I Am the Light of the World
February 18, 2018

Scripture: John 8:12

I. Jesus as the light of the world brings you knowledge.

A. Jesus made His statement “I am the light of the world” right at the end of the Feast of Booths also known as the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37). At this particular feast, one of the traditions of the Jews was a festival of lights. Four great candelabras, each with four golden bowls filled with oil, were lit in the temple court. The bright light from these sixteen bowls illuminated the whole temple. Jesus said to the Jews, “I am the fulfillment of what the ritual of light symbolized. I am the reality of light which you rejoiced in when you celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles.”

B. John uses this imagery of light to describe Jesus 16 times in this gospel. John 1:9 says, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Jesus enlightens His followers. He brings us the knowledge of God and His ways. Before we know Jesus we are living in darkness. And to live in darkness is to live in a world of ignorance and folly. Psalm 82:5: “They have neither knowledge nor understanding,they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”

II. Jesus as the light of the world brings you eternal life.

A. After Jesus says in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world,” he adds two words at the end of the verse to describe what He produces as the light of the world. Jesus is the light of life. Jesus has the power to do what God does. As God He has the power to give people eternal life. John 1:3-4: “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Through Jesus all things were created. Jesus has then both the power of life and light within Him.

B. But Jesus not only has the power to create physical life and this physical world as the light of the world. He also has the power to make you spiritually alive and give you eternal life. Psalm 27:1: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Jesus came into the dark world with light and with saving life. If we trust that He is light, we can be saved from darkness and evil. And if we know that someone else is in darkness, we can pray that they see the light of Jesus.

III. Jesus as the light of the world is someone you need to follow.

A. When you are in a dark place and suddenly a light appears, what do you do? You follow that light wherever it leads. That is what Jesus says we should do in John 8:12. After calling himself the light of the world, Jesus says, “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We were made to follow the light. Are you following the light of Jesus? Or are you still walking in darkness. Some people say they are following their hearts. What does the Bible say about our hearts? Are our hearts without Jesus full of light or full of darkness? Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Our hearts are sick. They are not full of light without Christ. They are full of darkness. We need to follow Jesus if we want to be happy and holy.

Application:
Don’t just believe that Jesus is the light. Follow the light by trusting and obeying Him.

Sources:
The Gospel of John
Commentaries on John by D.A. Carson and Richard Phillips
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels