it is, is not useful. It is the study of death, really. The attempt to stop death. 
Yet death was stopped already. Sin is death, and Christ covered sin's price. We may still physically die that we might see what price we had covered, since we walk in paradise, not the alternative, much as we seem to live life sinning and seeing and mourning the fallout of one mispoken word. 
All our focuses on earth are as dull as that which I see day in and day out, with a variation of misery, some more, some less. It depends on what we want to grow in. The world? Or the truth?
Obviously i want a bit, or a lot, in both.

John 1.29-34

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One." John 1 NIV

The first thing I think of when I hear the term "Lamb of God" is a sacrifice, both the sacrifice of what Christ paid for us, but also the idea of the sacrificial lamb that Israel used throughout its history to cover the sins of the people. I also think of the skins that God covered Adam and Eve with at the Garden of Eden after they sinned which most scholars think were sheep. 
The Israelites would have of course thought of the sacrificial lamb and perhaps the Messiah, though most did not expect anything other than a great king who would take away the oppression of the Romans and bring Israel back to the people. 

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth. Is 53.7 NIV (Vear(

Then is the example of the Passover lamb Exodus 12(Vear)

Later, in Revelation, John refers to Christ as a lamb who looked as though it had been slain: 
⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth. Rev 5.6 NIV

So while the Jews had some (depending I am sure on the person) confusion about what the Messiah would do, John the Baptist had no such reservations. I always picture him shouting this with great excitement. John the Baptist then makes the same sort of statement that John had made in the opening portion of this passage. This man who would take away the sins of the world had been before him. Eric Vear p 101 points out that Christ would have been humanly six months younger than John, if you read the other Gospels---but what John the Baptist is speaking of is the eternal quality, the out-of-time quality that God Himself possesses.  Of course Christ was before him! He was, and is and is to come! John says that he did not know at first that Jesus was the Christ, as I have heard that it was likely that they knew each other, being related.
The other Gospels have John questioning Jesus as to if He is the one to come, and then knowing He is the One and baptizing Him---this is the following day, so by now he is certain by all God has shown him that this is the One and Only. BereanCall
The subject of baptism should be covered as well. This was used if a Gentile wanted to become one of the people of Israel, and was part of the procedure of denouncing all false gods and washing away the past life. It was also part of the Jewish life, and was used for various washing away of sins. Vipers, Mack Women, for example, were required to have a mikvah (translates to baptism) after each menstral cycle to wash away and be considered ceremonially clean again. The people took mikvahs for other sin washings, as well as to repent as for what John was having the people do. It was a realization of the sins and drifting away from God, a reaffirmation that oh, yes! I want to be God's child. Also, these immersions were done at the beginning of new ventures, such as a man becoming a priest; any new life change was preceded by an immersion to wash away old sins, old life and start anew, a rebirth. (Vear 88-89, TruthStands  Wedding)
 "The baptism was accompanied by confession. In any act of returning to ADONAI, confession must be made to three people. First, we must make a confession to ourselves.... Secondly, we must make confession to those whom we have wronged...Thirdly, we must make confession to ADONAI.... It is not the one who wants to meet the LORD on equal terms who discovers forgiveness, but the one who whispers through their tears: God have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:13b)."Mack
One last little discussion is the dove. Did the Spirit really descend as a dove? The Bible uses a lot of symbolism, as well as being real statements. It is interesting that "in the Jewish mindset of that day the Spirit would be connected with a dove." If the Spirit was in the actual symbol of a dove, it has meaning to us in that doves were always seen as loving, loyal creatures, full of gentleness. If it was "like a dove" as Jesus appeared in Revelation " a Lamb looking as if it had been slain", then the point is made just as clearly. One way or another, the Spirit made His very good and clear point---which is always the point. (Berean Call)
John was baptizing in water, something that was done over and over again apparently in most people's lives as they changed, drifted away and back to God. Christ's baptizing us with the Holy Spirit was a whole 'nother game. We went from constantly having to sacrifice for our sins to being covered for all the sins were have ever done and will ever do, as well as being given a constant Counselor, guide and, to me, policeman. Someone who nudges us more and more firmly if we attempt to continue to sin, Someone who points out to us what we ought to do for others, Someone to be there in the watches of the night as we cry out alone in fear of what life has in store. Really we went from one way of life to an incredible form of life that the Prophets of old had dreamed of seeing. And the people of Israel and Rome were witnessing the Man Himself walking on Earth, something the rest of us now dream of seeing once more.

Iritis Post: Another Flare Up

It is still difficult to use the computer (or read a book) much. The strain of the light against my aching, stabbing eyes is too much some days. I dim the computer as much as possible, and I read in dim lighting with sunglasses on. 
Had a flare up the other day---terrible. Imagine your eyes hurting so bad you don't sleep. Terrible. Terrible. I went and got a steroid pack to take on top of the drops. So at least it calmed down the RA and the iritis flare up. I will go see the eye specialist in Federal Way (2 hour drive) for her suggestion about if I need to change my RA drugs. 

John 1.15-28

¹⁵ (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and^[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^[d]
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
²⁶ “I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. John 1 NIV

John 1.15-18 continues to reiterate the information that the last two posts have covered, that those who read or hear this cannot make any mistake as to what the writer means: Christ is God, full exclamation point. "stressing that the Messiah in the closest relationship with God the Father whom no one has ever seen (John 1:18a). Yet the multitudes that saw Yeshua saw ADONAI." further, we should consider the "verb [']has made Him known['], is translated recognized in Luke 24:35, where the two on the road to Emmaus recognized Yeshua when He broke bread with them. It means that Jesus has revealed God the Father to us in such a way that all can recognize Him." Mack Memra of God
 
The next section deals with the actions that the Jewish leaders would take in the event that anyone appeared who might be the Messiah. First, they watched and listened. They have already done so by this point. Then, they sent a delegation to question to person. Finally they made a decision, and either supported the person or reined them in to cease and desist if it was not the Christ (and the person was making statements of being the Christ). Vear p 99 , Mack Messiah Miracles
Vear points out that three times the men from the leaders ask for an answer as to who John the Baptist is, and that they are an official group sent from the Jewish leaders. (99) Vipers John denies being the Christ, and denies being Elijah, though he shares similarities with the prophet, and then denies being The Prophet.
John obviously (to us) was not the Christ, since, obviously (to us) Jesus is. However, the priests had to follow the rules of engagement, and this "John" had been stirring up the people--all the way up to Herod the king.In fact, the people were so stirred up that "Josephus mentioned that the number of people flocking to John were so numerous that Antipas, the ruler of Perea, worried that there might be a popular uprising"Mack  
  GotQuestions** follows through with the confusing part of John being Elijah but not being Elijah. 
If you will recall, Elijah was one of the two men taken from earth to be with God without having died first, the other being Enoch:
 
¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 2 Kings 2

  5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^a For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Heb 11

Logically, then, John the Baptist was not Elijah, but only like him. He did do much that Elijah had done: he was strong with God, he called an entire nation to repentance, and speaking against the king. He had prepared himself in the desert, had dressed and eaten as Elijah. It is also point worthy that Elijah, Moses and Jesus were altogether at the Transifguration---and the men who saw them had seen John the Baptist. GotQuestions, GotQuestions .John the Baptist
As to John's not being the Prophet, he very obviously is a prophet--more than that: "He was a priest by birth because he was the son of Zechariah, but he was called by ADONAI to be a prophet and a preacher" Mack However, the idea of The Prophet is more the idea of the direct mediator between God and man, such as what Moses provided. Of course, John could not be Moses, either, since he was seen at the Transfiguration as well, and this was to be another name for the Messiah. origens commentary

Yet Christ Himself said that John was the greatest of those born, since he was given the duty of clearing and readying the land to hear the voice of God ringing true throughout the byways.  
 

28I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7

 

John's answers to the questions were preparing the priests for the true Messiah--complete with quoting Isaiah's prophecy to them. Intriguing to me is the fact that he said there is one among you that you do not know. After studying the opening statements as I have, I have changed what I always thought that section meant. I had always thought it just meant that they did not know who Jesus was...and while that might also be the case, I think it means that they did not know who Jesus was. They would not understand and recognize, not all of them, nor the people listening, who He really was. They would not see Him as God because they did not know God---they would not or could not recognize Him as who He was.

 

John 1.5-14 deeper

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1 NIV


¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1 NIV

Eric Vear discusses the importance of John the Baptist in his article Life of Messiah. John was one of only three people in the Bible who were under a Nazarite vow from birth--the other two being Samson and Samuel. ( p 33  ) Most Nazarite vows were made by personal choice and for a set period of time, and meant a time to be set apart and consecrated to God. ( GotQuestions ) Basically, these three men are set apart and consecrated to God before they were even born.
Samson of course is well known for the "Samson and Delila" story. He led Israel for 20 years during a time that the Philistines were upon the people as "[a] special designation of heaven,...a Nazarite to God and a deliverer of Israel..(Biblegateway Henry)" This can be read about in Judges, Ch 13-16 (  NIV  ) 
Samuel was one of the most important prophets of the Old Testament. He led the people by God until the people demanded a human king like all the other nations. Samuel then found and anointed Saul. 1 Sm 9. 
Each born-Nazarene had a job to do, and John's is listed throughout the Luke 1 passage. He will bring back many of the people to God, in the spirit and power of Elijah (who was said to come before the Messiah). John was the bulldozer clearing a wide road before Christ, clearing the debris of wrong teaching and wrong faith by stirring up the people. There is a 400 year gap between the last book of the Old Testament and Christ. The same length of time as the Egyptian slavery...and I don't doubt that people were having issue with faith. There is issue now, as always, with the length of time since Christ was last seen and heard.  As our last discussion pointed out, who needs to be told a light has been turned on? One who is completely blind. 
Of some interest too, is that Nazarenes (people of Nazareth) were looked down upon, and jokes were said about them, much as there are the various jokes said today; Polish, Jewish, USA, all nations have jokes at the expense of others. If you recall, the people joked about Christ, saying "can anything good come from Nazareth?" (Vear p 71)
The next verses, 9-14, are a repetition of the opening verses. It is pointing out, yet again, that Christ came as a visible form of God, that He had created all about Him, yet creation did not, refused, to recognize Him as Christ.  
Even in books written without any Godly connection call "good" light, and evil "dark". Quite often the good people even wear light colored clothes, or happen to carry light colored weaponry. GotQuestions (*** ) points out that without physical light, our world would turn very bad very quickly. That, of course, is physical light. We are considering the light that makes us see truly. This is, of course, not done without a great deal of effort. We must rely on God to show us right behaviors and actions---but we must also, as we were told, test the spirits to see that they line up with the Word. 
I love how this section speaks on those who believe become children of God, dearly loved. 

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!2 Cor 5.17

Only God could make a new creation such as this, a divine creation. A creation now covered for all sins to the point that His Spirit can indwell us.