Jesus is the Light of the World
Who is Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted
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· 23 viewsBecause Jesus is the Light of the World, we do not have to remain in the Kingdom of Darkness.
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Introduction:
Let’s get into the Word in . We are reading these verses for context sake, but we will be focusing on verse 12 alone as we continue our series called, “Who is Jesus?”
Quick question, how many of you slept with a nightlight when you were a child? Truth be told I slept with a nightlight until I was fifteen years old. I was so afraid of the dark in fact that from ages 8-12 I slept with two nightlights. One of them was a really cool dinosaur light that would spin and put shadows of the dinosaurs on the wall as it was on and then I had a normal plug in nightlight. I was afraid of the dark because I couldn’t see what was around me and then hearing certain sounds would make me even more afraid as my mind played tricks on me. What made it even worse was that I used to love Horror movies and every single horror movie takes place a night!
You can probably sympathize with me in my old fear of the Dark because nothing is scarier than the unknown and in the dark we don’t know what is around us. This is why we love light because it reveals to us what is around us and allows us to see. In the same way we need spiritual light to reveal to us our sin and save us. The problem we have though is that many people claim to be believers, but continue to live in the darkness where sin is. However, for us to claim to truly be saved and in Christ must mean that we live in the Light and not in the Dark.
What we see in is that Jesus is the Light of the World and that means that we no longer have to live in the Kingdom of Darkness, but can come into the Kingdom of life.
Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
“Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. You judge by human standards. I judge no one. And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am the one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?”
“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
In this statement from Jesus we are illuminated (pun intended) to the truths of his Identity and what it means for him the be the Light of the World. The first truth we see is that..
Jesus is the promised Messiah.
Jesus is the promised Messiah.
“I am the light of the world.”
This second “I am” statement does what the first did in chapter 6 and points to the Old Testament promises that Christ fulfills. None of these statements are just random claims Jesus makes, but are steeped in the Old Testament which proves his identity as the promised Messiah. Not only do these statements prove that Christ is the Messiah they also prove that he is God the Son, the second member of the Trinity. The first two words are key to understanding this, “I am” is Jesus invoking the very name of God. In God tells Moses:
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
The literal rendition of this in the Hebrew is Yahweh. In these statements Jesus is using the very name of God to establish his identify as the Son of God and therefore the promised Messiah.
The actual statement that Jesus is the light of the world is also full of Old Testament fulfillment. Throughout the OT there are verses calling God, his Word, and his salvation light. The best place to see this is in which says:
The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.
The Lord provided a pillar of cloud and fire to light there path and guide them as they journeyed to the promised land. Jesus is drawing upon this idea and claiming to be the better light that leads people from the Kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of God.
God is called the light in
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?
Again in
His brilliance is like light;
rays are flashing from his hand.
This is where his power is hidden.
The Word of the Lord is called Light in and .
For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,
and corrective discipline is the way to life.
Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.
Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.
For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,
and corrective discipline is the way to life.
Lastly, the coming age of the Messiah and the Son of God highlights the idea of light in and .
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.
All of this points to the truth that Jesus is the light of the world promised in the Old Testament. He is the promised Messiah and he is God the Son. John introduces this idea in
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Jesus is the promised light and this statement proves it. This is also why the Pharisees questioned his claim in verses 13-20 because they knew who Jesus was claiming to be. This should promote a sense of awe within us because of how amazing it is for Christ to fulfill these prophecies. In fact, do you know how unlikely it is for him to even fulfill ten of the OT prophecies about the Messiah? It would be as likely as filling the entire state of Texas with quarters stacked a foot high with one quarter being marked, you being dropped in middle of Texas, and then finding the one marked quarter on your first try. Its beyond improbable and yet Christ fulfills every single OT prophecy made of the Messiah.
Christ is worthy of our worship and life because he is the fulfillment of the entire OT. He is the greater pillar of light, he is the promised Messiah, and he is God. Even in the very first part of this statement we have enough truth for us to turn to Christ and worship him as he deserves. However, there is more to this verse and the next claim shows us that…
Jesus exposes our sin in the Darkness.
Jesus exposes our sin in the Darkness.
“Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness...”
The second part of Jesus’ statement here asserts that his followers will never walk in darkness. This once again plays to the idea that Jesus is the light because he both lights his followers path, but he also exposes the darkness of his followers. In order to follow the light, then what is hidden in the dark must be exposed by the light. I mean this is what happens when we are saved, we are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father. But it all begins with a conviction of sin which is the light exposing the sin we hide in the darkness.
This is important for us to understand because those who claim to follow Jesus cannot remain in the darkness. People know that, but often we see believers hide their sin in the darkness instead of bringing it to the light and dealing with it. We cannot fight out sin while we hide it in the darkness because sin only grows when hidden. This doesn’t give us the strength to fight sin, but instead hurts us. explain what happens when we hide our sin and then what happens when we repent. David says:
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
When dealing with sin and fighting against the flesh we cannot hope to have victory if we keep it in the darkness. Come out of the darkness and come to the light. Kill your sin before your sin kills you because sin never remains the same, but only grows in the dark.
Think about it in this way, if you were to go to the top of a snowy hill and roll a snowball down it would it remain the same size? No, it would grow and pick up speed becoming more and more destructive as it goes. In the same way your sin will not stay the same, but will grow more destructive the longer you hide it. God already knows about it because the scripture says in that…
You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.
This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
God knows everything and even when you hide your sin in the darkness and are unfaithful he desires to bring you to the light because he is faithful. We must bask in this light in order to see our sin and take care of it. We don’t go to look in the mirror and leave the lights off, but we turn them on so we can see what needs to be fixed. So repent of your sin and live in the light since those who follow Christ will never walk in darkness. This doesn’t mean we will no longer sin, but means that when we do sin we can deal with it because we are in the light. Not only does Jesus expose the sin in the darkness, but also…
Jesus gives Life to his Followers.
Jesus gives Life to his Followers.
This last part of Jesus’ statement shows that Jesus gives life to his followers. Not only will they not walk in darkness, but they will have the light of life. This connects us once again to which states:
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
The belief that only Jesus gives life is seen throughout the Gospel of John. In almost all the “I am” statements Jesus alludes to this truth. Jesus not only gives us eternal life but he gives us purpose in this life. His followers have this life because they follow him.It must be said that this doesn’t apply to those who half-heartedly follow Jesus. Those who just want this eternal life aren’t real followers of Jesus, but they are fans of Jesus. In this verse Christ says that only his followers receive this life and this should encourage and convict us to evaluate our hearts and make sure we are followers and not just fans.
It must be said that this doesn’t apply to those who half-heartedly follow Jesus. Those who just want this eternal life aren’t real followers of Jesus, but they are fans of Jesus. In this verse Christ says that only his followers receive this life and this should encourage and convict us to evaluate our hearts and make sure we are followers and not just fans.
Who wouldn’t want a life of purpose and a life with eternal satisfaction? You make think that this world can give you purpose or can help you, but in all reality it leaves you empty. Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, after his third Super Bowl win was interviewed by 60 minutes where they asked him how he feels about his latest win. He responded by saying, “There has to be more than this.” This is a man who essentially has everything and yet he felt as though there was more. This shows that no amount of the world we have will ever give us genuine life in the way that the light of the world does.
You must follow Jesus if you want a life of purpose because the light of the world is life. This is also not a one and done thing where we walk an aisle, say a prayer, and then thats it, but we must surrender to him in salvation and then take up our cross and follow him daily. This may seem like a burden but in all reality it is the best life we can live while we are here. Jesus himself says in :
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The light satisfies our lives and gives life. We must follow this light because it exposes our sin in the darkness and gives us life.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we can trust this claim of Jesus because of what we see in verses 13-20. The Pharisees claim that his statement cannot be true and Jesus utterly destroys that idea by claiming that the Father testifies about him and therefore his statement is true. Because this is true then you can come to Jesus and be saved knowing you will not be turned away if you need to be saved. If you are a Believer then this means we can trust the light and truly follow him because he exposes our sin hidden in the darkness and gives us life both of purpose and eternally because he is the promised Messiah in the Old Testament. Let’s pray.