Last week we began a seven week journey to get to know Jesus better through His own words. In particular we’re focusing on the seven “I am” sayings of Jesus that are recorded for us in John’s gospel account. As we discovered last week, with each of those seven sayings, Jesus is very clearly identifying Himself as God by using the same words - “I am” – to describe Himself that God the Father had used to identify Himself to Moses when He spoke from a burning bush in the wilderness several thousand years earlier. And, if you were with us during the “Connections” Bible study, you know that the people who heard Jesus speak those words had no doubt in their minds that He was claiming to be God. On at least one occasion they picked up stones to kill Him because they thought He was committing blasphemy by claiming to be God.
We began last week with Jesus describing Himself as the “bread of life.” As the bread of life, Jesus revealed that the essence of life is spiritual, not physical and that the answer to our spiritual hunger is to pursue a person – Jesus – rather than to seek a solution through some method or practice. We also found that in order to pursue Jesus, we must have the kind of belief that results in action and that we have to make Jesus our consistent spiritual diet, not just a single meal.
The second of Jesus’ seven claims is found in John 8. Let’s read that verse out loud together:
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.”
John 8:12 (ESV)
Unlike last week, where we needed to read the good part of a chapter to find all that Jesus said about being the bread of life, Jesus doesn’t go into a whole lot of detail here about what it means for Him to be the light of the world. But when we consider the surrounding context and some other relevant Scriptures, we can develop a fuller understanding.
About six months have passed since Jesus claim to be the bread of the life while he was ministering in Capernaum right before the Passover, which would have been in the spring. Jesus would have then gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, as required by the Old Testament regulations concerning the feasts. He then returned to Galilee and ministered there until the early fall when He returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles.
During this feast, the people lived in booths to commemorate how God had provided for His people as they sojourned in the wilderness for 40 years. During the Feast, four huge candelabras were placed in the Court of the Women in the Temple. Each night these lamps were lit to remind the people of the pillar of fire which had guided them in the wilderness. The light was so great that the entire city of Jerusalem was lit up by those lights.
We know from verse 20 in John 8 that Jesus spoke these words about being the light of the world in the treasury in the Temple. The Temple treasury was located in the Court of the Women and consisted of thirteen trumpet shaped treasure chests that were placed around the walls of the court. Each of those chests was used to make collections for some aspect of the operation of the temple, so only the most devoted Jews normally hung out there.
So on the last day of the Feast, as the people gathered in the Court of the Women, with the four massive candelabras in their midst, Jesus proclaims that He is not merely the light of Jerusalem; He is the light of the entire world.
With just seven words – I am the light of the world – Jesus reveals to His audience, and to us, much about who He is. We’ll look at just four of the most significant things we can learn about Jesus as the light of the world.
As the Light of the World, Jesus is:
We must keep in mind that Jesus’ audience that day would have understood what He was saying in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles and the huge lights in the Temple court which were a reminder of the pillar of fire that had guided them in the wilderness. So the first three aspects of who Jesus is are drawn directly from the nature and purpose of that pillar of fire:
• God’s Presence
The primary purpose of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night was to be a visible reminder to God’s people of His presence with them. We can see that very clearly the very first time we see this mentioned in the Bible:
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Exodus 13:21 (ESV)
It is clear here that it was God who went before the people. He is described as being “in” the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire.
In the opening words of his gospel account, John describes Jesus as the true light who came to earth in order to be present among His people:
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:9-14 (ESV)
Jesus, the true light, came into the world. He became flesh and dwelt among us. The word “dwelt” that John uses in verse 14 literally means “to pitch a tent”. It comes from the same root word that is translated “booth” or “tabernacle”. In other words, Jesus came to “tabernacle” with His people in bodily form here on earth. And as He did that, the people got to experience God’s presence in the flesh in their midst.
As good as that was, though, that particular operation of God’s presence was only temporary. Jesus was crucified, raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, so we can no longer experience His presence physically. But we actually get something much better.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…
Ephesians 3:14-17 (ESV)
Paul uses a different word for “dwell” here. It is a word that means “to take up permanent residence.” So for the one who has placed his or her faith in Jesus, he or she experiences the permanent presence of Jesus, the light of the world, in a spiritual sense.
• God’s Protection
This aspect of the pillar is seen when the Egyptian armies pursue the Israelites after they leave Egypt:
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Exodus 14:19-20 (ESV)
The pillar moved right between the Egyptian armies and the people of Israel and protected the Israelites by giving them light while the Egyptian armies were hindered by complete darkness.
Again, John alludes to this aspect of Jesus’ character in the opening words of his gospel account:
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5 (ESV)
Jesus entered into a world that is characterized by darkness. But as light, Jesus overcomes that darkness and those who choose to follow Him in faith are protected from the eternal consequences of that darkness.
Later in His ministry, Jesus spoke these comforting words to His followers:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV)
Because we live in a world full of darkness, we should expect that we are going to face times of tribulation. But we can have peace in the midst of that darkness, because Jesus, the light of the world, has overcome the darkness. And as a result of that, His followers can have confidence that they will not face the eternal consequence of everlasting darkness that those who have chosen not to follow Him will experience.
• God’s Path
This third function of the pillar is seen in the previous verse we looked at. Not only was God present in the pillar, but He also led His people on the path He had designed for them to follow:
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Exodus 13:21 (ESV)
When the Israelites left Egypt they had no idea where they were going. But God already had a plan for them and He led them along the path that He had chosen for them.
Some time after He had declared Himself to be the light of the world, Jesus expanded on this aspect of His character:
So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”…
John 12:35-36 (ESV)
How many of you have ever experienced total darkness? I think I’ve probably shared this with some of you before, but when I was a CPA one of my clients was a uranium mine and we had to go down into the mine one day to take inventory. The only light down in the mine came from the lights on our helmets.
So at one point the person who was leading us had us all turn our lights off and believe me that was total darkness like nothing I’d ever experienced before in my life. And it was impossible for us to have any idea where we were or where we were going.
Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things, I always went in the dark.” “Yes,” the hired man said wryly,” and look at what you got!”
Without Jesus, that is what our lives are like here on this earth. We live in the midst of total darkness and without the light of Jesus, we have no idea which path to follow and we’re going to make some bad decisions. We’re going to explore this idea in much more detail when we get to where Jesus said, “I am the way…”
The last aspect of Jesus’ character that is revealed by Jesus as the light of the world would have been clear to the people in His audience who were quite familiar with the Old testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah.
• God’s Promise
Isaiah is by far the most prolific prophet when it comes to prophecies concerning the Messiah. But there are two in particular that are most relevant to the words of Jesus:
I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
Isaiah 42:6 (ESV)
It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)
It is significant that Jesus claimed to be the light of the world - not just the light of Jerusalem or even just the light of the Jews. Although many of the Jews missed it, the prophecies of the Messiah, beginning with God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 and culminating with the final prophecies in Malachi, made it clear that when the Messiah came, He would be a savior for the entire world. Nowhere is that more clear than in these two prophecies of Isaiah.
And Jesus’ audience that day would have no doubt been familiar with those prophecies and would have understood immediately that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Messiah who would be the light for the entire world.
But just like we saw with Jesus as the bread of life, even though Jesus came to make that bread and His light available to all, not everyone accepts the gift that He offers and appropriates those aspects of Jesus into their lives.
So we need to spend our remaining time focusing on…
How to appropriate Jesus as the Light of the World
1. Believe in Him
We previously looked at the words of Jesus from John 12 when we discussed Jesus as God’s path. At the end of that passage, Jesus made it really clear what one must do if they want to appropriate that light and become sons of light:
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”…
John 12:36 (ESV)
With these words, Jesus implies that the opportunity to believe in the light and become sons of light won’t be available forever. If you’re here this morning and you’ve never committed your life to Jesus, then this is a crucial word of warning that you need to heed today.
In the Bible, we see several different ways in which the opportunity to believe and appropriate the light of Jesus into your life can come to an end.
One way is for you to continually reject Jesus to the point that your heart becomes so hardened that it is no longer possible to believe in Him:
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
Hebrews 3:7-11 (ESV)
The Israelites hardened their hearts to the point that they could no longer place their faith in God and they were relegated to wandering in the desert forty years and never did get to enter God’s rest. So toady if God’s Holy Spirit is drawing you to Him, please don’t reject Him and harden your heart any more.
The Bible is also clear that once we die a physical death here on earth, we don’t get another chance to appropriate the light of Jesus if we haven’t already done that.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)
We all die only once and none of us know when that will be. None of us is guaranteed even another moment of life here on this earth. And when we do die our eternal fate has already been decided once for all.
Please don’t be one of those people who put off a decision to commit your life to Jesus. I’ve seen people do that for all kinds of reasons.
Some think they need to become a better person first, but since the Bible is clear that we can never earn favor with God based on our good deeds, that certainly doesn’t make sense.
Some think they need to know more before they can make that decision, but Jesus never required complete understanding, just belief. All of us who have committed our lives to Jesus are still learning, and we will continue to learn. So you don’t have to know everything before you can believe in the light.
Whatever reason you have for putting off that decision, please don’t delay any longer because none of us ever know when it will be too late.
But just as we saw with the bread, belief alone is insufficient to completely appropriate the light of the world into our lives. There must also be some accompanying action.
2. Follow Him/Walk in the light
I’ve lumped these two concepts together because they are really just two different ways of expressing the same concept.
Remember what Jesus said to His audience that day there in the Court of the Women?
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
If we want to have the light of world, the light of life in our lives, then we must follow Jesus. And in this same discourse, Jesus explained to those who chose to believe in Him one of the key components of what it means to follow Him:
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
If we want to follow Jesus, then there is no substitute to abiding in His Word. That means that we have to be in the Bible on a consistent basis, not just reading for information, but desiring that God’s Word would bring transformation to our lives as we apply what we find there. And when we do that, we find that the truth of God’s Word actually brings freedom.
That is exactly the opposite of how the world who lives in darkness views the Bible. They think of the Bible as a big long list of don’ts that is intended to rob us of our freedom and our happiness. But because God’s Word is designed to help us obtain God’s very best for us, we find that instead it brings freedom and lasting joy.
John confirms this idea of following Jesus using a slightly different approach in his first epistle:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:5-7 (ESV)
Here John writes about walking in the light. In the New Testament, walking is frequently used to describe one’s lifestyle. So John is essentially saying the same thing Jesus said. If we want to live in the light then we must consistently live a lifestyle that is consistent with what God has revealed to us in His Word.
There is obviously a lot more to cover in this area than we have time for right now, so I want to invite you to stay for our “Connections” Bible study where we’ll have a chance to explore this in some more detail.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” What are you doing in your everyday life to make sure that you have the light of life?
