JESUS – LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “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

This is one of Christ’s Seven I AMs in John’s Gospel, namely:

• I am the Bread of Life (6:35);
• I am the Light of the world (8:12; 9:5);
• I am the Door of the sheep (10:7-9);
• I am the Good Shepherd (10:11-14);
• I am the Resurrection and Life (11:25);
• I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6); and
• I am the True Vine (15:1).

Christ as the Light of the world is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies which referred to the Messiah as Light. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a GREAT LIGHT; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a LIGHT has shined.” Isaiah 49:6 also declares concerning Israel and the Messiah in particular: “…I will also give You as a LIGHT to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the end of the earth.”

People come and go. Leaders, teachers, and philosophers speak and work for a season and then fall silent and powerless. But the True Light abides. The transient lights die, but He lives. They are lights that glow yet are ultimately extinguished. He is the True Light from which all others draw their brightness; while He shines forevermore.

JESUS is the Light of lights. He said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (Jh.9:5). Then He says to us, His children: “You are the Light of the world” (Mt.5:14) Is this a contradiction? No! We are the light of the world, because we reflect and release His Light into the darkness of the world! We shine bright under His eternal beam! As long as we follow Him, we’ll never walk in darkness. We’ll not stumble through life, because we have the LIGHT of LIFE, the light that guarantees maximized living – the Wisdom for Winning in life!