Next Sunday, we’ll continue our “I AM” sermon series with a message
by Pastor Rob focusing on Jesus statement in John 8:12 that He is “the
Light of the World.” In this week’s devotionals, Maturing Adults Pastor
John White reflects on those words and what it means in each of our
lives.
This week we are reading John 8:12 and other passages in John’s
Gospel where Jesus identifies Himself as “the light.” Today we’ll read
John 8:12-30. The text below is taken from the New International Version, but feel free to read from the version of your choice.
12When 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.”
13The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my
testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.
But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge
by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16But if I do judge, my
decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who
sent me. 17In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two
witnesses is true. 18I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness
is the Father, who sent me.”
19Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew
me, you would know my Father also.” 20He spoke these words while
teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were
put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
21Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will
look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are
of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die
in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die
in your sins.”
25?Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus
replied. 26?I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is
trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27They did not understand that he was telling them about his
Father. 28So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then
you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak
just what the Father has taught me. 29The one who sent me is with me; he
has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30Even as he
spoke, many believed in him.
On July 4th weekend each year, when we gaze up into the evening sky,
what traditional event changes all that blackness? Fireworks, of course!
And what are fireworks? Explosions of light. Startling bursts of color.
Sound is important, too, but it is the sky-filling light displays that
cause the “wows!” and “awesomes!”
In our verse for this week Jesus Christ says, “I am the light of the
world.” Speaking during a festival in Jerusalem, He is addressing an
audience that included religious leaders who recognized the significance
of His assertion — His claim to be “the light” — by which He further
identified Him as the expected Messiah. They weren’t happy about what
they heard. Note the way they challenge Him in verse 13.
But He wasn’t deterred, later repeating those same words in John 9:5,
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Even the
apostle John, who wrote this book about Jesus, recognized Jesus as “the
light.” Starting in the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he is talking
about Jesus when he says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (1:4).
So what does it mean when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world”?
Keep in mind that our sun, which provides light for the earth is not the
speaker — Jesus is. Think of it! The One Who stated, “I am the light,”
is the same One who created the orb that brings light to our entire
solar system. That truth is affirmed in John 1:3, where John refers to
Christ when he says, “Through Him were all things made; without Him
nothing was made that has been made.”
And most importantly, He is the One who brings spiritual light into
our sin-darkened world, offering us deliverance from the blackness of
sin and light for our path every day.
Father,
Thank You that Jesus came to bring Your light into my life. I
praise you that I can trust You to light my way today. You are Light
and Your Word is a faithful guide for me to follow.
Amen