The “I Am” Statements: The Light of the World
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.”
Here is the second “I am” statement in the book of John. It follows the account of Jesus being confronted by the Pharisees, who brought a woman to him who was caught in adultery. They wanted Jesus to stone her, as the law stated; however, Jesus challenged them with their personal sins. After Jesus sent the woman on her way with the parting words that she “go and sin no more,” Jesus spoke again to the Pharisees, claiming to be the light of the world.
The significance of light is that light illuminates and overcomes the darkness. This is in both a literal and figurative way. When we think about the world's creation, we read that the earth was covered with empty darkness in the beginning until God said, “let there be light.” The light overcame the darkness, and “day” was created. Even in the dark of night, a “lesser light” illuminated it. Similarly, “the light” illuminates and overcomes the darkness in our world and our lives.
Jesus has already been identified as the light of the world earlier in the book of John. I would even argue that Jesus is being eluded to in Psalm 119, starting in v.105. It refers to God’s word as being a light on our path. In John 1:1, Jesus is referred to as the Word, and that there is life in him, and that life is a light to men that shines in the darkness.
Jesus goes on, in John 8:12, to say that those who follow him will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. This point is reinforced in 1 John when it is written that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another and be cleansed of all sin by the blood of Jesus. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us light. When we embrace Jesus as the light of our life and walk in that light, we can allow that light to shine through us into the darkness of this world we live in.
Embracing Jesus as the light of our life means that no matter what we face, we know and deeply believe that Jesus has overcome it for us. I’m sure we are all very aware of how dark this world can be. The world is in desperate need of light that overcomes that darkness. For me, it can sometimes feel like I am surrounded and even filled with that darkness. In these dark times, it is a relief to know that Jesus is the light that gives life and that there is hope. Because I am in him, I can know that I am not truly filled with darkness. And because of this, I can be and am called to be the light that breaks through the darkness in the world. This is our calling as followers of Christ; to be the light of the world just as he is the light.
