I Am The Light Of The World.
Jesus once said “I am the Light of the World.” Ray continues the I AM series by examining the meaning of the phrase, and its relevance for us today.
The Chinese Lantern Festival
My wife and I lived and taught English in China for a few years. During that time, we always enjoyed Chinese New Year, and the Lantern Festival, which came at the end of the New Year festivities. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,
The Lantern Festival aims to promote reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness.
– which are, of course, noble sentiments.
Jesus, the Light of the World
Each year during this much loved festival Chinese hang colorful lanterns, and parks are full of colourful light displays. Historical events and cultural highlights are played out in brilliant colours in the long, depressing nights. The lights brighten the darkened skies, giving a foretaste of the coming spring with its longer days.
When Jesus said “I am the Light of the World,” He was also participating in a festival – The Feast of Tabernacles. In chapter 7 of John we read that Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles. During this festival when the Jewish people commemorated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, they built temporary shelters or booths, symbolizing their time of wandering in the desert. In addition, large candelabras were lit around the temple walls. These lights reminded the people of the presence of the Lord in the pillar of fire that illuminated the desert darkness. The lights also pointed to the coming Messiah who would illuminate the world, prophesied by the famous prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9;2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
It was in this context that Jesus boldly proclaimed:
“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
With this statement He was connecting Himself to both the “Shekinah glory” in the pillar of fire and the promised Messiah. It was a bold statement to make in front of the religious leaders, who immediately challenged His right to make such claims. As usual, there were those who rejected Jesus claims, others who wanted to learn more, and those who chose to believe Him.
What is the Purpose of Light?
Jesus often references everyday life to help us understand deeper spiritual truths. To fully understand why Jesus would compare Himself to light, we need to consider its properties and capabilities.
- Light allows us to see. We are blessed to have the sun to light our days, and the moon and stars to partially illuminate our nights.
- Light provides us with warmth. The further away a planet is from the sun, the colder it is. However, our Creator God blessed us with a sun that is exactly the right distance from us.
- Light provides us with food. Nothing would grow without light. The process of photosynthesis allows plants to grow to provide us with nourishment.
Jesus is zeroing in on the first point. Light allows us to see clearly and without it we would stumble around in the darkness.
Light Guides Us
When I was a young man I visited a friend who had a cottage on a lake in the “cottage country” of Northern Ontario during a summer long weekend. However, there were too many of us to stay in the family cottage and so when night fell, another friend and I were told to sleep in the grandmother’s cottage which was situated on a slight hill in the trees behind the first cottage. We had seen it in the distance during the day but finding it at night became a problem. None of has had a flashlight to illuminate the path winding up to the cottage. In this remote area, on a moonless night, in total darkness, finding the cottage became a much more difficult prospect than during the daytime.
We set off up the hill and stayed on the path as we had been advised, because it would lead us directly to the grandmother’s cottage. However, it wasn’t very long before we could not tell if we were on the path or not. It was so dark I could not see my friend in front of me. In fact, I could barely even see my hand in front of my face! We stumbled around for much longer than we needed to, unsure if we were heading in the right direction and engaging in lots of nervous laughter. Eventually we could just about make out the shape of a cottage in front of us and felt our way around the walls until we could find the door. It was a huge relief to get inside and turn on the cottage lights.
Jesus Illuminates our Way
When Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the light of the world, He was promising to illuminate our path through life. Jesus has the authority and ability to bring the light of God into our very beings. By His Holy Spirit He can illuminate the darkness of our sinful minds, bringing truth, regeneration, growth and guidance.
That’s why in John 1:4 we read:
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
Jesus provides the spiritual light that we need to guide us safely through life, if we would but believe Him.
Jesus Proves He is the Light of the World.
To prove His point Jesus performs a miracle that we read about in John Chapter 9. He encounters a man who has been blind from birth. Jesus spits on the ground, makes some mud with His saliva, then puts it on the mans eyes, telling Him to go the Pool of Siloam to wash. The man is miraculously healed and able to see.
Reinforcing His previous statement, Jesus again says, this time in verse 5:
I am the light of the world.
A man who was in total darkness now finds his life completely transformed in but a moment. Although he had been blind for his entire life, he is now miraculously able to see. The Pharisees are enraged. They have already decided that Jesus is a sinner and that anyone who associates with Him will be thrown out of the synagogue. Their lack of belief is startling.
In contrast to the Pharisees, the former blind man sees Jesus in a different light. When he encounters Jesus outside the synagogue they engage in conversation. Jesus asks him if he believes that He is the Son of Man. The man answers emphatically, “Lord I believe” and worships Jesus, his Saviour.
Transformed by an Encounter with the Light of the World.
The miracle illustrated what can happen when we come to Jesus in faith and allow Him to shine His light into our world. Like the blind man, we will be instantly, and completely transformed. Our perception of Jesus will change. Our understanding of our role in life will be forever altered. We will have meaning and purpose in this life where there was none.
The Light of the World deserves our praise and worship and a life of service. Like Jesus, we are called to be lights for Him. As the Apostle Paul says:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. II Corinthians 4:6
Let the “Light of the World” bring life to your world and let His light shine out of your hearts.
What does it mean to you that Jesus is the Light of the World? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Ray Marshall
Ray Marshall was born in Scotland but emigrated to Canada in 1977 where he met his wife Kelly. In the 1990’s, Ray and Kelly served as missionaries in both Ireland and Ecuador, and after returning to Canada, they served as church planters in Belleville.
Between 2009 and 2014, Ray and Kelly spent several years teaching ESL in China. Ray currently works primarily for the Navigators of Canada as a community mentor, reaching out to international students; visiting scholars and professors; and immigrants.
He has also been providing Digital Media support for FBHInternational, and HopeStreamRadio since 2011.
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Images courtesy of:
Sunlight – Shad0wfall
Lantern Festival – moonykim
Path – fietzfotos
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