April, 2002

“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

This is the second of seven self-declared the Great “I Am” statements of Jesus. As you might remember from the previous Scripture of the month, Jesus claimed to be the Great I AM (the name of the Eternal God). In order for us to appreciate what Jesus said, it helps to know that they were at the temple during the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles. A major event at the Feast was the lighting of giant candles in the women’s court of the Temple. The wicks of these special candles were made from priests’ worn-out garments. The light, which could be seen from far away, illuminated the temple area as the people gathered together to sing praises and dance as they worshipped God. What a joyful celebration! The lights reminded the Jews of how God was with their ancestors day and night during the years of wandering in the wilderness with the pillar of cloud, which turned to the pillar of fire at night.

Jesus probably was pointing to the giant candles at the temple while He proclaimed to be the “Light of the World.” As the sun is the physical light of the world, so Jesus is the spiritual light of the world. There are many artificial lights that come and go in this world giving people direction. Which one to follow? Jesus is the only true Light, not one of many, that forever illuminates the world because He is the only eternal God.

Jesus as the light of the world serves many purposes. I would like to share a couple with you. First and foremost is that Jesus serves as the Light of Destination. It is like a spotlight, which guides people to go towards the right direction. Every one in this world is a sojourner. We must find a permanent home. Since the world is in darkness, therefore we won’t know our direction. Just as the candles identified the temple, Jesus as the Light identifies the direction to our final destination. Second of all, even though we might know the direction toward our final destiny, yet the world around us is still dark enough to cause us to stumble on the way. Jesus is the light of the world in that He provides the light to reveal the stumbling blocks we call sins that trip us up. Artificial lights cannot reveal the truth because they change from time to time, from culture to culture, and from generation to generation. Only Jesus and His words will give us the true revelation of what sins are in the sight of the ultimate moral judge. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of the life.” When we follow Jesus all the way to Eternal Home, we will have the light of life—Our life shines! What a promise we have in Jesus!