Calvary Road Baptist Church
“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”
John 8.12
John 8.12.
Before we read our text for today, let’s spend some time reminding ourselves of the circumstances leading up to the events in which this verse is set. We are one day removed from the last and most significant day of the Feast of Tabernacles which took place approximately six months before the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. This is His final Feast of Tabernacles.
Though we have lately examined several things that took place during the Feast of Tabernacles, the most astounding occurrence had to be when the Lord Jesus, in John 7.37-38, cried out to the multiplied thousands:
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
The 19th-century Jewish scholar and convert to Christ, Alfred Edersheim, suggests that our Lord Jesus shouted these words during a traditional lull in the annual ceremony when the attention of thousands of observant Jews was fixed on a priest who was pouring out an offering of water onto the brazen altar.[1] What was the Lord Jesus doing by shouting in that manner? He was identifying Himself to the Jewish people as the fulfillment to which the ceremony pointed. There were, of course, interactions with various officials after He shouted those words, but this was the profoundly significant occurrence of that last feast day, with everyone then going their way for the evening when it was all over.
John chapter 8 begins the very next morning, which I take to be the same day the text which we will examine occurs. Notice what was happening according to John 8.2. The Lord Jesus was teaching a multitude of people in the Court of Gentiles. Then, suddenly, He was interrupted by scribes and Pharisees who brought before Him a woman taken into custody who was caught in the act of adultery.
You know the situation from last Sunday of the woman being guilty, of the Lord bending over while ignoring the challenges of the scribes and Pharisees to write in the dirt once and again. Then her accusers, “being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one,” probably in response to the Lord looking up and saying, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” This left only the woman and the Lord Jesus Christ amid those He had been teaching before the woman was brought to Him.
You’re familiar with how the episode ended. He asked her where her accusers were. She said that there are none. And He told her that neither would He condemn her, “Go and sin no more.” We can reasonably suppose that at this point the woman gathered herself and departed from the Temple courtyard to return home, leaving the Lord Jesus Christ once more with those He was teaching before He was interrupted by the scribes and Pharisees’ attempt to discredit Him.
It is against this backdrop that the statement and occurrences surrounding John 8.12 take place. Assuming you have located out text, I invite you to stand to read that portion of God’s Word:
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
This is Christ’s statement to those He had previously been teaching, following the departure of the accusers and the woman taken in adultery.
The Gospel writer begins,
“Then spake Jesus again unto them.”
What is meant by the word “then”? “Then” shows us that something has passed. The accusers of the woman are now gone. But “then” means that the woman has also gone. The Lord Jesus told her to go and now she has gone . . . to sin no more.
“Then spake Jesus unto them again.”
Again? We have here a resumption of a previous activity. John 8.2 clearly shows us that the Savior had been teaching people before the interruption. And now that the interruption has been dealt with, now that the scribes and Pharisees have been once again thwarted in their efforts to confound and embarrass Him, now that the adulterous woman has been forgiven and sent on her way to begin her new life, the Lord Jesus Christ is set to resume His teaching. But does He resume His teaching as if nothing had happened? Does he “ahem” and then proceed? Not on your life. No more contextual teacher ever walked the earth. No one keener to use events at hand to teach spiritual truths existed. The One who could teach profound things by drawing attention to lilies and birds and mustard seeds is surely not going to let this opportunity pass by without comment. And what was His comment?
He said, in John 8.12, our text for this message,
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
These are two statements that comprise the foundation for today’s message from God’s Word:
First, OUR LORD MADE A BRIEF BUT PROFOUND STATEMENT ABOUT HIMSELF
“I am the light of the world.”
Four things to take note of about this second of the well-known “I am” declarations uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ that are found in John’s Gospel:
First, we have here what appears to be the second time that the Lord Jesus Christ uses the rituals associated with the Feast of Tabernacles to draw attention to Himself as the fulfillment of those ceremonial types. I have already described to you the ritual on the last day, the high holy day, of the Feast of Tabernacles, in which a priest would pour water through a funnel at the urging and prompting of the massive audience in attendance. And how, right after the priest poured the water, at that moment when custom demanded that the throng of people be silent, John 7.37:
“Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
My, what an impact He must have had on the multitudes in attendance the previous day. But my studies have suggested that there was a second ritual associated with the Feast of Tabernacles that the Lord Jesus Christ used to manifest His mission and ministry. It seems that each night during the Feast of Tabernacles, which was a happy and joyous feast of celebration remember, four large golden candelabras, using wicks made from the old clothing of the Temple priests, were lit to illuminate the pitch darkness of night. When these candelabras were lit men would dance before the people with flaming torches in their hands and would sing hymns and songs of praise. There would also be Levites with harps, and lutes, and cymbals, and trumpets who played songs and sang hymns and Psalms. Finally, there were two priests with trumpets who would take certain steps and then blast their trumpets, walk farther and blow their trumpets again, and so on as they advanced. The whole thing was choreographed to produce a tremendous effect on the people and was a glorious pageant of praise to God. It seems that the nighttime illumination of the Temple was regarded by the people as forming part of and was closely associated as having the same symbolic meaning as, the pouring out of the water that took place only once on the previous day. Remember, the candelabra and the torches and the singing and dancing took place each night leading up to the last day. But the light shining forth from the candelabras shined out from the Temple courtyard into the surrounding darkness and was intended to be a symbol of the Shekinah glory of God which once filled the Temple before the Babylonians destroyed it.[2] But it’s likely that the shining of the lights out from the Temple courtyard into the darkness each night symbolized even more than the Shekinah glory of God. Turn to Isaiah 9.2 and then Isaiah 60.1-3 to read with me:
9.2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Both passages are prophecies about light connected to the Lord Jesus Christ. The point I seek to make is that the Lord Jesus Christ certainly appropriated the pouring of the water on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. As well, on the day following the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, He also appropriated the ceremonial lighting of the candelabras that took place amidst great rejoicing and pageantry, by proclaiming “I am the light of the world.” What a staggering statement to make.
Next, in making this statement, the Lord Jesus Christ was attesting to the fact that He is the Messiah of Israel. Let me read some prophetic statements to you about the coming Messiah from the Old Testament, statements those who heard the Lord Jesus speak might have been familiar with and would have connected to what He said:
Psalm 43.3:
“O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.”
Isaiah 42.5-6:
5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isaiah 49.6:
“And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”
Malachi 4.2a:
“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.”
He is the light of the world, and the Messiah is shown in the Hebrew Scriptures to not only be associated with light but to be the source of light as “the Sun of righteousness.” Do you imagine that was lost on those men He taught?
Third, in making this statement, the Lord Jesus Christ was also attesting to the fact that He is very God. There are three things God is said to be in Scripture: In John 4.24 the Lord told the woman at the well that “God is a spirit.” In First John 4.8 we are taught by the Apostle John that “God is love.” But let us not forget that in First John 1.5 the apostle also declares that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” Ephesians 5.8 does point out that believers are “light in the Lord,” but when the Savior asserted that He is “the light of the world” He was asserting His deity.
Fourth, let us try to understand what is meant by the assertion by the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the light. His assertion that He is “the light of the world” can be taken in two ways: Either the Lord Jesus Christ is claiming here that He provides spiritual light, as in true spiritual illumination, to every human being in the world, or He is claiming that He provides the capacity for rational beings to be morally enlightened. Turn to John chapter 1 and read verses 3-9 with me:
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Verse 3 establishes that my Lord Jesus is the Creator. But verse 4 shows that He is the life giver and that there is a direct connection between human physical life and light in that context. Continue reading through verse 9 and you must conclude that either every human being receives from Jesus Christ direct spiritual illumination, or the light that is referred to here is not spiritual illumination but is the capacity for moral enlightenment that was given to mankind by Jesus Christ in connection with Him being the Creator. Let us ask, does every man receive direct spiritual illumination from God? I defy anyone to back that up by direct observation or Scriptural proof. So, the answer is “No.” But does man possess the capacity for moral enlightenment? We do. I think that the Lord Jesus Christ, when He said, “I am the light of the world,” was not insisting that He is the One Who provides spiritual illumination to the entire world. I do not believe He does provide such illumination to the entire world.
My understanding is that He is very strongly asserting that He, as Creator, provides the entire human race with the capacity to become morally enlightened. I think that is how His audience understood Him, and I think that some of the advances certain pagan societies have made around the world, even without the Gospel witness, have born this out. Therefore, when He said, “I am the light of the world,” the Lord Jesus Christ was simultaneously claiming that He is the Messiah, that He is God, and that He is the Creator of mankind. You must deal with that, my friend, and to not deal with that is to deal with that wrongly.
Then, OUR LORD MADE A BRIEF BUT PROFOUND STATEMENT ABOUT THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM
“he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Three things to point out in connection with this portion of the verse:
First, He refers to “he that followeth me.” The word “followeth” is a present participle, describing a continuous and ongoing kind of behavior. This is the person who is always in the “following Jesus now” mode. The Lord Jesus Christ does not here have in His mind halfhearted followers. This is real commitment. This may also echo the Jews following the Shekinah glory of God, in Exodus 13.21-22:
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
What kind of commitment was the Lord talking about here? The Matthew 8.18-22 kind of commitment:
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
As well, He was referring to the Matthew 10.38-39 type of commitment:
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
We need that kind of commitment these days. Would you not agree? We need people who are willing to sacrifice for Christ’s sake, who are willing to pay a high price for following Him, who are willing to give their all. Allow me to apply. Whatever happened to the days when some folks wrote their Churches into their wills, so the Lord’s work would be furthered upon their departure? Assuming your children have reached adulthood, leave an inheritance to your grandchildren and consider leaving something for the cause of Christ! Proverbs 13.22:
“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.”
I am reminded what our very good friend Ken Connolly told me, when he was still with us, that he once preached in a Church. After the sermon, a man in the Church came up and told Ken he was going to give a million dollars to the Lord’s work. That’s how some Christians do it. They do not leave money to colleges. They do not leave money to hospitals. What would happen if some of God’s people provided for the work of the ministry? I say that because this Church once stood to get more than $100,000 should I have died before the age of 65, as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. What will this Church get when you die? Consider our Church’s ministry in your plans. Tithe while you are alive and give when you die. Let’s be followers of Jesus Christ in life and in death. Do something great for God while you are alive, and make sure you do something great for God when you die. “But pastor, I don’t have any money.” That’s okay. Get on fire and serve God with all you’ve got while you are still alive.
Next, our Lord continued with the words
“he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.”
What does this statement establish? It establishes that sinners do walk in darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ had just, by these words, defined the state of the natural man, the lost individual. They have light, which is to say, as we have seen, that they have the capacity to weigh moral issues. They have a conscience that can either accuse or excuse them, Romans 2.15:
“Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”
As well, unsaved people have the innumerable evidences that testify of the existence of the Creator, and show Him to be both omnipotent and wise, Romans 1.19:
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.”
As a result, the natural man, unsaved individuals, are completely without excuse before God, Romans 1.20:
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
But even though the man without Christ is endowed by God with intelligence, and the moral discernment to distinguish between right and wrong, humanity is still “in darkness.” What does this mean? It means that despite the best efforts put forth by the greatest philosophers, there is no light by which mankind can see spiritually. Not Plato or Socrates, not Aristotle or Spinoza, ever broke through the darkness of man’s spiritual blindness. As well, no advances in technology have benefited mankind spiritually. Whether it be the philosophy of the Greeks, the laws of the Romans, or the technology of the English-speaking people, there is still nothing but darkness. Two thousand years ago Christ was man’s only hope. And today He is still a man’s only hope. Apart from Him there is only darkness and stumbling.
Third, He goes on to say
“but shall have the light of life.”
If light in the Bible speaks of true insight, true knowledge, true holiness, and such things as that, then the person who is a true follower of Jesus Christ, who is a disciple who denies himself, takes up his cross daily and follows the Lord Jesus, is promised “the light of life.” That is, being one who follows the Light, the disciple of Christ enjoys the benefit of spiritual illumination and of having a pathway through life that is brightly lit. As Psalm 119.105 declares,
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
How will you respond to the spiritual darkness that engulfs your existence when the Light of the world is held up before you through the preaching of God’s Word? The Pharisees are shown in subsequent verses to have disputed what the Lord Jesus Christ said and to have rejected Him. They refused the Light of the world and chose rather to continue their way, stumbling along in the pitch darkness of their unsaved, Christ-rejecting, existence.
Will you do the same? Will you leave this auditorium refusing the Light of the world, preferring instead to continue in your self-willed spiritual blindness? I sincerely pray that you do not do that. For if you do, the Apostle Paul explains your situation, in Second Corinthians 4.3-4:
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Flee to Christ. If you come to Christ and embrace Him as your Savior, the light will shine, the scales will fall from your eyes as they fell from the eyes of Saul of Tarsus, and your spiritual blindness will be removed.
He is God.
He is Israel’s Messiah.
He is the Creator.
And He is the only Savior of sinful people’s souls.
Trust Him now for salvation full and free.
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[1] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah: New Updated Version, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1993), pages 584-585.
[2] Ezekiel 10.8-22
Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.
Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church