THE INDISPENSABLE LIGHT Of CHRIST (John 8:12-20)
Did you ever consider the fact that the Lord Jesus gave sermons? Much of what Jesus taught concerned the witness of Himself. One of the sermon series that Jesus preached is the “I AM” sayings of Jesus, which were emphatic self-declarations of deity and there would be no doubt in the hearer’s minds about the clarity of what Jesus said. They were emphatic declarations of the exclusive life and work of God through Himself, and could not possibly be statements about mere man.
In John 6:35 Jesus declared: “I am the Bread of Life”. Today we examine John 8:12-20 (NKJV). Listen to the Word of God:
“12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." 13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true." (The Pharisees are denying the deity of Christ to His face.)14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; (They are judging on the outward appearance, “face value”.) I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; (Jesus judges according to the heart of man, not the outward appearance.) for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." (There you have it. Two witnesses.) 19 Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." 20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour (to be crucified) had not yet come.”
The Prophetic Light
This scripture places Jesus’ words at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles after the Temple had been gloriously illuminated by gigantic candelabras for the first few nights of the celebration. These candelabras which stood within the court of the women were about 75 feet tall! Each candelabra had four branches, and at the top of every branch there was a large bowl. Four young men bearing 10 gallon pitchers of oil would climb ladders to fill the four golden bowls on each candelabra. And then the oil in those bowls was ignited.”
“Picture sixteen beautiful blazes leaping toward the sky from these golden lamps. Remember that the Temple was on a hill above the rest of the city, so the glorious glow was a sight for the entire city to see. In addition to the light, Levitical musicians played their harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets to make joyful music to the Lord. What a glorious celebration! The light was to remind the people of how God's Shekinah glory had once filled His Temple. But in the person of Jesus, God's glory was once again present in that Temple. And He used that celebration to announce that very fact. He was teaching in the court of women just after the Feast, perhaps standing right next to those magnificent candelabras when He declared to all who were gathered there, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). (“Finding Jesus in the Feast of Tabernacles”, by David Brickner)
This scene caused me to think about the great contrast between Light and darkness: the first contrast ever seen between Light and darkness is in Genesis 1 at the Creation: (Genesis 1:1-4) “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
There has always been a stark contrast between the illumination which light brings and the dismal existence of the deep void of darkness and formlessness. God “saw the light, that it was good”, but Light was sharply divided from the darkness.
God has always led people out of the darkness (a symbol of sin, bondage, and “being lost”) by His Light. The Prophetic statement by Jesus, “I AM the Light” was a description of the leading and protection of God by night. Many scriptures were read during the Feast of Tabernacles, and one of them would have pointed to the remembrance of how God led Israel in Exodus 13: 21: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”
“Light” in the Old Testament applied to the One True God, YHWH; Psalm 27:1 exclaimed: The Lord (God Almighty, the self-existent One) is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.” Jesus stands and declares: “I AM this light” but you won’t accept my testimony.
Psalm 36:9 is another fabulous verse: “For with thee is the fountain of life (the living Water) in thy light shall we see light.” Again in Psalm 44:3: “For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the Light of Your countenance, because You favored them.”
At the same time, the Light referred to the Word of God: Psalm 119:105 taught that: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” And Jesus stands and exclaims: “I AM THE LIGHT.”
The Light of God would be brought by the Messiah. Isaiah 9:2,6-7 says this: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom.”
Also in Isaiah 60: 19: “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 ties beautifully with Isaiah 60: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” This is an outstanding verse and very interesting because in the Old Testament, the word for “light” was used to describe the very countenance or face of God. Jesus, Son of God, the Incarnate Word, in human nature, comes into the darkness of our World and into the lives of individuals with the Gospel message and He shines the knowledge of the glory of God’s grace into our hearts. Jesus testifies clearly and indispensably by the Words of His mouth, His miracles, by His extravagant Death, miraculous resurrection and ascension that He is the Savior God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Following the Light of the World
So when Jesus declares, “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”, He is declaring that He is the promised Redeemer God. The words He uses, the signs and miracles He performed, the witness of those around Him, and the witness of Himself (which the hearers denied in verse 13 and which He reaffirms in verses 14-19) leave no doubt that He is the one referred to in the Old Testament and in John 1:4-5 where John wrote: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Most will not accept the evidence because they prefer their own darkness.
1 John 1:5 made the same affirmation; “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” How does this relate to following the Light of the World? It is clear that whoever follows Jesus is the one who receives the message and believes. It ties directly with the message of last week concerning whoever THIRSTS, COMES, and DRINKS; it relates also with Jesus’ declaration of being the Bread of Life in John 6:35. Accepting and following Jesus as the Light of the World means that you are totally committed to Him and that you will teach others all that He has taught you about His saving Grace.
It is what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 5:3-6 at the beginning of His ministry: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (One has to recognize their utter spiritual bankruptcy, hopelessness and lost-ness apart from God’s grace. When you come to God on His terms and He forgives and saves you, you are truly blessed. This “blessing” has nothing to do with worldly fortune. It is the state of being divinely blessed and bestowed by God to the faithful.)
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mourning over sin, godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation without regret. The comfort is that of forgiveness and salvation.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” ( Blessed meek are those who are controlled by the empowered Spirit of God. It is not weakness but gentleness as a gift from God.) 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”(Those who hunger and thirst for God and come and drink will certainly be filled with His Goodness and Spirit; no shortages of His Grace for those who come in faith, believing.”
The second part of verse 12 states that “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." The idea in the Greek is “He who follows will ABSOLUTELY NOT walk in darkness.” Darkness is the exact opposite of being illuminated by YHWH/God and His Messiah. “Walking in darkness” is rejecting Jesus as Savior God and as Lord. Only those who are illuminated by the Spirit of God and by the living Word will receive, believe and follow, denying themselves and taking up their cross in order to be disciples of the Lord Jesus. Whoever “follows will have the light of life”. In the words of Matthew 5, they will realize the self-denial which results in being abundantly blessed by God.
And so whoever follows will absolutely know the truth about why Jesus came, what He accomplished through His life and death, and they will believe every single thing which He claimed about Himself. This is only because God has revealed it to them by His Spirit and His Word; they have accepted and received the Truth about Him and have indeed accepted Him by faith alone and by grace alone. Jesus is that INDISPENSABLE LIGHT who shines into the darkness of a human life, and pours the life-giving water of His Spirit into us, which well spring up to eternal life. Without HIS LIGHT, you remain in darkness; that is why Jesus is the INDISPENSABLE Light: You cannot live without Him! He is absolutely necessary to have life.
Whoever follows Him is able to answer all of those “life questions” like “why am I here?” What is the meaning of life? Why do “bad things” happen if God is good? Where am I going after I die? Whoever follows knows that we were created and saved in Christ in order to bring glory to our Great and Glorious God. We weren’t created in order for us to enjoy our own little “kingdoms”; We were created to serve and bring glory to the Almighty God who brings His Light in our lives, so that we see who He truly is, and who we truly are.
Walking and living in darkness means certain eternal death; Matthew 25:30 warns: “And throw that worthless servant outside, into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Outer darkness is not a suburb of Heaven, it is the second death which is eternal punishment for the prince of darkness and all who reject total commitment to the Light.
But listen to the marvelous prayer of Colossians 1: 10-13 for those who have believed and followed the Light of the World: “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
I. “I AM” statements of Jesus are”
A. Emphatic self-declarations of deity.
B. Emphatic declarations of the exclusive life and work of God, not mere man.
II. The Prophetic statement: “I AM the Light.”
A. This Light would be seen as the leading and protection of God by night.(Ex. 13:21- 22)
B. This Light applied to the One True God, YHWH, and His Word. (Ps. 27:1, 44:3, 119:105, Ex. 1:4, Hab. 3:3-4, Zech 14)
C. This Light would be brought by the Messiah. (Is. 9:1-7, 49:6, 60:19-22)
III. “I AM the Light of the World.”(John 1:4-5, 1 John 1:5)
A. Whoever follows Jesus is the one who receives the message and believes. (Matthew 5:3-6)
B. Whoever follows will ABSOLUTELY NOT walk in darkness.
1. Darkness is the exact opposite of being illuminated by YHWH and His Messiah.
2. Whoever “follows will have the light of life”.
3. Whoever follows will know the truth about why Jesus came, what He accomplished, and believe what He claimed about Himself.
4. Whoever follows knows why they were created, the meaning of life, and the purpose of God for themselves.
