I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.
John 8:12
Light and darkness in the Bible are represented as more than just the power of nature. Light represents what is right and good, and darkness represents what is evil or wrong. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, he told him that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. (John 3:19) This is a perfect example of darkness representing those things that are not of God. Darkness is state of being separate from the ideals and morals that God has said is good.
Welcome back to our study in the Gospel of John. We are continuing where we left off a month ago in John 8. This week we will be looking at The Light of the World. As we have stated before, Jesus is proclaiming Himself to be something greater than just a man. During a special ceremony for the Jews that commemorated their coming out of the darkness of slavery and bondage in Egypt, Jesus loudly proclaims Himself to be the very light that that brings life! To the Jewish people this would have been a shocking and intrusive proclamation. This is John's point exactly. Jesus is more. Jesus is the very Light of Israel who has come to His people to give them life. We are back to the claims of Christ and we must again ask, "Is this Man a liar, a lunatic, or Lord of All?" We bow and confess that Christ is Lord. Everyone will bow and everyone will confess this--willingly or unwillingly.
More than just the proclamation of who Jesus is claiming to be, is the hope that He is holding out to all men. A hope of light and life. A hope that speaks of walking in assurance instead of blindly trying to find our way in a world of darkness. Jesus offers what this world can never give us--light and life. The Bible speaks plainly that sin produces death. (Romans 3:23; James 1:15). Walking in darkness is more than stumbling around, it is the pursuit of trying to gratify ourselves with the things that God is not a part--sin.
The end result of sin is separation from God. Being separate from God is being in a world without everything that God is. That is our natural, broken condition that all face. Jesus has come to give us life that makes life worth living--a life of being reconciled to God and living to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.
Blessings to you!
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