September 22, 2002
“I am the light of the world”
John 8:12
The Rev’d Quintin Morrow
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Fort Worth, Texas
www.st-andrew.com
The prologue to John’s Gospel begins with this staggering revelation:
In the beginning awas the Word, and the bWord was cwith God, and the Word was dGod. 2 eHe was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1-3).
The Word, of course, is Jesus Christ. And from these first 3 verses of John’s Gospel we learn that Jesus Christ has always been with God; that Jesus Christ is God; and that everything that exists in the cosmos owes its being to the creative agency of Jesus Christ.
We begin a 7-week series of messages this morning entitled “Meeting Your Maker: The 7 ‘I Am’ Sayings of Jesus.” 7 times in John’s Gospel, and 1 time in the Book of Revelation, Jesus reveals something important about His divine nature, His character, or His mission by declaring “I Am” something. And what follow these “I Am” sayings are adjectival nouns revealing something about the Savior. Jesus says in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.” In John 6:35 He says “I am the bread of life.” In John 15:1 He declares “I am the true vine.” In John 14:6 the Savior says “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In John 10:14 He proclaims “I am the good shepherd.” In John 11:25 Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life.” And in Revelation 22:13 the glorified redeemer says “I am the alpha and the omega.” It is my intention that this sermon series will better acquaint you with your matchless savior.
We begin this morning with our first “I Am” saying of this
series found in John 8:12:
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
The context for this revelation by Jesus is significant. John hints that Jesus probably declared Himself to be the light of the world during the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. This great Old Testament observance recalled the wandering of Israel in the desert before their occupation of the land of promise. The Mishnah tells us that at the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles a large menorah was lighted in the women’s court of the temple, and that the glow of this light could be seen throughout Jerusalem. Jesus more than likely pointed to that great light radiating from the temple mount and uttered, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
But before we can examine the latter part of the Lord’s declaration concerning Him being the light of the world, we must first look at the initial part of what Jesus says: “I Am.”
This beginning “I Am” was no idle conjugation of the first person single form of the verb “to be,” but was rather a staggering confession of His deity. Follow me closely here.
You recall that in Exodus chapter 2 Moses flees Egypt for the wilderness of Midian because he had slain an Egyptian who had been beating an Israelite. In Exodus chapter 3 Moses is puttering around the desert of Midian when he suddenly spies a burning bush. He approaches the bush that is burning but not being consumed and it speaks to him. The bush tells Moses to take of his shoes because he is on holy ground, and also tells him that he is the deliverer of the descendants of Abraham currently enslaved in Egypt; so that he must go and present himself before pharaoh and demand that the king emancipate all of his Israelite slaves—immediately. Moses, being no idiot, asks the next logical question: When asked, whom shall I say is sending me? Exodus 3:13-15:
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, y‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is zMy name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
God was revealing His covenantal name to Moses. And this name was so sacred by Jesus’ time that pious Jews restricted the utterance of it to the high priest, once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, lest they be guilty of violating the 3rd commandment of taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Fast forward to John chapter 8. Jesus is in another of what would turn out to be a running battle between Himself and the religious establishment of Israel. The Pharisees and scribes accuse Jesus of being an ethnic half-breed and demon possessed. The Lord responds by revealing Himself to be a rather intimate friend of the patriarch Abraham. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad,” Jesus says in verse 56. This is too much for the religionists. “Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?’” Jesus says, verse 58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Jesus was claiming God’s personal, covenantal name for Himself. He was, in fact, claiming to be God. And if you think for one moment that the Lord’s intent was lost on His opponents, you need look no further than the last verse of John chapter 8—verse 59: “Then they took up stones to throw at Him.” The religious crowd knew what Jesus was claiming for Himself, and the punishment for blasphemy in the Law of Moses was death by stoning.
A chapter and a half later, in John chapter 10, the Jews once more pick up rocks to stone Jesus. He asks them in verse 32 for which of His good works do they want to stone Him? They answer, verse 33:
The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
You recall the charge for which Jesus was convicted by the Jewish Sanhedrin and handed over to Pilate for crucifixion? It was blasphemy. Jesus’ declarations of “I Am” in John’s Gospel and in the Book of Revelation are nothing less than revelations of His deity.
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” What was Jesus communicating to us in this proclamation that He is the light of the world? The answers come when we recall what light does.
Firstly, light scatters darkness.
If you have ever been in a room or a cave or cavern totally devoid of light, you know how frightening darkness can be. Complete darkness is palpable, and it deters even the slightest movement.
In Scripture, darkness is often a metaphor for sin, death, sin’s consequence, and everything that is not of God. Conversely, light is often a metaphor for redemption, spiritual awakening, goodness, peace, and all that is of God. In John 3 Jesus says:
19 And this is the condemnation, tthat the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For ueveryone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been vdone in God.”
There seems to be a resurgence these days of an interest in paganism, witchcraft, and the like. Let me tell you that there is nothing new about the New Age. Let me tell you that it is darkness and oppression. And let me remind you that when missionaries brought the Gospel to the British Isles in the 6th century people fled paganism in droves and ran to Jesus because their former religion was darkness and the Lord was light. Light scatters darkness. Jesus is the light of this world and He vanquishes sin, spiritual blindness and oppression, death, hell, the grave, and spiritual bondage. You recall the great cry of Simeon when he saw the infant Jesus:
“Lord, bnow You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes chave seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
dA light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Secondly, light gives warmth.
Did you know that one small candle, properly reflected, can raise the temperature of an igloo from below freezing to over 45 degrees Fahrenheit? Light gives warmth.
In the Bible warmth is often equated with the comfort that God provides to the grieving, the rejected, and the oppressed. In Isaiah 60 God says,
“The esun 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 fyour God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.”
“Hear what comfortable words our Savior Christ saith unto all who truly turn to him.” “Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you,” Jesus says in Matthew 11:28. He is the God of all comfort. He will never leave you, never forsake you. He will give you the grace to endure trial, and triumph in adversity. You won’t find peace, redemption, or fulfillment in pills, pleasure, possessions, or position. You will only find it coming unto Him.
Thirdly, light gives direction.
How would we get anywhere without lighted signs, neon arrows, and traffic lights pointing the way? The psalmist declares in Psalm 119:105 that God’s Word is a lamp for our feet and light for our path. In John 12:35 Jesus declares:
“A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.”
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.”
We don’t find God, He finds us. We don’t seek for heaven, Jesus must find us. Without the light of the Gospel, and of the Gospel’s author, you will not know where you’ve been, where you’re going, or how you might get there. We are like the character Christian in the opening paragraphs of John Bunyan’s allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress: men and women clothed in rags, with the great burden of sin and guilt upon our backs. It isn’t until Evangelist points out the light of yonder wicket gate that we can see things aright. Jesus points the way—to the Father, always to the Father. He gives direction.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
But not only is Jesus He who scatters our darkness, gives us comfort, and gives us direction; following this light of the world has consequences for us as well.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
What happens to those who followeth Him?
Firstly, they shall never be lost. Believers, Jesus said, shall not walk in darkness. In John 10 Jesus declares Himself to be the good shepherd, and likens Himself to the door of the sheepfold. “If anyone enters by me,” He says in verse 9, “he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” Right before His crucifixion Jesus prays and tells the Father that He has not lost one soul that the Father had given Him, except Judas Iscariot, destined for perdition. Elsewhere the Lord assures us that no one can take us out of His hand.
Secondly, the believer shall have the light of life. In I John 1 the apostle John writes:
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
This light life is communion with the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit; it is fellowship with other believers; it is righteousness and peace; it is everlasting life; it is abundant life now; it is the complete remission of our sins.
Thirdly, the result of following the light of the world is being a light yourself. Jesus says in Matthew 5:
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (vv. 14-16).
That’s what it is all about: giving glory to God and living in such a manner that others will give glory to God. There is a difference between Jesus’ light and our light. If we are saved we are lights in the world, but Jesus is the light of the world. If we are believers we are light, but we are reflective light. He is the source of light.
A missionary in China once asked a native if he had ever heard the Gospel. “No,” he replied, “but I have seen it. I know a man who was the terror of the whole district. He was at times as fierce as a wild animal, and was also an opium smoker. When he accepted the Jesus’ religion, he became quite changed. Now he is meek, and is no longer wicked, and has given up opium smoking. I can see by that, that the Gospel and the service for Jesus are good.”
That’s being light.
Christ, whose glory fills the skies
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near,
Daystar, in my heart appear.
Visit then this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiance divine,
Scatter all ym unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.
AMEN.
