The Light of the World
John 8:12-20

INTRODUCTION: Good morning church. One of the messages in John's gospel is that the world is in complete darkness. His gospel begins with the Word coming into the world, coming into the darkness and the darkness does not comprehend Him. The darkness does not overcome Him. This message of light and darkness is a theme throughout this gospel. In this section it becomes very significant.

It is important to keep in mind what John has painted for us. We are in darkness, the world is in darkness, and we are in need of help.

We need a means to get out of that darkness. Jesus comes and makes a powerful claim, a second great claim about Himself. As He speaks about Himself, it's going to have implications for those who believe in Him, and it's going to have significant implications for those who do not believe in Him. The text today is John 8:12-20.

I. What Jesus Claims About Himself (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.”” This is the second time Jesus has given a description about Himself. Last time in chapter 6 He said, “I am the bread of life.”

A. When Jesus makes these massive “I am” statements, it should cause us to stop for a moment and think about what that entails. All of chapter 6 is about how Jesus is the bread of life. All of chapter 8 and chapter 9 is about this concept of Jesus being the light of the world.
B. You will recall that our context for this section is the Feast of Tabernacles. Back in chapter 7 we saw this picture of the celebration.

1. We noted there was the processional and the water ceremony reminding the Israelites of being slaves in Egypt, the wilderness wandering, and the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Messianic age.
2. One of the other interesting things that happened during the Feast of Tabernacles is that there were enormous candelabras lit in Jerusalem at the time of this feast. Writers record, Josephus in particular, that the glow from these four candelabras was so powerful it reached across the entire city.
3. In chapter 7 on that last day of the feast with this water ceremony, Jesus says “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
4. Now with these blazing lights commemorating the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites through the darkness during the Exodus from Egypt, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” That claim is far reaching with what Jesus wants us to understand about who He is.

C. First, it is the claim of deity. For Jesus to say that He is the light of the world is to expressly declare Himself to be God.

1. In the book of Isaiah Isaiah 60:19 it says, “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” David made a similar declaration in Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation;”. In 1^st John 1:5 John declares, “…God is light…”.
2. For Jesus to now say, I am light, is to put Him on par with God. Only God is light is one of the themes we're going to see a few times. It will come back mostly in chapter 9. Only God gives light to the world. Only God can give light to the eyes. Only God gives light to the heart. Only God can speak light into existence.
3. Here you have Jesus making the statement, “I am the light of the world.” The first implication is He's God for only God is light.

D. Second is the implication that this makes Him the Messiah. In Malachi 4:2, Malachi, the final prophet of the Old Testament times is prophesying of a glorious day. “… when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze…” Then the Lord says, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Here is this picture of when the Messiah comes, when Christ comes, it's going to be like the sun rising.

1. Why? Because the world is in darkness. The sun is going to rise up for you who believe, for you that obey, for you who are faithful - with healing in its wings and you will go leaping with joy.
2. Do you recall what Simeon said? Luke 2:25-35. Verse 25 introduces Simeon as a righteous and devote man looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. In verse 26 it says, “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.” When Jesus is brought by Joseph and Mary to the temple according to the custom of the Law, “Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,… for my eyes have seen your salvation… a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”” I paraphrase.
3. Simeon recognized Jesus as the Christ. For Jesus to take those words upon Himself not only declares Him to be God, but it also declares Him to be the promised one, the anointed king, the Messiah, who has come to save the world and to light the path to God.

E. Third, it also makes a claim that He is the head of the true Israel. This is important and easy to pass by and not consider.

1. Isaiah records a prophecy of the Messiah in chapter 42, and Matthew shows Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in Matthew 12:15-21. Within this prophecy we read Isaiah 42:6, “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” God is speaking and these words are being given to the people of Israel. He says to the servant, “I give you as a covenant for the people.” It would be through this servant that people would enter a covenant relationship with God. Then God says, “a light for the nations”. This light would not be just for Israel, but the light would shine to all the nations.
2. In Isaiah 49 it is the Servant speaking and relates how He was called. In verse 3 He is named, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” If you, like myself, are confused in reading of the Messiah being called Israel, look back to when God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. Christ is the true Israel. Those who belong to Christ are part of the true Israel which is what John 15 records; Jesus as the true vine and we are the branches that bear fruit.
3. In Isaiah 49:6 He says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” When the Messiah comes – He is Israel, the Prince of God – and brings light into a dark world. If Jesus is the light, then as a follower of Him you are in the true Israel, the true people of God.

F. These are three observations from Jesus’ statement. I believe this third one is critically important to what Jesus says as He continues and makes a claim for those who will be His followers.

II. What Jesus Claims for His Followers – Going back to John 8:12 Jesus continues, “... Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” There's a great image here, and it continues with the imagery of the wilderness. We're in the backdrop of the Feast of Tabernacles which is a reminder that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, that God brought them out and a reminder of what occurred in the wilderness.

A. In the wilderness God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light. Jesus is using this imagery as He says “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”. I am the one to follow. I am God. I am the Messiah. I am the head of Israel, and if you follow Me, I will take you out of that darkness and guide you down the path of light.
B. Jesus continues to show us what true followers look like, what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus. Think about what was going on in the wilderness. Who were the people who were truly followers of God in that wilderness?

1. They were not people who just said Hey, there is a pillar of fire that's kind of neat, nor were they just the ones that decided to walk behind it and that was it. Remember, most of Israel fell in the wilderness. Following God truly meant you went where He led, you did what God said, you obeyed everything that He told you and you loved doing it.
2. We recall what their big problem was though, complaining. Oh sure, they're following but they're complaining every step of the way. It's about going where He leads, doing what He says, and loving doing it all the way there. That's the picture of what's being described here. This is what Jesus is saying.
3. You want to be a true follower of me? I am the light of the world and what that means is you will go where I go, you will believe what I teach, you will love what I say, you will do as I command and you will do it with love and joy. That's why Israel failed in the wilderness.
4. Jesus presents Himself as the light and says if you'll follow Me you won't walk in darkness. If you follow Me, I will give you light.

C. I want you to notice there's something a little unusual in verse 12. Jesus does not hold the parallel intact. It would make sense for him to say whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will walk in light. That's how that should read, right? That would complete the parallel.

1. You won't walk in darkness you will walk in light, but that's not what He says. Look at what He uses there. You “will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". That's interesting. I would expect He would just say you'll walk in light, but He's teaching something bigger than that.
2. It's not simply if you follow Jesus you're now on the right path and you're walking in the light. There is a concept here of being in relationship with The Light. You will possess it. You will have the light of life. It is not just saying that we are followers. It is being in a close relationship with Him. It is as if we are attached to Him. It is as if we possess Him that we have the light of life. You're not just walking – you have Christ.
3. You're with Him every step of the way and not just wandering after. He's not calling for people who will just mindlessly follow. He already showed the failure of that in the wilderness. He had a lot of people just walking after the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. Most of those people fell and perished.
4. He's looking for people who do more than just follow but have a relationship with Him. They will love Him and belong to Him. That's what He is describing here. They will have the light of life.

D. Let’s look at what this means for us. Without the light of Jesus, it is impossible for us to see anything properly. Discipleship recognizes that if I do not have the light of Christ, I cannot see, comprehend, or understand anything properly because we are in complete darkness. If Jesus is not our light, if He is not the one who is guiding us and directing us on His path – we will go astray.

1. If Jesus is not your light, you will not see things about your life. You can't begin to understand what you should do or how you should go about it. We often don't see ourselves in the darkness that Jesus is painting. Without Jesus you and I are walking in total darkness.
2. As the sun is the source of all light, power, and energy on earth, Jesus, the sun of righteousness is the source of all spiritual light, power, and energy. Light is the only thing that can come into contact with filth and remain uncontaminated. We as Christians are the "light of the world” but ours is a reflected light.

III. What Jesus Says To Those Who Do Not Follow Him – I would have expected the rest of this chapter would be about how Jesus is the light of the world, but it's not.

A. Jesus claims to be the light of the world, to be deity, the Messiah, the head of Israel. He is saying you must follow Me like you followed the pillar of fire. I am the one who gives life... I am the one who gives light. I am the one that is leading you to the promised land. I am the one that gives you a relationship with the Father. He has laid all that out.
B. We should expect a positive reaction from those hearing Him. Afterall people with honest and pure motives naturally pursue truth, goodness, and divine guidance. Think though of sunlight, it either causes a plant to grow, or it kills the plant depending on whether or not it is rooted in the soil.
C. In verse 13, “So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”” We don't believe you. We're not interested in following you. We don't need your light. We're doing fine here in this darkness and we're not really in the darkness because we can see just fine.

1. Such a blind, blind world we live in. We think we see life so clearly. I've got it all figured out. I don't need Jesus. I know what I need to do. I know how I need to live. I've am my own flashlight. I don't need the sun rising upon me so I can see all that I need to see.
2. That's what they're doing. We know that's what they're doing because in chapter 5 Jesus showed all the witnesses that testify that He is who He says He is. Our sermon on that was titled “Witnesses to The Deity of Jesus” if you wish to look it up. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Me. The Father bears witness to Me. John the Baptist bears witness to Me. The prophets bear witness to Me and say; My testimony is true. Yet they say, you testified about yourself, we can't believe you.

D. I wonder, do we do that with God? I know you are saying that you will give me light and it will change my life completely. I have the bread of life you say, we can fully trust you, you will give us guidance, and you will be our light. The light will change everything so we can see how we can live.

1. You know what? There are some things I don’t want to change and I'm going to do what I want to do. I don't want to do all you're asking.
2. Sometimes we don’t even fully realize we have dug in our heels on something. They know what He is saying and they don’t want to believe. That's what they say in verse 13.

E. Jesus does not respond with all the witnesses that He already gave them. John 8:14-18 – “14. Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.””

1. At the Pool of Bethesda Jesus refers to the Jewish legal requirement where a single witness is not enough to establish the truth. He goes on and points out other evidence, and testimonies to support who He is. Here Jesus responds that human legal rules do not apply the same way to Him. Because He possesses firsthand, divine awareness of His heavenly identity, His self-testimony remains uniquely true. I have the witness of the Father and since my testimony is true and the Father's testimony is true, two witnesses are enough.
2. Jesus knows they don't want to see Him as the light of the world, the light of their life. You don't want to believe me? Fine, but my testimony is true. I know who I am. I know where I've come from and I know where I'm going. Why? Because I'm the light.
3. Jesus knows His origin and His destination, but these listeners could not grasp His spiritual reality because they only saw the physical man before them. They were in spiritual darkness.

F. There is something interesting about being in darkness. If you are walking in the dark without visual references, you cannot reliably travel in a straight line. Scientific studies using GPS tracking in deserts and dense forests show that people who cannot see a reliable directional cue inevitably veer off and walk in large or tight circles—all while firmly believing they are moving straight ahead. They are lost. The MythBusters program did a show on this some time ago and it illustrated it very well.

1. Have you ever been lost? Did you make good time getting to your destination? That's what we're doing in this world. If Jesus is not your light, you might be going really fast, but you don't know where you're going. You're going at great speed. You're living life to the fullest and it's a mess because you don't have the light.
2. That's what He tells them. You are spiritually lost and wandering. I know because I've been sent from the Father. I have a purpose to give you light so that you will live your life in the right way, but you'll stay in darkness because you don't know who I am. You don't see who I am. You don't see me as light. If you don't see me as light, you'll remain in darkness and you'll never find the Father.

G. Jesus wants them to understand His testimony is true. It has come from the Father, and there is no reason for them to doubt that. In verse 19 “They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?”” I imagine Jesus doing a face palm at that. “Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.””

1. Jesus presents them with a logical argument. Only God could be the Father of such a one as Christ. The failure of men to behold the glory and Godhead of Jesus carries with it the corollary that they are likewise unable to recognize God. The only way to know the Father is to know Jesus, and the only way to know Jesus is to follow him.
2. Jesus often used the phrase “follow me” when calling the disciples. What did Jesus tell people when they came up to him? When a disciple said he first needed to go bury his father Jesus said, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” When the young man wanted to know how to have eternal life, “Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor,… and come, follow me.””
3. I think Jesus brings this full circle quite nicely. He tries to get them to understand when you see me as the light of the world, you will have the light of life. When you have me as the light of life, that means you're following me everywhere I go, believing what I say, obeying everything that I teach and doing it joyfully. When you do that, that's how you know me. When you know me, you know the Father.
4. When we know Jesus, we're going to change our lives for today, for tomorrow, for everything that we do. It means we will not follow our own path. Today what we read in books, hear on the radio and watch on tv, tells us you need to find your own path. You have need to blaze your own trail. You must live your own way. … That is the way of the blind.
5. That is what these religious leaders were doing, following their own thinking, believing they were on the path to God, not realizing they were wandering in circles in the dark. There is only one true path to the Father and you need Jesus as the light to find that path. How do you come to know Jesus? You come to know Jesus by following him. He called for everyone to come and follow him.

CONCLUSION: That brings to mind some questions we need to review from time to time. Does Jesus lead your life? Is He the light in your life? Are you walking on the path that He has set before you? Is your life surrounded by doing all that He says? Does your life submit to His will completely?

What does the world see in us? Does the world see us walking in darkness as they walk? Or does the world see us completely following Jesus because Jesus is the light?

That should change everything for us because we will want to leave the ways of the world. Not only because they're sinful and wrong and God condemned them, but also because we know that is the path of darkness that leads us in circles to destruction.

There is a light, there is a path, and that path is shown to us by Jesus. We want to get on that path because we recognize it is the only way to the Father. It is the only way to have salvation. It is the only way to find the Grace of God.

If the darkness of the world has started to overcome you and the path is dimming, pray to God for the strength to turn again toward a deeper relationship with Him. Don’t remain on the present level you are spiritually.

If you have not seen Jesus as the light, we invite you to turn away from your sins. Be immersed in water to have your sins washed away and begin that walk with Him. A walk that gives you eternal life. A walk that gives you hope and life that you do not have otherwise.

Whatever your need we invite you to come while we stand and while we sing.

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Reference: Brent Kercheville, James Burton Coffman