This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  

I John 1:5 

What do we know about God? The Scripture is full of passages that speak of His nature and character. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes these passages by saying, ‘God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.’ Our text makes a summary statement which articulates a broad, inclusive remark about God, ‘God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.’ If we consider this in relation to Christ’s earlier statement, ‘I am the light of the world,’ we begin to understand the writer of Hebrews, who says that Christ is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person. God is light and Christ is the manifestation of His light in the world. We see the nature and character of God as we behold Christ. This means Christ is critical to our understanding of God. As we know Him we come to know God. Because He is very God of very God and also truly human, He is first, Savior and afterward the Grand Template for our life. To follow Christ is to walk in His light.  

Our Good and Sovereign God,  
we rejoice that You are light. 
We praise You that You have sent Christ 
as the Light of the World. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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 

What is the most important light for us to have? Traditionally a light has adorned the seal of educational institutions, symbolizing the illumination of knowledge as the result of learning. The Scriptures tells us, ‘The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.’ Thus from the word of God, we receive both knowledge and wisdom. When we consider Christ, Who says, ‘I am the light of the world,’ we realize that He is not only the light, but also the living Word of God. Therefore, the light He is and the light He brings as the Word is the light of life. This is the most important light of all. Nothing surpasses having this light of life. We may labor long to achieve education. We may seek the light of wisdom from the philosophers. We may dedicate ourselves to knowing the secrets of how to succeed in the world. If we persist without Christ, the light of the world, we will have missed the light of life. Christ is the most important light and also brings light to all who look to Him for illumination.  

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are both the Word and the Light. 
We praise You that, because You are, 
we can have both knowledge and wisdom. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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 

What is it to walk in darkness? Having made the boldest of claims, that He is the light of the world, Christ utters what appears to be an extravagant promise. He declares ‘he who follows me shall not walk in darkness.’ What is the darkness of which He speaks? A useful passage to consider lies in the next chapter of John when Christ heals the man who was born blind. This healing provoked a confrontation with the Pharisees when the healed man worshipped Christ.  ‘Then 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. Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, Are we blind also? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, We see. Therefore your sin remains.’ The discussion revolves around spiritual darkness or blindness. The Pharisees considered themselves to be the enlightened ones because of their study of and adherence to the law of Moses with all their additions. Christ’s remark indicates they were walking in the darkness of self-righteousness. They were incensed by His statement. From the exchange we understand that His previous promise about not walking in darkness was specifically referring to spiritual darkness. Because He is the light of the world he delivers His people from walking in spiritual darkness. This is the most critical of liberations. Christ frees us from our darkness.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You remove our darkness. 
We praise You that as we follow You, 
we begin to see more clearly. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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

 

Christ made bold claims. Our text contains one of them. He had just told the woman taken in adultery that He did not condemn her and to go and sin no more. Our text is His next statement uttered before the crowd gathered in the temple to hear Him. Some of His hearers responded negatively to this categorical statement. The Pharisees said, ‘You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.’ Christ did not retreat from His claim. Thus we can either take the position of those who did not believe Him; have doubts about His claim, or wholeheartedly believe Him. If we do believe Him, how shall we understand His claim? Matthew, speaking of Christ’s public ministry, quotes Isaiah saying, ‘The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.’ When Christ went to the synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah. Part of that passage says, ‘To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery, of sight to the blind.’ Christ’s remark at the close of His reading was, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ We understand that when Christ claims to be the ‘light of the world,’ He is identifying Himself as the One who dispels the spiritual darkness that grips the world.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are the Light of the world. 
We praise You that You bring light everywhere You go. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning