Light of the World

John 8:12-30

Walking in the Dark

The difficulty of navigating in the dark…

Once the lights go out even a familiar path can become dangerous when you cannot see it clearly. Darkness does not change reality. It simply hides it.

And that is what makes darkness so dangerous, not because it creates new problems, but because it prevents us from seeing what is already there.

In John 8, Jesus steps into that kind of darkness and makes a staggering declaration: “I am the light of the world.”

He is not offering improved eyesight. He is not giving better instructions for how to navigate life. He is claiming that He Himself is the only source of true sight, true truth, and true life.

The question is: Are you in the light, or are you still in darkness?

I Am the Light of the World

Out of context, this seems random. Context adds great meaning.

Part of the Feast of Booths. In the court of the treasury four great torches were set up, as high as the walls of the temple. On top were great bowls holding 65 liters of oil. Great flames would light up the entire temple complex and Jerusalem, which was atop Mt. Zion, so the light would be seen for miles around.

It was a celebration of God’s presence with Israel in the years of the exodus from Egypt, God leading them in the pillar of fire at night, and the cloud by day.

The Shekinah glory of God came between Israel and the armies of Egypt to protect them, then led them through the wilderness and provided for them.

Before those lamps were lit, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World!”

Jesus is saying, “I am that light, I am the God who saves!”

Some argue that Jesus never claimed to be God, but this is exactly what he does here. He is making the claim of divinity.

When Jesus says in verse 24, “Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” The Greek simply reads: “Unless you believe that I AM…”

This echoes God’s self-revelation in Exodus. In John 8:58 Jesus will make the connection unmistakable: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” “I am the one who protected you, guided you, provided for you. I enveloped the tabernacle with glory… I am the light you are looking for.”

This is why the Pharisees get so upset with Jesus; they understood His claim. So immediately they began to question:

His credentials: “You are testifying about yourself, the law requires two witnesses…”

Jesus said: “I bear witness, and it is true.” “The Father also bears witness:” in the mighty works Jesus had done, and in the voice from heaven at his baptism.

His heritage: “Who is your father?”

They were thinking of an earthly father, but Jesus was speaking of God. In reality, the Pharisees knew neither, so they wouldn’t accept either’s testimony.

His purpose: “Where are you going that we cannot follow?”

They thought he was talking about suicide. The Jews believed that suicide caused a person to occupy the worst place in Hell. They certainly wouldn’t follow him there.

The Pharisees did not understand what Jesus was saying because they were seeing with natural eyes.

Their already hard hearts only confirmed their blindness and inability to receive the truth.

“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” There is the true division in this life.

“World” refers to this broken, corrupted age. They would seek him and never find him because their eyes were not open to the spiritual truth standing before them; they were blinded by the light.

The Darkness that Veils

Jesus gives a sobering warning: “You will die in your sin.”

It is one of the most solemn statements in all of Scripture. Not merely that sin exists, or that sin harms, but that sin, left unforgiven, leads to eternal death.

The tragedy is, those in sin cannot see what is right in front of them. This is what sin does. It does not merely break God’s law, it blinds the heart.

Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 4, that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

How does Sin Blind?

Sin Blinds us to our own nature through deception.

When we walk in darkness, we don’t see our own need. Many live out of accord with God’s word, but don’t know it because they look, sound, and act like the rest of the world. The same desires that leads us into evil, blinds us to it.

We justify what we should confess. We assume goodness where God sees corruption. The heart becomes skilled at self-deception.

Jonathon Edwards - “The more a man hates his neighbor, the more will he be disposed to think that he has just cause to hate him, and that his neighbor is hateful, and deserves to be hated, and that it is not his duty to love him.”

Sin blinds us to the revelation of God.

1 Cor 4:4 - Sin hardens the heart, and veils the eyes, making us insensitive to the truth.

In the Exodus - when the fire that led Israel to Mt. Sinai covered the mountain, the people chose to worship idols. They saw the light of God’s glory, but chose something else.

Today, Christians read the word, but live by their own agendas and plans. The Word is heard but not received. The heart remains unchanged.

Sin blinds us to coming judgment.

If we don’t see our own brokenness, our own desperate need, then we will never see the judgment that is coming.

Thomas Boston - “The unrenewed part of mankind is rambling through the world, like so many blind men, who will neither take a guide, nor can guide themselves; and therefore are falling over the precipice into destruction.”

The tragedy for those who believe is not that light has not come, but that they are standing in the light and cannot see it.

The Cross that Illuminates

But Jesus does not leave the conversation in darkness. He speaks of a coming moment: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.”

The “lifting up” of Jesus in John is always a reference to the cross. What appears to the world as shame will become the revelation of glory.

And here is the great reversal of the gospel: the clearest revelation of God’s light is not in the temple lamps burning over Jerusalem, but in the crucified Christ suspended between heaven and earth.

At the cross God’s holiness is revealed, sin is not ignored. God’s justice is revealed, sin is not excused. God’s love is revealed, sinners are not abandoned. God’s mercy is revealed, judgment falls on another. At the cross the light of the world is fully seen.

Walking in the Light

What does it mean to live in this light?

We must come to accept Jesus for who He says He is.

He is Lord, the sovereign ruler of our lives. He is One with the Father. He is the Only way of salvation.

We must follow after Him, with listening and obedient hearts.

To believe is to follow, trusting his word by actively living according to it.

Let the light shine in your life, showing your sin and your need for a savior; confessing where we have sinned.

Let the light shine in your life, bringing healing and holiness.

Let the light shine in your life, leading you through this darkened land, obeying all that he commands.

Faith produces obedience, and obedience flows from faith.

We must shine as lights

Whoever follows will have the light of life:

Matt 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others…”

Phil 2:15 “you shine as lights in the world”

It is not your light, your glory, our your work on display, but you are to mirror the light, the glory, the work of Christ for the world to see. Do not clutter the light, or try to hide it, but let the light of Christ shine through you.

That you may believe.

John tells us near the end of his Gospel why these things were written: That we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we might have life in His name. That is the invitation of this passage.

Not merely to understand the Light, but to walk in it. Not merely to admire Christ, but to believe Him. Not merely to hear His words, but to follow Him.

Because every person in this room is walking in one of two ways: either in darkness, trusting the self, or in the light, trusting Christ.

And the Light of the World still speaks: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The question is not whether the Light has come, but whether we will walk in Him.