The Light of the World--Jesus

John 8:12 ~ "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.'"

We live in the land of shadows, where darkness permeates every quarter of our lives. Let a man find himself in a darkened cave, with no light, and he will discover the great quality that light brings to his life. If he even sees a flicker of light, he will pursue it with hope that he should be delivered from groping through the darkness in a maze of unseen caverns. He will fix that light ever in his eyes, as if it is his only hope and chance of finding his way out.

And, in that same way, Jesus Christ is our Light. He has entered into this sin-darkened world and has shown forth the "way, truth and life" (see John 14:6). And if we are to walk out of the darkness of sin and into the light of the glory of Christ, we must follow Him.

Consider how light has been so vital to the identity of Christ:

The prophetic message of Christ was light: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone" (Isaiah 9:2).

The pronouncement of Christ by the angels was ablaze with light: "And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear" (Luke 2:9). 

The presentation of Christ on the mountain was glorious light: "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2).

And in the pain of Christ as He endured our judgment on the cross there was--darkness: "And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour" (Mark 15:33).

Have you ever wondered why there was darkness when Jesus suffered on the cross? Consider: the light of the world took upon Himself every sin--and was treated by the Father as if He had lived our lives--would that not bring darkness? 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake he [God the Father] made him [Jesus the Son] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus paid the cost of our sin so that He could impart His righteousness and deliver us from darkness.

Sin is darkness, and all people in this world--including you and I--are rife with sin. And Jesus is the light of the world. He came to deliver people out of darkness and into His marvelous light (see 1 Peter 2:9).  We were the man in the cave, and Jesus has come to lead us out of sin and into His righteousness, out of darkness and into His life. 

The question, then, will you follow Him? Because, as Jesus is the light of the world and has given us the knowledge of salvation in Him, we must place our faith in Him and follow Him out of the caverns of this world. It is not enough to say you believe that the Light of the World is true, you must strive to follow Him. For true belief in Christ is to become a follower of Christ.

​To illustrate this, you have a cross-country flight to take and if you don't believe the plane will safely get you to your destination--you won't get on. But if you do believe, then you enter the plane--displaying your faith and confidence that it will transport you to your journey's end. And Jesus is our only hope of salvation. He has proved His trustworthiness to save all who believe--all who will follow Him by faith. You do not become your own savior, you trust completely in the One who has made the promise of salvation and has purchased it with His own blood.

And this promise holds true for all who follow--they will walk in the light of the Lord, they will have the light of life. Consider what John 1:4-5 states, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

Is it possible for darkness to overcome light? Try this experiment. Enter a darkened room and turn on the light. Does the darkness cast the light away, fighting to regain mastery of the room? Of course not. Light dispels darkness--never the other way around. And so it is with Christ. Open your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will dispel all darkness, He will vanquish all sin, He will remove from you even the tracing of worldly shadows as His light of truth shines upon and within you.

And  you might then discover something happening to you--you start to bear forth His light through  your life as well. But that lesson is for tomorrow.

In His Grace,
​Pastor Michael

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