The Sun Of Righteousness

My love of all things sunrise makes me wonder, why is Jesus referred to in the Bible as the Sun of Righteousness rather than the Son of Righteousness? How could Jesus be the sun?

What does this say about Jesus and what does this name mean for us?

The Bible is filled with wisdom to lead us safely through this journey we called life, the Bible exists for our benefit!
But we can’t know the best path to take if we don’t take a look at what it says. We need to read it to better understand ourselves and which direction we should take.

Every Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, and training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. 2 timothy 3:15

It may sound daunting but it’s not so hard to find out what the Bible says about life. There are several good Bible sites on the internet where you can ask questions about a topic to see what the Bible search reveals.

Anyone who knows me understands my love of sunrise. I’ve wondered what the Sun symbolize in the Bible, so I did a ‘sun’ word study.

The very planet we live in, the Earth, revolves around the sun and receives light and warmth from it. In the Christian Scripture, the sun symbolizes the following: … Earth’s sphere of action – Ecclesiastes 1:3, 9, 14. Beauty – Songs of Solomon 6:10. Christ and His glory – Malachi 4:2; Matthew 17:2; cf.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. Genesis 1:14

How could Jesus be the sun? What does this mean?

No matter how long I’ve been reading God’s Word, there’s always new revelations waiting for me if I stop what I’m doing, open up my Bible and begin to read.

One morning recently as I opened up to the book of Luke 1, I learned that Jesus is described as The Sunrise!

The sunrise?

I’ve never read that before, however, when I think of all that Jesus is, a sunrise perfectly describes Him!

In all my years of watching each new day dawn I’ve learned some things.
My most significant revelation is that the sun dawns in a slightly different place every morning, making sure that every corner of earth is at some stage covered with its light! just as Jesus goes to every corner of our world, making sure we are all close to Him!

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity.” Luke 1:78-79

The Sun of Righteousness Will Dawn -

But for you who fear My name [with awe-filled reverence], the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forward and leap [joyfully] like calves [released] from the stall. The coming of Jesus was prophesied long before His birth.

This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the loveable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. Matthew 5:43-47

Scriptures Which Suggest Jesus is the Sun -

There are numerous scriptures which suggest Jesus represents the sun. Remember in the old days light bulbs didn’t exist, the only true light was the Sun. When the sun went down it got dark. The best you could do back then was make a fire, light some candles, and wait for tomorrow when the sun would return.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.” (The “light of the world” is the Sun.)
John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (The “light of the world” is the Sun.)
Matthew 4:16 The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (The light is the Sun)
Matthew 17:2 His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
John 1:3-8 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (Without the Sun nothing would grow and we’d all be dead.) In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (The light is the Sun.) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (the Sun removes the darkness). There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He [John] came as a witness to testify concerning that light (the Sun), so that through him all men might believe. He [John] himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light (the Sun) that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
John 3:19-20 This is the verdict: Light (the Sun) has come into the world, but men loved darkness (night time) instead of light (the Sun) because their deeds were evil (criminals do their crimes at night). Everyone who does evil hates the light (the Sun), and will not come into the light (the Sun) for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
John 12:35-36 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light (the light is the Sun) just a little while longer (the Sun will set soon). Walk while you have the light (the light is the Sun), before darkness (night time) overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark (at night) does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light (the light is the Sun) while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them (i.e. the sun set, because Jesus is the Sun).
John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light (the Sun), so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
Ephesians 5:14 Christ (the Sun) will shine on you.
Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven (the celestial sphere above); from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (the Sun). (i.e. we should look upwards to the celestial sphere above to find our story.)
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Luke 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (i.e. the story is about the passage of the year.)

The Old Testament also talks about God as the Sun

Psalms 84:11 “the Lord God is a sun…”
Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire,” (the Sun is a consuming fire.)
Malachi 4:2 “the Sun of Righteousness…”

In Joshua 1:8, the Bible says:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

In 2 Timothy 2:15 the Bible tells us:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.