The Light of the World

John 8:12-20

Today we come to another of the astounding claims that Jesus makes about Himself in the Gospel of John. It is the second of the “I AM” statements that Jesus makes about Himself. The first was in John 6 where Jesus claimed to be “the Bread of Life” (6:48) that came down from heaven and, “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever,” (6:51). Now in John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

In each of these magnificent metaphors, the phrase “I Am” takes us back to when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. When God tells Moses that he will lead God’s people out of Egypt, he wants to know what to say when people ask about God’s name. God answers in Exodus 3:14: “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”.”

“I Am” is God’s covenantal name. It speaks of His self-existence, that nothing else defines who God is but God Himself. Every time Jesus uses one of the “I AM” metaphors, He is emphatically stating that He is Yahweh, the great “I AM”. Just as the bush burned brightly and cast light all around, so too, Jesus is the light of the world, and a consuming fire that should stop us in our tracks because we are on holy ground. When Jesus used the phrase, “I AM” He did so on purpose and those who heard Him did not miss the obvious connection He was making.

Like the other bold claims of Jesus, this statement riles up the Pharisees who already want to kill Him. So they interrupt Jesus ten times in John 8 alone. Listen to how this unfolds. We see Jesus claim about Himself, what He claims for those who follow Him, and what He says to those who reject Him.

12 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.”

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”

15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.

17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.

18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

Remember the setting here. Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. During that feast, as we’ve seen, the Jews performed a ceremony where a priest went to the Pool of Siloam, drew water in a golden pitcher, and returned in procession to the temple, where he poured it out at the base of the altar. It commemorated God’s provision of water from the rock that sustained Israel in the wilderness. It was in connection with that ceremony that Jesus proclaimed, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” He said that whoever believes in Him would have rivers of living water flowing from his innermost being (John 7:37-39).

At that same feast, the Jews performed another ceremony where they lit four huge candelabras or torches in the Court of the Women in the temple, commemorating the fact that the Lord had been a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to protect and guide Israel in that desolate desert for 40 years. That cloud appeared on the day when Israel left Egypt, standing as a barrier between them and Pharaoh’s armies on the night before they crossed the Red Sea. Then the Lord went before them in the pillar of fire. It was a graphic symbol of the fact that the Lord God was with His people.

John 8:20 tells us that Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as He taught in the temple. The treasury was the place, in the Court of the Women, where people could put their offerings into some trumpet-like receptacles. So, in the same courtyard where the torches had been lit, Jesus boldly proclaimed, “I am the Light of the world.” How would you have reacted if you had been a Jew listening there? How should you respond to this astounding claim today?

First, let’s consider,

1. What Jesus Claims About Himself (8:12)

Verse 12, “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.””

The implications of this statement are far reaching.

First, Jesus calling himself “the light of the world” was,

A. A claim to be God.

We already said that all these “I AM” statements point us back to the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush. But there is more here in the phrase “Light of the World” that also points us to Jesus’ claim to be God.

As I said, the Jews recognized the pillar of fire and the cloud as the Lord (Exod. 13:21; 14:19-25). Light is often used as in the Old Testament as a metaphor for God. Psalm 27:1 proclaims, “The LORD is my light and my salvation ….”

In Isaiah 60:19-20, God says to His people, “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended.” This is fulfilled in the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:23-24 where John writes, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb [is] its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.” And in Revelation 22:5 where he writes, “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” The Light is the Lamb who is the Lord God.

Again John writes in his first epistle, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” This reveals that God is absolutely pure and holy. Since Jesus is the light, He is without any sin (John 8:46; Heb. 7:26). Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the world is a claim to be the Lord God in human flesh.

Moses wrote about the Lord God as the light that led Israel. David said that the Lord was his light and the Lord was his salvation. Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would be the light for the people. Now Jesus comes along and declares that He is that light. He is God. Only God gives light to the world. Only God can give light to the eyes. Only God can bring light to the heart. Only God can speak light into existence.

So first, this is a claim to be God Himself. And second, Jesus calling himself “the light of the world” was,

B. A claim to be the Messiah.

The prophets pictured the world and Israel in darkness. God is separate from the world and cannot be in relationship with evil. Therefore, the world is in darkness and even Israel was in darkness because of their sins.

In a prophecy about Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:16), Isaiah 9:2 predicts, “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.”

In Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 53, you have Messianic chapters of Isaiah in which the Messiah is called the servant of the LORD. He is the true Israel who fulfills everything that God had promised to the people of God. So in Isaiah 42:6-7 the Father speaks of the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord saying, “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”

And again in Isaiah 49:5-6 the prophecy reads, “And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb [to be] His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” The Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, will be the light not just to Israel, but to the Gentiles, to the nations. And Jesus is claiming to be that Light of the World.

As the Christ, He reveals the truth about God to us. As John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared [Him].” If you have trouble getting your brain around the fact that God is invisible and that He “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,” (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16), then look to Jesus. He reveals the truth about God to us. We can only know the Father through the Son (Luke 10:22).

He also reveals the truth about us to us. The fact is, apart from Jesus Christ, we don’t even know ourselves. When we do not know God, we call evil good and good evil, substituting darkness for light and light for darkness. Remember what John wrote in chapter 3?

19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:19-21).

As the Light of the World Jesus reveals to us that we are in the darkness of sin. He shines the light of His holiness in the dark places of our lives so that we will see ourselves for the lost sinners that we are.

MacArthur points out the magnificent metaphor that light is, writing,

Light is the active power that dispels darkness. And Jesus Christ is the light of truth that dispels the darkness of falsehood. Jesus Christ is the light of wisdom that dispels the darkness of ignorance. Jesus Christ is the light of holiness that dispels the darkness of impurity. Jesus Christ is the light of joy that dispels the darkness of sorrow. Jesus Christ is the light of life that dispels the darkness of death.

So Jesus makes this astounding claim: “I am the Light of the world.” That claim inherently calls for a response. The right response to Jesus’ claim is to follow Him as the Light of the world (8:12).

2. What Jesus Claims For His Followers (8:12)

“He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Following Jesus continues to parallel the imagery in the wilderness when the Israelites followed God in the pillar of fire. Exodus 13:21 states, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.” Throughout the time that Israel was in the wilderness, the cloud hovered over the tabernacle and symbolized God’s presence with His people. The Lord went before them, and they followed. The light protected them and guided them. And Jesus does the same for us.

Those who follow Jesus have the light of life. You will possess the light. You will be in relationship with the light. Following Jesus means attaching yourself to Jesus. Following Jesus means going where He goes, believing what He teaches, and doing what He says. “Follow me,” He says, “and I will lead you to life, eternal life.” In John 12:46 Jesus says, “I have come [as] a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”

But the time is urgent both for those in Jerusalem that day, and for us. In John 12 Jesus says:

“A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35-36).

Jesus is the Light of the World, the only light. Walk in the light or experience darkness forever.

This is what Jesus is claiming about Himself and those who follow Him. Is it clear?

Certainly the leaders understood because you see the antagonism that rises immediately. The antagonism appears in verse 13. So in the next few verses we see,

3. What Jesus Says To Those Who Do Not Follow Him (8:13-20)

The Pharisees retorted to Jesus’ astounding claim (8:13), “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.” Rather than listening to Jesus, they are reacting against Jesus and rejecting His claims.

The basis of their rejection this time is that Jesus is testifying about Himself. The Old Testament law stipulated that to be valid in court, a claim had to be backed by two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15). Jesus has already given his witnesses back in chapter 5. The Pharisees may be referring back to Jesus’ statement in John 5:31, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.” In the context, He meant that if He acted independently of the Father, His witness would be invalid. But in that same context, He showed that the Father testified of Him through the witness of John the Baptist, through Jesus’ works (miracles), and through the scripture.

This is how unbelief operates. Unbelief never has enough witnesses, enough proof. Jesus’ words alone should have been convincing enough. The officers they sent to arrest Jesus in chapter 7 had testified that He spoke like no other person ever spoke. His works witnessed of Him: miracles of healing, power over disease, demons, death, and nature. But unbelief never has enough proof.

Back in chapter 7 Jesus said, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” If you’re willing to know the truth, you’ll know the truth. They weren’t willing. Their ignorance was due to their willing unbelief. Some people are not believers because they are ignorant of the truth. They have not heard it or known it. These men were ignorant because of their unbelief. They willfully rejected Christ and that blinded them to the truth.

In chapter 5 Jesus had elaborated on the corroborating witnesses. Jesus does list them again. This time Jesus simply points out that His testimony is true because He is telling the truth. There has been nothing false in His words. Listen to Jesus answer:

14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

Jesus came from heaven and He was returning to heaven. That’s why He can claim to be the Light of the world. But the Pharisees were in the dark. They judged Jesus outwardly, according to the flesh. He did not judge people that way. When He judged people, He did it in truth because He depended on the Father who sent Him. Conceding their point about two witnesses, Jesus claims that He has not only His own witness, but also that of the Father.

So the Pharisees give an accusatory retort in verse 19, “Where is Your Father?” They were probably thinking of Jesus’ human father, and may have been questioning His paternity based on rumors of His mother’s pregnancy before she was married (8:41). The Pharisees are not raising honest questions. Rejecting the witness that they had been given, they were desperately looking for any excuse they could find to reject Jesus’ claims. They do not want to believe His testimony so they come up with a reason to reject His claim.

But Jesus answers (8:19), “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” The only way anyone can know the Father is through the Son (Luke 10:22). By refusing to follow Jesus, these religious leaders remained in spiritual darkness. They don’t know Jesus or His Father. They are ignorant of God because of their unbelief.

But in their minds, they had “biblical reasons”! People still do this today. Unbelievers always come up with “reasons,” sometimes “biblical reasons” why they don’t follow Jesus.

As we saw in John 3:19, “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Those who do not follow Jesus are living in spiritual and moral darkness. The root reason that people reject Jesus is that they love their sin. They don’t want the Light to expose their evil deeds. So like these Pharisees, they want to get rid of Jesus.

So Jesus’ astounding claim (8:12), “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life,” draws a line and asks, “Which side are you on?” With the Pharisees, will you reject Jesus’ claim for some superficial reason because you don’t want the Light exposing your sin? Or, will you follow Him by trusting Him as your Savior and obeying Him as your Lord?