Sermon Discussion Questions:
1. Read John 8:12. What was the original setting in which Jesus said this? What additional meaning does that give?
2. What is the difference between Jesus saying "I will be the light of the world" or "I will lead you to the light of the world" and "I am the light of the world."?
3.
I am the light of the world
There are seven “I Am” statements in the gospel of John. This is the second one of them. The first was, “I am the bread of life.” Here, I am the light of the world. We know—and Jesus’ original audience is slowly catching on—what He is intending with each of these statements.
At the end of this conversation, Jesus will claim “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” As He says this, the people pick up stones to throw at Him. Why? Because the crowds realize that Jesus is claiming: He is claiming that He shares an identity with Yahweh, whose name is: I am (Ex 3:14).
And with each one of these “I Am” statements, Jesus is doing two things: (1) He is coloring in for us what God is like. He is like bread that satisfies your desires. He is like light who banishes darkness. He is like a shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. We all have fuzzy ideas of what God is like, but we need the corrective lenses of Jesus’ words here to clarify and sharpen our malformed image of what God is as an idea, to who He is as a person.
(2) The sharpest, clearest, most crystal-clear picture of what God is like is found in none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus is showing us that Yahweh, the invisible God who thundered from atop Sinai, is revealed in the crucified carpenter from Nazareth. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Want to know what God is like? Look to Christ.
And here Jesus pulls back the curtain for us once again to show us what He is like. He is like light.
12 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.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
- John 8:12-20
The Statement
“I am the Light of the World”
The Setting of the Feast of Booths
Jesus is continuing a discussion He began back in chapter seven with the crowds during the Feast of Booths. We saw two weeks ago how Jesus stood up on the “great day” of the feast and promised that if anyone believed in Him, out of their heart would flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). Here, Jesus stands up and says, “I am the light of the world!”
The Feast of Booths was a commemoration of Israel’s journey through the wilderness after the Exodus, a celebration of how God had provided for them and would continue to provide for them, as they journeyed to the truer and better Promised Land of the Messianic Age—the time when the Messiah would come and heal the world. They would dwell in makeshift tents to remind themselves that they were still pilgrims and sojourners, traveling like that Exodus generation long ago to their final home. They would pour out water before the Lord at the temple as a symbol of God’s provision of water from the Rock for that generation, looking forward to the day when living waters would pour out over the whole earth in renewal.
And they would celebrate with light. God led His people through the dark wilderness by a pillar of fire in the sky. This is the same pillar of fire that protected them, like a wall, when Pharaoh first came charging after them to kill them. And it is the same that guided them on their journey through the wilderness. This light in the sky was a sign of God’s presence, His protection, His guidance, His very warmth. And when God wanted them to stop moving and to camp for the night, the pillar of fire would descend upon the tabernacle—a kind of portable temple—and would remain, illuminating the camp until the Lord ascended in the cloud of fire again, leading Israel onward.
To celebrate this, to remember this, Jews in Jerusalem would light sixteen large torches in the courts of the Temple, and they would stay lit all night throughout the whole feast. One commentator explains:
“When they were lit at night (so the rabbis said), all Jerusalem was illumined. In a world that did not have public lighting after dusk, this light shining from Jerusalem’s yellow limestone walls must have been spectacular. Choirs of Levites would sing during the lighting while “men of piety and good works” danced in the streets, carrying torches and singing hymns.” (NIVAC, John)
And it is this setting, this place, that Jesus stands up and proclaims: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’…I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk n darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The Feast of Booths was a wonderful celebration, but it was above all else, an anticipation. Eventually, the week ends, and the lights and all night dancing, ceases. Darkness drops once again over Jerusalem. But Jesus is here to say: If you follow me, you’ll never have to walk in darkness. The feast doesn’t have to end because this feast is about me.
But notice, Jesus doesn’t just say, I am the light of Jerusalem, or I am the light of Israel. He says, I am the light of the world. Zechariah 14:7-9 foretold that when light and living waters came, the LORD would be the king, not over Israel, but over the whole earth! Which shows us the brilliance and scope of Jesus’ luminosity. He has not just come for the Jews, but for all people who are willing to follow Him.
Why light?
Why does God describe Himself as light? There is a constant connection in the Bible between God and light. Sometimes God is compared with light, sometimes He sends light, and sometimes He simply is light.
Earlier, at the very beginning of John’s gospel, our initial introduction to Jesus used this metaphor of light and life: “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). John 1:9 describes Jesus as “the true light.”
When God’s glory settles on the tabernacle or the temple, it radiates light because God is there. Think of what a comforting presence that must have been to God’s people? Wandering, unprotected in the desert wastes, open to marauders and angry armies and wild beasts—the warm glow of God’s presence would have served as quite the assurance.
When I was a kid, while on a camping trip with my grandparents, my grandpa asked me to take the garbage out. I loved the woods. But leaving the artificial light of the camper to wander through a dark forest to find a dumpster somewhere I knew not where, was just too much for my ten year old courage to muster. And my grandpa, slightly irritated, reminded me: “Son, there’s nothing out there in the dark that isn’t there in the day.” It was something that sounded true, but felt false. I tried to stamp down my fear, walk calmly like I wasn’t scared—because as soon as you let that mask of thin courage slip the tiniest bit, you lose it all together—as I meandered around the campsite in search of the garbage bin. I tried to reassure myself that I was encountering the same campsite I loved roaming and exploring in the daytime with no fear. There is nothing out here in the dark that isn’t here in the day, I don’t need to be afraid.
But, humming at the back of my ten-year-old mind is the unspoken rebuttal: You don’t know that. The world is a scary dangerous place, and when it is dark, bad things happen. You can’t see what is out there, what is lurking. Darkness represents not only our lack of knowledge, it also represents something sinister, something bad, something we fear. It isn’t for no reason that Jesus refers to His hour crucifixion as the hour of “darkness.” It isn’t without reason that as Jesus hangs on the tree, the very sun shuts off, and night descends in the middle of day. Dark is scary. Dark represents our looming fears.
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? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
- Ps 27:1-3
When Isaiah looks forward to the age of the New Creation, where all evil is vanquished and God resides with His people, here is how he describes it:
The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.
- Isa 60:19-20
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. - Rev 21:23-25
The Promise
“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
This remarkable gift of Jesus as light isn’t only for the far-off distant future. It is an experience and blessing you can have right now, in the midst of a dark and scary world. You can know that in whatever circumstance you are in, however dire, however bleak, however formidable and overwhelming, however black the dark night of the soul you are encountering: you can have light.
How do we know?
Because Jesus did not say: “I will give you what you think light is” He didn’t even say, “I will lead you to the light of the world.” He said: I am the Light of the World. We are not following Jesus in the dark to a place of Light—we are following the very Light itself. Your success at your career isn’t your light. Your marriage, your family, your physical health, your comfortable and easy calendar, your absence of tension and relational knots are not your light. Not even your own moral strength and absence of falling is your light. So, when you feel like your life slides off the edge of a cliff, when you collapse into utter darkness…we can say what Micah said so long ago:
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.
- Micah 7:8
And if the darkness of our current moment is coming from our own sins, we can continue with Micah:
I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.
- Mic 7:9
And we know that He has pled our cause by His finished work on the Cross. It is as if Jesus stands up before the Father and explains: Righteous Father, I know that Marc is a sorry mess of a sinner. His imperfect obedience, which is more half-hearted and paltry than he knows, are not sufficient to save him. And his sins, which are far worse and numerous than he is aware of, are sufficient to damn him. But He is mine. He has put his faith in me. And I will clothe him in my perfect obedience; I will swallow His sins and bear their judgement on the cross. He is mine, and I will never forsake him, because I love him. And the Father will say, Well done, Son; I love him as well.” And we will step into the Light, because we have stepped into Christ.
He is the light, He is the source of all your hope; it is in Him that we find the light of the life of men, and no amount darkness can overcome it! Not the prince of darkness, not the world of darkness, and not even the darkness that is in you.
Jesus died to attach Himself to you, forever! The Light of the World, the fountain of life and light, will never leave you, will never forsake you. So pick yourself up and follow Him! If you do, three things will change about you:
In the Bible, God’s presence revealed and described as light is connected with three main qualities: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
Truth
The main theme discussed in the whole of chapter eight in John’s gospel is the issue of truth. Jesus proclaims that He is the light of the world and then is accused of failing to tell the truth. Jesus proceeds to spend the next 40+ verses to defend Himself as being nothing but a truth-teller.
I counted it up, and the number of times Jesus refers to Himself as being one who speaks truth, not lies, in the rest of this chapter is twelve (vs. 14, 15, 17-18, 26, 31-32, 40, 44, 45, 46, 51, 55, 58). Not once does He again bring up His claim to be the light of the world. But that isn’t because He has abandoned the image. One of the main qualities of Jesus being the light of the world is that He always tells the truth; He is true—later, in John 14, Jesus will simply state: I am the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6).
If we follow Jesus, one of the ways that we will not walk in darkness but have the light of life is that we will live according to truth and we will tell the truth. Which means two things take center stage in our life: the Bible and honesty.
The Bible
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
- Ps 119:105 (cf. Prov 6:23)
The image is that we exist in what Paul calls “this present darkness” (Eph 6:12) over which the “prince of darkness,” the “father of all lies” presides. Darkness represents un-truth—ignorance, lies, illusions. But God’s Word burns brightly, shattering the deception of darkness—it corrects us, we submit to it, we receive its guidance as the Lord’s light to us. And when it stings, we know that is because our eyes have dilated in the dark, become accustomed to the fog and unreality of sin. So, when the lights click on, we may wince…but we do not close our eyes.
Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
- Ps 43:3
The Poet, W.H. Auden, wrote:
We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread Than climb the cross of the moment And let our illusions die.
That is not true of us!
Confession
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. - 1 John 1:6-10
Goodness
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” - John 3:19-21
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. - Eph 5:8-14
If you follow the light of the world, you will not walk in darkness. First, you will be honest.
And then, you will want to step out of the unfruitful deeds of darkness. You actually are going to enlist your energies, which were being plowed into sin. You're going to use those same energies now to undermine that.
You're going to expose to the rest of the world, here's how heinous this is. And as you confess and expose, the very acts of darkness are going to be changed and transformed. It's like you pull this fungus that's growing at the foundation of your house, you pull it out, and you just watch it wither and die before the sun.
Darkness numbs you, blinds you. I think maybe one of the worst effects of sin isn't the broken heart. It's the cold heart.
In fact, some of you, you've experienced that. You have a numb heart, and you remember the days when your heart did break over your sin, and you miss it.
I had a filling put in this week. So the dentist first give me this numbing gel, a topical one. But that is only to numb you for the shot which comes, which winds up numbing the whole half of your face, so they can drill into your tooth. And afterwards, my dentist warned me to be careful while I ate because you might wind up chewing your tongue off!
That's exactly what sin does. It numbs you so that it can numb you, and it can numb you, and it can numb you.
So eventually, you don't even know if you're hurting yourself. You don't know if you're hurting your spouse. You don't know if you're hurting your kids.
You don't know if you're hurting your church, because the nerve endings of your soul have been dead for a long time. And all you have is the memory of sorrow, the memory of conviction.
The gospel saves us right where we are as sinners in the dark. But the gospel does not leave us there, friends. And right now, if you are walking in the dark, you are continuing to numb your soul.
I'm just here to plead with you. Walk into the light. Walk into the light.
You may be destroying your life, and you can't even see it because you've gotten so dead.
The light brings truth. We live according to the truth, and we speak the truth. The light also brings goodness in us.
Beauty
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
- Ps 27:4
