I Am The Light Of The World

By Andrea Lucado

We see the theme of light throughout scripture. Beginning in Genesis when God says, “And let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), to the coming of Christ when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), this metaphor of darkness-to-light illuminates the Word of God.

This is why we want to spend some time this month talking about light. What does it mean for Jesus to say he is the light of the world? What does it mean to say that we were once sinners, but now are children of the light? What does it mean to walk from darkness to light? These are lovely things to say, but do we actually understand them? Are we actually living them?

It’s interesting to note the context for Jesus’ words in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus says this while speaking to a crowd in Jerusalem during the Feast of the Tabernacles, a festival commemorating God’s faithfulness to the Israelites when they wandered the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land.

According to the IVP Bible Background Commentary, “One of the most spectacular celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles involved torches that lit up the city; this feast, along with Hanukkah, was thus known for splendid lighting.”

Imagine Jesus standing amongst a splendid array of lit torches and saying, I am the light of the world. A candle may light up a room. A campfire may light up a backyard. And torches may light up an entire city. But Jesus? He lights up the entire world.

Only he brings everlasting hope.

Only he brings eternal peace.

Only he brings true, unconditional, life-saving love.

He is the light of the world.

There is much more to say about this, and as I said earlier, we will be exploring different passages of scripture that talk about light as the month goes on. But for now, I want to leave you with this image:

Jesus standing among the lights of the festival, telling the people who are gathered that maybe they thought they knew what light was and what light could do, but now he has come, and the light he brings makes even the largest and grandest lighting display of the Feast of Tabernacles look like a mere spark from an ember, put out with the smallest gust of wind. He was about to blow everything they knew about grace and mercy out of the water. He was about to turn the idea of the kingdom upside-down.

His birth and his ministry and later, his death and his resurrection, were a light the world had never seen. Everything was about to change.  

Learn more about what Jesus said in John 8 by reading out our study on The Gospel of John.