The Light of the World

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We have sung about His being the Light. That picture really comes to us from the Old

Testament. The Old Testament describes humanity as "living in darkness". But the Old

Testament also promises, God promises there, that He would send a special servant. The servant

of Yahweh. The Messiah. Who would come and bring light to this dark world. He would bring

light to His people – the nation of Israel. Isaiah 9:1-2, talking about the people around Galilee and across the nation of Israel, says, "the people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them". The Messiah was also to be a light to the nations of the world. In Isaiah 49:6, God is talking about the Messiah and He says this, "I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth".

To make sure that His people never forgot that the light was coming, God provided an unforgettable picture in an annual ceremony at one of the required feasts of Israel. It was the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths. It was the third of three great annual feasts that God required every Jewish male to attend in Jerusalem. It fell in October, just five days after Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. It was seven days in length. And it really commemorated two things. It was on one hand a celebration of the harvest and on the other it was a commemoration of God's care for His people during the wilderness wanderings in the time of the Exodus. To remind the people who were alive of the journey that happened back then during the Exodus – the journey to the promised land, during this feast, those who celebrated it were required to build booths made of the limbs of living trees. And for an entire week, they lived in those booths. It was like a national campout for seven days.

During that feast, this unique ceremony took place. From the time that He was 12 years old, our Lord would have witnessed this ceremony annually in October as he traveled to the temple. It would have been seared in His memory as it would've been seared in the memory of all of those who were His contemporaries and who heard Him teach. In fact, if you saw this ceremony at Herod's temple, witnesses tell us you would never in a lifetime forget it.

Herod's temple in and of itself was magnificent. By the time of Jesus' ministry, they had been working to complete it for nearly 50 years. Herod created a huge raised platform for the entire temple complex, and that platform was called the Temple Mount. Josephus tells us that the platform itself was 400 yards long – four football fields – by 330 yards wide. It was about 35 acres in size. There were huge courtyards surrounded by beautiful arched balustrades. But the focal point in the center of that massive Temple Mount – the 35 acres – in the middle, was a building. At its front, the temple proper was 50 yards wide by 50 yards high. A massive structure. And as you walked inside, you entered the Holy Place where the priest ministered daily. Of course, toward the back of that larger room was a small room called the Holy of Holies. It was a perfect cube – 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet. And it was accessible by only one man, once a year – the high priest on the Day of Atonement. That happened just five days before this feast. From the porch of the Holy Place, if you exited the temple proper and stood on the porch, 12 steps led down to the bronze altar. The bronze altar was surrounded by what was called the Court of the Priest. On the same level, surrounding the Court of the Priest, was what was called the Court of Israel. That's where Jewish men were allowed during this time. From the Court of Israel, you had to pass through this huge gate – the Nicanor Gate. And then you descended 15 more steps to reach what was called the Court of the Women – a huge square where Jewish women worshipped.

Standing inside the Court of the Women were four massive candelabra. They were 86 feet high – almost 30 yards in height. Each of them had a bowl at the top that held 17 gallons of oil. Projecting out of the oil were these massive wicks made of old clothes of the priest that had been twisted tight and soaked with oil. It's likely that these four great candelabra were lighted every evening as part of the routine worship of the temple service. But they were used specifically on one very special occasion each year. It happened during the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. We know that this special ceremony happened on the first night of the seven-day feast. And one reliable Jewish source says it happened every night of the feast. On the face of each of the candelabrums was a ladder that spanned the entire height of 86 feet.

And the ceremony unfolded like this. As evening came, as dark approached, four young, healthy priests were selected to climb the 86-foot high candelabra. The Temple Mount during the feast would've been packed. Historians tell us that as many as 100,000 people would be present on this occasion. All of them watching eagerly as the four priests climbed the ladders with a representative amount of oil – the lamps had already been filled with most of the oil, but with a representative amount as they climbed up to the top of the ladder. They all watched eagerly as they climbed with the oil and then, at the same moment, they all lit their wicks and massive flames leapt toward the sky. The flames, we're told, illumined the entire city of Jerusalem. The Jewish Mishnah says that after the lamps were lighted "men of piety and good works used to dance before them with burning torches in their hands, singing songs and praises. And countless Levites played on harps, lyres, cymbals, and trumpets and instruments of music". It was a celebration. It was a party.

Now, with that background, I want you to turn with me this morning to John chapter 7. The events I want us to look at unfolded during this feast – the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. Look at John 7:2, "Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths," this is October, "was near". And then there's a discussion between Jesus and His brothers that ensues – but go down to verse 10. "But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret". Go down to verse 14. "But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach". This happened during this great feast. Now, turn over to verse 37. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink". There's another sermon here because there's another ceremony that Jesus fills out with this statement. But He goes on to say in verse 38,

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Now, that story that's introduced with His comments in verses 37 to 39 – that same story on that

same occasion continues down through verse 52 of chapter 7. But then you'll notice that when we come to verse 53, our translations bracket a body of text. It begins in verse 53 of chapter 7 and the brackets end at the end of verse 11 of chapter 8. Why is it bracketed? Because while it's likely that the event of this adulterous woman is a genuine event from the life of our Lord, most agree that it did not occur or was not written by John in this place. It's stuck into this place. And so, when we come to John 8:12 and following, we are still during the last day of the feast. That means the night before had been the last ceremony of the lighting of the candelabra. If you go down to verse 20, you'll see that when these events unfold Jesus was standing in the temple treasury. Now that tells us exactly where He was. That was in the Court of the Women. So, that meant that Jesus, as He says these words, is standing next to those candelabra as their massive flames continue to burn into the morning of the next day. It's in that context that Jesus made this remarkable statement about Himself.

Look at John 8:12, "Then Jesus again". And the "again" points back to His previous statement back in John 7:37 that we looked at. "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'" Can you imagine what it would have been like to have stood there that morning with those massive candelabra ablaze, having seen that remarkable ceremony the night before when all of Jerusalem was lighted by those four massive candles? And to hear Jesus say, "I am the Light of the world".

It's a shocking statement. I mean, imagine if I stood up here this morning and said "I am the light of the world". Or imagine if you stood up here on the stage this morning and said "I am the light of the world". That would be an audacious statement for a fallen human being to make. But of course, Jesus was not that. And so, it was perfectly legitimate for Him to make this claim.

Now, as we look at this this morning, in this one verse, in this one remarkable statement, Jesus makes four shocking claims. And I want us to look at these claims together as we anticipate the Lord's Table. The first claim that He makes in this statement is this: The entire world lies in perpetual darkness.

Look at verse 12 again, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness'". We could even translate it "will not continue walking in the darkness, but will have the Light of life". You see, the clear implication is that apart from Him, the people of this world – all of us, live in the darkness. We have no light. What does Jesus mean that He is the Light? Well, in his writings, John uses the word light in two ways. First of all, he uses it to mean the light of truth as opposed to the darkness of error. And secondly, he uses it to mean the light of moral purity as opposed to the darkness of sin. So, Jesus was saying here that the entire world and every person in it lives in a state of spiritual darkness – that is, ignorance of the truth about anything that matters. And, that every person lives in a state of sin – the absence of moral purity. This is a telling statement about mankind. In fact, Jesus here was teaching what theologically we would call the doctrine of total depravity. Everything outside of Him is darkness. It's like the Old Testament says in Psalm 143:2, "In Your sight no man living is righteous". Or Ecclesiastes 7:20, "Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins". Not you, not me, not anyone. Ecclesiastes 9:3, "The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives". The sin that we commit is a form of insanity – makes no sense when you consider who we are and who God is. Isaiah 64:6, "All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment". It's not enough to say that our sins are sinful. Our best deeds are sinful the prophet says, apart from Christ. All of us wither like a leaf and our iniquities like the wind take us away. The entire world lies in perpetual darkness.

But let me personalize this. Until you yourself not only know that the world, as a whole, lies in darkness but that you apart from Christ live in a state of spiritual darkness, then you'll never seek the Light. Until you recognize you live in darkness, you'll have no appetite for the Light. Jesus begins in this remarkable verse with a claim that says the entire world lies in perpetual darkness.

But Jesus also makes a second claim in this verse, and it's this: He is the source of absolute truth and moral purity. Again, look at verse 12, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light'". This is the second of seven great "I Am" statements in John's gospel. I wish I had time to unpack that, but there is a clear pointing back to Exodus 3 where when Moses says "What is your name?" to God, God says "Tell them, I Am. That's my name forever.". Jesus says, "I Am" sometimes without anything following it. Other times with a statement that follows as He does here.

The emphasis in this statement is on "I am". "I am" in the Greek text – and there's great emphasis on it, "ego eimi" – I am. In His own person, Jesus is the Light. Spiritual light is found in a person. And let's say it the other way – there is no light outside of a relationship to Jesus Christ. Let me say that again. There is no light outside of a relationship to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament pointed to the Messiah as the way that God would bring light to this dark world. In fact, even the Jewish rabbis of the time associated light with the coming of the Messiah. In one Jewish midrash the Messiah is called "the Enlightener". And it said, "the Light dwells with Him".

So, understand what Jesus is claiming here. He is saying that He is the Messiah. But He was saying so much more. What makes this claim remarkable is that in the Old Testament, God alone is the source of light for His people. Psalm 27:1 says, "Yahweh is my light". "Yahweh – God and God alone is my light". Isaiah in Isaiah 60:19-20 is talking about the eternal kingdom. He's talking about the new Jerusalem and the eternal state and he says this,

But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light… Your sun will no longer set, nor will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be over.

God is the Light. This becomes even clearer when you think back to the wilderness wanderings. In Exodus 13:21 we read this, "Yahweh was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night". In fact, according to the great Jewish historian Alfred Edersheim, the lighting of the candelabra in that ceremony that I described a moment ago, it was actually intended in part to commemorate the pillar of fire that led the children of Israel in the wilderness. And of course, that pillar of fire was the glory cloud. It was the Shekinah. So, Jesus was saying and is saying that He is the Shekinah. He is the glory cloud that led the people of Israel through the wilderness as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He was saying that He is God – the Light for His people.

In John's gospel, this remarkable yet even shocking claim is made repeatedly. Go back to John 1:4 as we meet the Word. We're told in John 1:4,

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Verse 7, John the Baptist "came as a witness, to testify about the Light", that's Jesus, "so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man".

Go over to John 9:5 as we are introduced to the account of the healing of the man born blind. Jesus says this, "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world". Jesus is the Light. He opens the darkness of men's minds to the truth. He guides them into the truth. In fact, He said you remember in John 14:6, "I am the way, I am the truth. No one comes to the Father but through Me". God, through Christ, brings us the truth. He brings us the truth about ourselves, the truth about our sin, the truth about God, the truth about how one can get out of the darkness and into the light. Jesus is still the same Light today.

How does He provide this light today? He's not here. He's not in the world in the way that He was in the first century. He does so through His Word. Read the Gospels and listen to Jesus' message. He brought a message called the Gospel – the good news. And that message lights the path out of our darkness into the light of our Creator. Jesus claimed that His death would accomplish our spiritual rescue. That He would pay for our sins so that God could justly forgive us. He said that He would die in the place of sinners to satisfy God's eternal wrath against those sinners who would believe in Him. Read the Gospels and examine His character. In the light of His character, you know what you'll see? You'll see your own sinfulness. Read the Gospels honestly and look at who Jesus is and how He lived, and if you look honestly at Him and then honestly at yourself, you'll see your sinfulness, your selfishness, and your pride.

But you'll see something else. You'll see the glory of Jesus Christ. You'll see the beauty of Him. You'll see and be attracted to who He is. Read the Gospels and look at His life and you will see God in His ways. Remember what Jesus Himself said in John 1:18? There, John writes that this Word who came into the world, "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God", that's Jesus, "He has declared Him". The Greek word is "exegeted Him". He's exegeted God. So, He brought the light. Jesus is the source of absolute truth and in His person, perfect moral purity.

Jesus' third claim is that He is the only source of truth and purity in all places, at all times, for every person. And here's where we get into trouble with the modern world. It's okay for most people on this planet to say: "Jesus was a good man. He was a good teacher. Yes, you should read His writings. Yes, there are admirable things that you can learn from Jesus Christ. But there are other sources of light." Jesus says, I am the Light of the world". Exclusively. He's not merely the light for His own people Israel. He says, "I am the Light of the world". There is no other light apart from Jesus.

John Calvin put it well when he writes in his commentary, "Christ does not speak of it as what belongs to Him in common with others. But claims it as being peculiarly His own. Hence it follows that out of Christ there is not even a spark of true light". In every time, in all of history, He is the only Light. For every person, in every place, there is no other light. Not Plato, not Aristotle, not the great philosophers, not the great men and women, the authors, the poets, not the leaders or the conquerors, the scientists, not the self-help gurus of our day who post their tripe on social media. Jesus alone is the true Light. He's the Light for men and for women. He's the Light for young and old, for Jews and Gentiles, for rich, for poor, for the educated and the uneducated, for the foolish and the wise – He is the Light of the world. He is the only source of truth. The only source of true purity in all places, at all times, for every person.

In this remarkable statement there's one final claim: He is the only way out of the darkness into the Light of life. Look at the second half of verse 12, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life". Jesus here personalizes the message. It's really a kind of invitation, an invitation to all who heard Him that day, and an invitation to you. Jesus says this – let me speak, as it were, as He's speaking, He says this, "You, like every other human, live in spiritual darkness and until you are willing to follow Me, you will remain in spiritual darkness. The darkness of error and ignorance about God and all spiritual things. And the darkness of slavery to your sin and its power." Jesus says, "the only way to leave your darkness is to come to Me, the only source of light". And notice what He says in verse 12, "and to follow Me".

What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means a couple of things. First of all, it means that you have to be willing to leave the darkness. You can't follow Jesus, who is the Light, while you still want to live in the darkness. You have to be willing to leave the darkness. Look at John 3:19. In Jesus' interchange with Nicodemus He says,

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

You see, to follow Jesus means you've got to be willing to leave the darkness. You have to, in biblical terms, you have to be willing to repent – to turn from your sin and your rebellion against your Creator and to turn to Him who is the Light.

But following Christ not only means a willingness to leave the darkness, it also means that you have to believe in Jesus alone. It means you have to trust in nothing that you are, nothing you have done or can do. It means you have to believe in Jesus alone. Turn over to John 12. Jesus explains this so well. John 12:46, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness". There it is. You have to believe in Jesus. You have to repent and you have to believe in Jesus.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? It means you rely solely on Him as your only hope of forgiveness for your sins. It means you rely on His finished work, on His perfect life lived in the place of all who would believe in Him, so that we could receive His righteousness. His substitutionary death, in which He died the death our sins deserved. He got the sins of all who would believe in Him credited to Him on the cross – God credited those sins, and on the cross treated Jesus as if He had committed them. He got the wrath I deserved. And then God raised Him from the dead. You have to rely solely on His finished work as your only hope of forgiveness of your sins.

But understand this, to believe in Christ is not simply acknowledging the facts about Him. Satan believes the facts about Jesus. Believing in Jesus means that you are willing to submit to Him as your Lord and Teacher. In fact, that's exactly what Jesus said in John 13, He said to His disciples, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and so I am". That's what it means to follow Jesus. It means to acknowledge Him as your Teacher, and to become His disciple, and to acknowledge Him as your Lord, and to obey Him. That's the call.

To follow Christ means you're willing to become His disciple. In fact, back in John 1:37 this same word is used when His first two disciples follow Him. It says, "and they followed Jesus". In other words, to follow Jesus is to become just as committed to Him as the 12 were. It means a willingness to continue following Him every day. Look back at John 8:12, because in the second half of that verse the participle is in the present tense. So, I could literally translate it this way, "the one who is continually following Me will not walk in darkness". In other words, to follow Jesus is to obey Him. We have to follow where the Light leads. Remember the picture from the pillar of fire in the wilderness? Every day you are to follow Jesus like He's your pillar of fire. Not literally and physically like it was in the wilderness, but through His teaching in His Word. He lights your way and you follow Him. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you don't get to map out your own course through this life. You just follow Him.

In fact, what Jesus says here in verse 12 is a test. It's a test. Because most of us here claim to be Christians, but how can you know if you are really following Jesus? Well, are you still walking in the darkness? You can't follow the Light if you're still walking in the darkness. Are you still living by some standard other than Jesus and His teaching? Are you still living your own way? If so, then you're not a follower of Jesus Christ even if you've convinced yourself that you are. But here's the good news. If you have to be honest and say "you know, I've claimed to be a Christian but I'm not really following Jesus. He's not my Teacher and my Master." The good news is Jesus is still inviting you to the Light. He spoke these words to the crowds who were gathered there at the feast. And He invited them all – you can come to the Light today. The invitation still holds. And in fact, look at chapter 12 again. Verse 35.

So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light."

This morning, will you come to Jesus Christ? Will you tell Him that you are willing to leave the darkness, that you're willing to turn from your sin and to follow Him? Will you cry out to Him for mercy and grace and forgiveness? Then if you will, or if you already have, then according to Jesus, He will give you the Light of life. Look at John 8:12 again, "'he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life'". Jesus Himself will give you the Light of life. He will give you the Light that produces life.

If you've already come to understand that you live in the darkness – that Jesus alone is the only place to find Light in life, and if you've come to Him, if you already follow Him, then you have the Light of life. Jesus says, "follow Me and you'll not only have Light, but in My Light, you will receive eternal life". Again, Calvin puts it well when he says, "We ought not to fear, therefore, lest this Light leave us in the middle of our journey, for it conducts us even to life".

Wouldn't you have loved to have been there? At that ceremony on the night before? And seen those huge candelabras come ablaze, to see the entire city of Jerusalem filled with light, to be part of the party - 100,000 strong? Wouldn't you have loved to have been there the next morning when Jesus stood in the Court of the Women among those great candelabra? And He says, "I am the Light of the World". What a ceremony. It was a great ceremony. But our Lord has given us an even more powerful one – a ceremony in which we remember how we, who once were in the darkness, came to enjoy the Light through His life and death. And that ceremony, of course, is the Lord's Table.