I Am the Light of the World

Third Wednesday in Lent

February 20, 2008

John 8:12

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’"

If you were to create something, when nothing exists, what would you create, first? Is it mere coincidence that, when God set about creating, the very first thing He creates upon His brand new heavens and earth is light?

When He first created the heavens and the earth, darkness covered them. What good is something, if it is in the dark?

I remember, in high school Biology class, Mr. Peterson was teaching us about darkness and light. He said something that I had never realized. He said that, the darker it gets, not only can you see less, but color disappears. It was like a light went on in my head. The darker it gets, the less you can see, including fewer colors. Everything becomes shades of black, until it all fades to black. Yucky.

To fully appreciate everything that God created, one needs the light. In the dark, you can’t see a pretty flower or an ugly toad. In the dark, you can’t see a cloud with a cool shape or the clouds of a coming storm. In the dark, you can’t behold the face of the one you love.

Darkness is such a drawback that we use it to explain negative things. One, who doesn’t know what is going on, is said to be "in the dark," even in broad daylight. When we are experiencing the tough stuff of life, those are "dark days," even if they come at the height of summer. Only rarely is dark a good thing, like the tall, dark, and handsome man who won your heart with a chunk of dark chocolate.

Since darkness is so, well, dark, when God sets out to create this world, before He give shape to this new ground and sky, He sheds light upon it. Truly, what He sheds upon the world is His very being. As God’s Word teaches us, God is the light of life. We think of this Isaiah verse as referring to everlasting life—to spiritual things—but, it is truth for all things. Try to walk in pitch dark, without stubbing your toe. Try to grow a tomato with no illumination. Try find your car keys without flipping on the light switch.

Try to see the true God when you are stuck in the darkness of your sins.

Last week, we talked about Jesus’ little tete-a-tete with the Jews, in which He riled them by saying, "Before Abraham was, I Am." That conversation got them so infuriated with Jesus that they were intent on stoning Him to death, on the spot.

Well, in the same conversation, but several minutes before that part of the argument, Jesus flashed this little ray of sunshine upon the Jews’ dark demeanor toward Him: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’"

Now, remember what we said about I Am. This is the name, which God told Moses is His name. Since Jesus is God—God the Son, and existing, eternally, in the same manner as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit—Jesus applies this name to Himself.

Since I Am is God’s name, listen to our verse in a different way. Instead of, "I am the light of the world," hear it like this: "I Am . . . the light of the world."

Now, it sounds like Jesus is teaching us not one, but two things. First, He is teaching us who He is—that He is God—that He is the same God, who appeared to Moses from the burning bush—that He is yesterday, today, and forever, with no beginning and no ending. Second, He is telling us of one of His attributes, His characteristics, His qualities.

He is light. Since He is God, and God is light, and the world is bathed in light, that makes Jesus the Light of the World.

Jesus is the Light of the World in a physical manner, as light exists in this creation only because He turned on the light switch. And, Jesus is the Light of the World in a spiritual manner, as He is the light switch to all things.

So, the rest of His statement should not surprise us: "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

That takes us back to the conversation He was having with the Jews. You know, you’d think that, the way He was haranguing the Jews, it was going to get Him killed.

This discussion comes only a few minutes before last week’s conversation, in which Jesus accused the Jews as having Satan for a father. Let’s call this His warm-up act.

Jesus tells the Jews that, when He calls Himself the Light of the World, His word is valid, because He has His Father as a witness. The Jews ask Him who His Father is. If Satan is the Jews’ father, then it makes sense that Jesus replies, "You do not know me or my Father."

Now, wait just one Old-Testament-filled-with-Jewish-history minute. How could the Jews not know God the Father? It was God, Himself, who fathered them through hundreds of years of history, and dozens of tough situations.

Yeah, and what did the people of Israel do, living in the light of God’s love? They constantly turned to other religions; to false gods. They turned away from the God, who made all things, to gods which they made with their own two hands. They walked out of God’s earshot, to idols, who could not utter a word.

They exchanged light for darkness.

Because, by the time Jesus arrived on the scene, the Jews were now walking in darkness, they were so blind that they couldn’t even recognize the Light of God in the person of Jesus.

Instead of being delighted to see God’s Light, they were offended. Instead of being enlightened with wisdom and knowledge, the cement continued to harden on their unbelief.

This is where the whole world stood, because, in Adam, all come into this world in the darkness of sin. This is where you stood, before Jesus shined the light of His love upon you.

Now, be reminded of what it is to live in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

• "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"
• "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
• "My God turns my darkness into light."
• "He has made His light shine in our hearts."
• "Now you are light in the Lord."
• And, from the very end of the Bible, "They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And, they will reign for ever and ever."

There we are, right back at the beginning. The same God, who said, "Let there be light," will be the God under whose light you will dwell in Paradise, forever.

That Light is Jesus Christ, who was crucified in the darkest moment of history, bearing your sins, so that you would not be lost in darkness, but would walk in the light of His life. Into His light, you have been baptized, you are fed, you are forgiven.

I Am . . . the Light of the World. Amen.