Jesus declares in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” He said this right after refusing to condemn the woman caught in adultery, and directing her to “go and sin no more.” In the next chapter, Jesus demonstrates in yet another way that He is the light of the world, by healing a man born blind.
John 9 (NKJV)
A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
The healed man boldly testified to the Pharisees how Jesus had healed him, and they threw him out.
24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Later Jesus found the healed man, and gave him spiritual sight as well as physical.
John 9 (NKJV)
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
Jesus also declares in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world.”
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
In Psalm 27, David exuberantly describes how the Lord is his light and his salvation, and the strength of his life.
Psalm 27 (NKJV)
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
In Psalm 36, David extols God’s faithful love, and declares in verse 8,
“For with You is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.”
Psalm 36 (NKJV)
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
The beginning of John’s gospel declares the oneness of the Son of God with the Father before the world began. The living Word gives light to every person coming into the world. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” … “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” (John 1:4, 9)
John 1 (NKJV)
The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The living Word of God is truly the source of all consciousness and light, both physical and spiritual:
John 1 (NKJV)
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all 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 gives light to every man coming into the world.. . .
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
. . .
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, 8/4/2018, https://compellinglove.net/
Photo credits:
(1) http://bibleinspirations.org/i-am-the-light-of-the-world-whoever-follows-me-will-never-walk-in-darkness-but-have-the-light-of-life/
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D82pB64UY8E
(3) https://thinkthebible.org/graphics/verse-graphics/23-gospels/167-matthew-5-14-16
(4) https://www.janiscox.com/sunday-stillness-psalm-369/
(5) https://mudpreacher.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/the-true-light-john-1_9.jpg
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