4 - I Am the Light of the World

What's In A Name • Sermon • Submitted 2 months ago • Presented 2 months ago

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Big Idea: In this text, Jesus identified himself as the Light of the World, just as John’s gospel does in the opening verses of chapter one. But in Matthew’s gospel, in what is called The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also called us “the light of the world.” We need to spend some time unpacking what this important metaphor means.

Notes

Transcript

SLIDE: Scripture John 8:12

Scripture: John 8:12

John 8:12 (NLT)

12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

BUMPER:

SLIDE: Welcome

SLIDE: Title

Introduction

Today, we continue in a series on the “I am” statements of Jesus called What’s in a Name. All found in John’s gospel, these statements each tell us something about Jesus’ understanding of himself. But beginning each statement with the phrase “I Am” tells us even more: it’s an echo of the ancient name of God given to Moses at the burning bush—Yahweh, I am who I am. So, in these statements, Jesus is revealing different aspects of his character, yes, but taken together they are also identifying Jesus with God.

Today, let’s look at John 8:12: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Jesus made this statement in a dramatic setting. It was the final statement of his message on the last night of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. People from all over Israel had come to celebrate the memory of God’s blessings on their ancestors during their wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. People lived in tents, or shelters, for the week to remember the experience of their forefathers. During the Exodus, God had guided the Israelites by a pillar of cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13:21-22).

To commemorate this guidance of God there was a ceremony in the Feast of Tabernacles called The Illumination of the Temple. Each night of the festival, four great candelabra were lit in the courtyard of the Temple. These were considered a memorial to the light God had been to his people in the dark uncertainty of their wilderness wandering. The moment of their illumination set off a great celebration of singing and dancing that lasted late into the night.

Imagine the drama of Jesus stepping forward in that setting to call out in a loud voice, “I am the light of the world! Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” It was as if he said, “God’s presence was a pillar of fire for Moses and our ancestors. Now the presence is here in person! I Am! Yahweh is here to be the light of life! These candles will go out by morning, but I am light that lasts and can never be diminished. I am God’s light dispelling the darkness! Come, follow me, and you will walk in the light forever!”

Main Teaching

SLIDE:

Jesus’ use of the image of Light was unmistakable…

Isaiah 9:2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” The passage goes on with the familiar words of the prophecy of the Messiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…”

Jesus’ reference to himself as light would have been an unmistakable association with the promised Messiah. For us, it brings to mind the familiar words of the opening verses of John’s gospel:

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5)

Either way, the message is clear: Jesus was identifying himself with the ancient image of God as Light shining in darkness. He had to know how the language would be heard and interpreted. “Yahweh alone, the great I Am, is the creator and bringer of light. Yahweh alone is the One we celebrate for illuminating our way through the wilderness with a pillar of fire in the night. Who is this who claims to be the Light-Bringer again, right here in our midst?”

SLIDE:

Then something even more startling and unexpected…

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

This is perhaps the greatest compliment Jesus ever paid us—he described us in the same way he described himself. That he should equate himself with the Light-Bringer is astounding enough. It surely had the pilgrims at the feast in Jerusalem dumbfounded and confused. But now he says his followers have the same calling and ability, to bring light into the dark places of the world. The words of Matthew 5:14 are perhaps too familiar to us to have the same impact they did originally. At a minimum, this should give us pause to reflect.

SLIDE:

What are some qualities of light?

- It is a positive force, rather than negative.

1. Darkness is negative—the absence of light.

2. You can’t ‘turn on the darkness’ or ‘turn up the darkness.’

3. You can only do that to light.

4. It’s a reminder that we should be known for what we are for, not just for what we are against.

- Light casts a shadow larger than itself.

1. That speaks of Influence.

2. We may feel small and outnumbered in a culture that is increasingly secular and materialistic, but our influence can be greater than we imagine.

3. Like the mustard seed or the yeast, metaphors that Jesus used to show the power of small things.

- The greater the darkness, the greater the impact of a single light.

1. Like a candle in a cave.

2. Don’t be intimidated by darkness—just keep shining.

SLIDE

Our purpose in the world…

ADVANCE...

- Be a visible source of light.

1. Get out from under the bowl.

2. Jesus did not say, “You are the light of the church.” The light must be out there, in the world.

3. If you are a follower of Jesus, people should notice—in the way you speak, act, work, conduct business, handle money, relate to others, play golf, even drive your car!

4. But that doesn’t mean we wear our so-called “righteousness” on our shirt-sleeves, like a badge of honor for all to see.

a. That’s what Jesus criticized the Pharisees for—he called them “whitewashed tombs,” not a flattering picture.

b. Their form of righteousness was only for show.

5. Nor does it mean that we have to “advertise” our beliefs by some kind of outward adornment—Jesus t-shirts, bumper-stickers, lapel pins, tattoos, etc.

a. Those things aren’t bad, or wrong, but they don’t constitute real holiness.

b. In fact, sometimes I fear they disguise the fact that we aren’t really Christ-like where it counts.

c. We are to be known by the fruit of our lives…

d. But some Christians seem to think, “If we can’t be holy, let’s at least be weird.”

6. That leads to the next point…

ADVANCE...

- Be an attractive source of light.

1. Verse 16 “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

2. Two words for “good” in Greek:

a. “Agathos” means good in quality—excellence.

b. “Kalos” means something is not only excellent, it is also winsome, beautiful, and attractive.

3. Kalos is used here.

4. Too much so-called goodness is hard, cold, and austere. Self-righteous legalism.

a. Mark Twain once described a man as “a good man in the worst sense of the word.”

b. No wonder the world is often repelled by that sort of religion.

5. When Jesus was here in the flesh, people were attracted to him. All sorts of people. The only people who were not attracted to him were the self-righteous, legalistic religionists—the ones whose goodness was hard, cold, and austere.

6. Our light should be warm and attractive—more like a fireplace, and less like a fluorescent bulb.

ADVANCE...

- Be a light that calls attention to God, not to ourselves.

1. Verse 16 again—“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise (you for your goodness? No!)your Father in heaven.”

2. We should be like a spotlight aimed at God. What spotlight calls attention to itself? A broken one, maybe.

3. This gives the proper purpose for our good works. It’s not for gaining righteousness. We can’t earn God’s favor with good works. It’s for giving praise to God. Our good works glorify Him.

Conclusion:

Tony Campolo tells the story of a drunk who was miraculously converted at a Bowery mission in New York: Joe was known throughout the Bowery as the worst kind of wino, a hopeless derelict of a man, living on borrowed time. But following his conversion, everything changed. Joe became the most caring person that anyone associated with the mission had ever known. He spent his days and nights hanging out at the hall, not balking at even the lowliest job. He mopped up vomit and urine and cleaned up drunks whatever their condition. He considered nothing too demeaning for him.

One evening, when the director of the mission was delivering his evening evangelistic message to the usual crowd of still and sullen men, their heads hung in penitence and exhaustion, there was one man who looked up, came down the aisle to the altar, and knelt to pray, crying out for God to help him to change. The repentant drunk kept shouting, “O God, make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!” The director of the mission leaned over and said to the man, “Son, I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus.’” The man looked up at the director with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “Is he like Joe?” (From ReJesus, by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, p. 79)

SLIDE: Truths for your life...

Jesus is the Light of the World. But he told us we are too…So, what kind of light are you shining in your corner of the world?

Let’s pray together.

Prayer: “Father, we believe that Jesus is the Light of the World, which the darkness has not overcome. But he taught us that we also are to be the light of the world, shining in the darkness. Help us today to understand and accept this awesome assignment to be imitators of Christ, shining in the darkness.”

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