For people living in darkness, Jesus is the Light! And light that produces life.
This “I am” statement was made in Jerusalem during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Huge lamps were lit outside the Temple to commemorate the pillar of light that guided the Israelites during their wilderness journey to the Promised Land. The glow of this light from the Temple could be seen throughout Jerusalem. And in the Holy Place of the Temple stood a Menorah, a sacred lamp-stand that represented the light and glory of God. Throughout Scripture, light is a symbol of the presence of God, guiding and guarding His people.
To claim to be the “light of the world” is an outrageous claim if Jesus were merely a human being. By claiming to be the light, Jesus was claiming to be God. We read in I John, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1:5). This imagery was understood as far back as the Burning Bush, Exodus 3. Right before this statement in John’s Gospel came two things: Jesus appeared at the Temple and spoke with such authority, that someone remarked, “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (7:46); followed by His forgiveness of a woman caught in adultery (8:1-11). There He exposed the conscience of hypocrites to the light. He flashed the light into their eyes and blinded them with its brilliance. Such are the prerogatives of deity. Scripture just doesn’t give us the option of regarding Jesus as a mere teacher.
By standing in front of the Temple, before the lights that represented the glory and presence of God, and then declaring, “I am the light of the world,” Jesus left no doubt in the minds of His hearers as to Who He claimed to be…and not a mere mortal, like the Jesus presented in a 2nd Century parchment fragment, where He allegedly claims to have a wife (and by the way, the “Bride of Christ” is the Church); this view of Jesus (that contradicts the New Testament) is easy to believe if you do deny the authority of Scripture and the deity of Christ.
At Jesus’ birth, light came to a darkened world. The prophet Isaiah writes of this: “Those who walk in darkness will see a great light that will shine in the land where death casts its shadow…for unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:2, 6). Isaiah also asks, “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of His servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on their God” (50:10). Jesus is clearly presenting Himself as Israel’s Messiah, and a light to the Gentiles.
What does that mean for today? Jesus can take our inner darkness and carry us from despair to hope. He can take our confusion and enlighten our minds, giving us wisdom and insight. He can transform even the darkness of death and give us the light of life.
Here’s our choice--we can walk blindly in spiritual darkness and sin, or receive Christ’s light. He shows us both the true nature of our iniquity and the path of forgiveness. We see, by God’s light, the severity of our sin and the Way of pardon.
Light is essential for life, yet we take it for granted. “In the beginning”, the Lord of Creation declared “Let there be light.” The world was made for this light. John opens his Gospel by declaring that Jesus was there in the beginning, and how His light illumines the world with truth. Sin has darkened God’s creation, but Jesus brings light.
In C.S. Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce, a group of people from Hell get a free bus trip to visit Heaven, and the first thing that strikes their senses is the light. From the dismal gloom of Hell, they encounter light, and many on the bus are not pleased at all. Jesus noted how people “love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19). They prefer the darkness.
Why is there such a huge interest in the Occult today? Go to Salem and on nearly every corner downtown is a New Age or Wiccan store. People are attracted to darkness; our fallen race shuns the light that exposes human depravity.
Every day we see people groping their way through life, without direction or purpose. They need light, but all they have is futility--because they’re journeying without God. There is a connection in verse 12 between light and life. By trusting Jesus we’re given new eyes to understand the Bible, and new life to live it every day. When we turn to the Light, life begins to make sense.
We all know people who are dismayed by world events, by all the evil in the world, and they just can’t understand why there is such a lack of peace and goodness. Christians don’t like what we see, but we are hardly surprised. We understand that we live in a sin-defiled, fallen, broken world that will not be healed till Jesus returns. Our worldview comes from the light of God.
John Piper states that, “Jesus being ‘the light of the world’ means that that one day this world will be filled with His light as the waters cover the sea, and all darkness, and all the works of darkness, and all the sons of darkness will be cast out. That's why Jesus called Hell “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). When He returns, all will be light. Jesus, the radiance of the Father, will fill the world, and everything will be beautiful with the light of Christ.”
Have you ever been in total, utter darkness? Years ago we visited Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Without the electric lights, the darkness would be palpable. I understand that they used to give visitors a sense of this, but it was too traumatic for many, so they stopped.
Jesus says in His Sermon on the Mount that His followers are lights to the world, Matthew 5:14-16. We reflect His light. We serve as light-bearers, poking holes in the darkness. In Romans 13 we’re told to combat the darkness with “the armor of light”. We are to maintain a visible presence of spiritual truth in a darkened world, a high-profile faith. Jesus urges in John 12:36, “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
Light causes growth. As we take in God’s truth, we mature spiritually. We need the light of Scripture just as plants need sunlight to grow. In chapter 1, John describes Jesus as the Word, and like the written word of God, He is “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Ps 119:105). As we encounter His light we begin to blossom with godly character. We gain strength to withstand the dark storms of life, and even our doubts. When we abide in the light, we respond to life with confidence.
The light of Christ offers us reassurance in an uncertain world. The One who made the blind to see also opens our eyes to His light. We have confidence that by following God’s light we will find our way and reach our destination. God promises to give us enough light for the next step, which is a great comfort, the kind of comfort you feel when you come home late at night and see a welcoming light in the window. Do you have that reassurance?
It may seem like you’re going through a dark tunnel, with no end in sight. Have you seen the light? Sometimes it feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is a freight train coming at us! God isn’t obligated to explain why life is dark, but He has a purpose for everything we face. We can live in His light which makes it far easier to find our way.
How do we respond to this “I AM” statement? When we receive God’s light, Jesus’ claim becomes for us a life-changing declaration. The Apostle Paul writes how God “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Jesus qualifies us for Heaven; by His sacrifice we’re made worthy and given a new way of seeing. So let’s shine to the utmost till Jesus takes us to live with Him in His indescribable light forever. Amen.
