I Am The Light of The World

John 8:12–19 ESV

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.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 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. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 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. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 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.”

Jesus is making it pretty clear who He is. We just talked about how he is the bread of life. Through Him, we’ll never go hungry. We’ll never thirst.

Now He’s saying he is the light of the world...

We talk a lot about how we are a light to the world as Christians. Which is true, the Bible tells us that. But we have to go back to who makes that possible. And that’s Jesus. Without Him, we’re in darkness.

Jesus says in John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This is a huge claim! Jesus is saying “through me, the world can have light.” He’s comparing what actual light does to what He is doing. Light overcomes darkness, it dispells it. Jesus is coming in bringing light into a broken world wrapped in darkness.

This claim has big implications for the world as a whole. But it also has a personal impact. Jesus is holistically and individually impactful. That’s one of the things that’s special about Jesus. He has a global mission in mind. But He also cares so deeply for the person right next to him.

I heard this from a former pastor of mine:

He’s the opposite of a big celebrity in the room. Who demands all of the attention wherever he goes and says “here I am” when he enters. When Jesus walks into a room you don’t hear “here I am” you hear “there you are.”

He sees you. He knows you by name.

So when we look at this claim that Jesus makes “I am the light of the world.” It has a global impact, as He paves a way for every person to have an opportunity for a new life in Him, and this claim also has an individual impact.

1. He is both the light of the world for all and the light for one.

So what does he mean by saying “I am the light of the world.”?

He begins to shine truth and bring revelation. He’s telling us, I am the way to connect back to God. I am the truth in this life. I am the life that you need.

Over the course of about the 3 ½ years of ministry that Jesus has here on earth we see Him lay down some concrete teachings that we live by today. Not only does he teach, but he acts on the lessons he provides to the disciples and the crowds. We see the way he treats people, displaying that yes, everyone has value. You have instances where the disciples see kids as a distraction and try to shoo them away, but Jesus calls them in. Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman at a well, breaking boundaries that no prestigious Jew would cross.

And He displays that HE is the light! He goes around healing the blind and the lame. He even raises a guy from the dead, he does the impossible.

Jesus not only made these bold claims. He backed them up. Showing that He definitely is the Messiah that we desperately need. The ultimate evidence being that he died a gruesome death on the cross and resurrected. Defeating death.

But this statement doesn’t only have significance to who Jesus is and the salvation we gain from that.

In Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus first said “i am the light of the world.” So the light obviously comes from Him. He is the light. And now he’s passing this onto his disciples saying “now you’re the light of the world.”

We are His vessels, and through our vessel the light of Jesus shines where we go. A light that represents a good shepherd, a vine, the way, truth, and life.

He is love, He is peace, He is beginning and the end, He is grace. He calls you by name. And he chooses to use you as a messenger in this beautiful mission of saving and discipling lost souls destined for an eternity in hell.

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, sit back and ask yourself… “Am I actively being a light in this world? In my community? In my family? In my friend group?”

2. Am I an active light to this world?

Or am I just hiding under a basket, covering that light, doing my own thing in life. People should not have to wonder whether you’re a Christian or not if they know you. That should be clear as day.

When we don’t shine that light Jesus has passed onto us, we’re completely snuffing out the work God has for us. He gives us this beautiful opportunity to participate in His mission, and we then have a choice to be obedient to that call as Christians.

Do you reflect Christ in your actions, words, behavior… or do you look more like the world?

When you’re asked to introduce or describe yourself for the first time, what are the first things that you rattle off? Your job, hobbies, kids, family, sports team…

Why does it seem like sometimes we’re quicker to represent our favorite college football team than we are Christ?

Sometimes it seems we utilize the light of Christ inconsistently. We turn on that light once a week maybe by going to church, opening up the Word and hearing a nice message. And yeah we walk away with something. Cause you are still receiving the truth in those moments. But then, the rest of the week just sucks. It’s like we’re trying to do life in the darkness.

3. Without surrendering to the light of the world, Jesus, we are lost in complete darkness.

We’re lost and dead in our sin. And if we go to the grave denying Jesus, or being indifferent toward him (which is also denying him) we will be eternally separated from the Lord receiving eternal punishment.

And on top of that…

Jesus is the light of the world, and in accepting that, we also have to accept that the light exposes the darkness in our life. It makes us uncomfortable and uneasy at times, but moves us to surrender. We call that conviction, not guilt.

There’s a stark difference between the two. Guilt will keep where your at, or send you into a deeper hole, convincing you you’re worth nothing and you shouldn’t even try to come clean. So you stay in the darkness. Conviction of the Holy Spirit pushes us out of the darkness and into the light. Not only exposing our sin, but giving us the opportunity to surrender it to the Lord.

Invitation/Response

You might be sitting here tonight in darkness. Lost. Without Christ. You have an opportunity to make the best decision of your life. A decision that won’t ever fail you because of the God who is behind it.

And if you’re a follower of Christ in the room, don’t forget that you’re not immune to sin now. There’s probably some sin in your life that you’ve attempted to keep to hidden or you’re just unwilling to give up. God is calling you out of that.