Pr Joshua Yong

“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.” (John 8:12)

We know how crucial physical light is to everyday life. Light gives us sight, safety and direction; whereas darkness hides dangers, frightens, and is associated with gloom and despair. And while physical light is important, spiritual light is even more important.

Where there is light, darkness flees. In the Bible, spiritual darkness is associated with spiritual blindness, sin, the works of wickedness and spiritual death. In contrast, light describes illumination, righteousness and life.

The Lord Jesus Christ declares, “I am the light of the world.” This is the second “I Am” sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The context of this saying is in John 8. As the Lord Jesus was teaching in the Temple, the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who was caught committing adultery. Wanting to trap Him (v.6), they asked what should be done to her. After He exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and after He declared, “Neither do I condemn thee”, He declared that He is the light of the world. This immediate context is significant as through the way He dealt with the woman caught in adultery, Christ demonstrated that He is the light of the world.

1)  The Light Revealed in Christ

 When the Lord Jesus Christ says, “I am the light of the world”, He is declaring that He is the true source of spiritual light that reveals, illumines, and that dispels the darkness of sin and death. The Lord Jesus Christ is the “light of the world” because He is the only Begotten Son of God, and He was sent into this world by God. As the only begotten Son of God, He reveals who God the Father is. The world can only know God if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can know the Father, except through the Son.

He is the “light of the world”. The word “world” describes the world of people. What is the condition of the world which the Lord Jesus Christ came into? It is a world blinded by sin. The world is not able to see its own sinfulness because of its spiritual blindness, ignorance and foolishness. The world is walking in its own darkness of sin. It was to this world that the Lord Jesus Christ came. The Lord Jesus Christ, the light of the world, entered into a dark and sinful world to reveal the righteousness of God and to expose the sinfulness of this world.

The Lord Jesus Christ, as the light, is the true revelation of God. He reveals the holiness and glory of God. Man steeped in idolatry has invented their own distorted versions of what they call gods. But the Lord Jesus Christ revealed who the one living and true God is.

2)  The Light Must be Followed

The Lord Jesus Christ not only reveals Himself to be the light, He also calls upon us to follow Him. The promise that He gives to all who follow Him is they will not walk in darkness.

There may be many who admire the light, but they refuse to follow it. They hear the truth, they see what the light reveals and exposes, and they may even be pricked in their conscience, but they still choose to walk in their sin and darkness. What the Lord Jesus Christ requires is that we follow Him.

To follow Christ is not only to believe in Christ, it is also to walk after Christ. It is to turn from darkness and to walk in the light. This means forsaking the paths of darkness and sin and obeying Christ, the one true light.

In the immediate context, the Pharisees had come in their hypocrisy, wanting to trap the Lord Jesus Christ. Their hypocrisy was exposed by the Lord Jesus Christ when He said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (v.7). The Bible says that they were “convicted by their own conscience” (v.9). Yet instead of repenting of their sins and turning to Christ, they chose to return to their own blindness and sin.

In contrast, the woman who was caught in adultery saw the light and found salvation in Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more” (v.11), He was calling the woman to leave the works of darkness behind and to follow after Him, and to walk in obedience and in the light of the truth.

3)  The Light that Gives Life

Not only is the promise in following Christ a deliverance from darkness, it is also that we will have the “light of life”. The “light of life” conveys that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the light of the world, gives life. Spiritual darkness is separation from God, which is spiritual death. Those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ will no longer walk in darkness, but will pass from death unto life. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way unto the Father, and all who follow Him will walk in the light that is eternal life. Those who live their lives in darkness and sin are living a most miserable life. But those who live in the light are freed from guilt and shame.

This means that all who follow Christ have not only seen the light, they will also live differently. They will live in newness of life because they have received light. This is spiritual life, which transforms the whole person. The one who walks in the light has a new motive, new understanding, and new desires. His whole life is lived in the light of Christ.

All who follow Christ must live in a way that is consistent with the light that they have seen. To live in the light is to live our lives being conscious that nothing is hidden from God. Believers must not harbour any hidden sins in their hearts. Even though Christians may still struggle with sin, they will always want to return to Christ. It is most blessed to live a life in the light of holiness and truth where nothing is hidden before God in Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He reveals the Father, exposes sin, and gives life to all who follow Him. The light has already come; if you are still in darkness, will you walk to it and in it? Do not be like the Pharisees who turned away from the light that exposed them. Follow after Christ, the Light of the world, and you will find mercy and life.