I an the Light of the World (John 8:12)

The Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three Jewish feasts that Israelites were required to attend annually. Jesus would therefore have done so. Yet we have only one reference to him doing so and it is found in three chapters in the Gospel of John (chapters 7 to 9).  The details focus on what took place on the last day of the feast.

‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’ This second of the I am sayings is used by Jesus on two occasions. In addition to this one in John 8, the other is in John 9, in the story of the blind man who received his sight. But the lessons in both incidents of using it are similar, except that in John 9 there is an emphasis on urgency because the time is short. The emphasis in John 8 seems more to be on the theme of fulfilment, but in order to appreciate that, we need to know a bit about the background to the incident

Background

The Feast of Tabernacles, a feast that celebrated the arrival of the children of Israel in the Promised Land, lasted for several days each year. John records Jesus using two rituals that took place during the feast as illustrations of what he could provide for sinners. Neither ritual was stipulated in the Old Testament, but they were added some time later. 

 

One ritual was when a priest took a jar of water from the Pool of Siloam and brought it to the temple courts. This ritual called to mind how God had provided water in a miraculous way for his people during the forty years they had wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. The collecting of this water during the Feast was a time of great rejoicing for the people, and Jesus used it to say to them that if they came to him they would receive living water, and that within them there would be a permanent well ensuring that living water was constantly available. John adds the explanation that the water illustrated the indwelling Holy Spirit who would reside within the followers of Jesus.

 

The other ritual depicted the divine guidance that was given to the children of Israel by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites on their journey through the desert. This ritual too was a very happy occasion.  At the close of the first day of the feast, four stands each with four golden lamps were lit in the court of the women and this was repeated on the other evenings of the feast.  Each evening, a celebration occurred and there was great joy. But once the feast was over, the lamps were not lit. The place where Jesus made this saying was in the court of the women (where the treasury was located, mentioned in verse 20) and the time when he made it was when the sixteen golden lamps were no longer lit because the feast was over.

 

Both of those incidents took place on the last day of the feast, with the second maybe taking place in the evening after the feast was over, and when the location would no longer have the benefit of the powerful lighting of the lamps. We can see how dramatic both cries of Jesus would have been. Both occasions were times of great joy, yet they came to an end for the year, and it would be likely that many of those attending that year would not be there the following year. Is that all that religion, even a happy one, can give? In contrast, Jesus says that there is something that he can give which is very different from the temporary experience at the feasts.

 

We can see at least three applications of this saying of Jesus. First, unlike the four lamps and even unlike the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, Jesus is the permanent light. We see the emphasis on permanency in his use of the present tense, when he says, ‘I am’. Second, unlike those sources of light, Jesus is also the light for Gentiles as well as for Jews, for everyone who follows him. Third, we are travelling through a much more dangerous wilderness than the one traversed by the children of Israel, and we need suitable guidance.

 

Jesus is the permanent light

In order to see which kind of light Jesus has in mind, we need to remind ourselves of the darkness that people are in. They are in the darkness of sin, which shows itself in many different ways. Their sins have blinded them continually to the danger of their spiritual state. What can Jesus do about their spiritual darkness? I would mention two details.

 

First, Jesus is able to teach them about the intensity of their spiritual darkness. When he was here, he led his disciples to look beyond the surface of their lives and instead to consider what they were like on the inside. We have an example of that in his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. Unlike the Pharisees, who only taught about outward performances, Jesus challenged his listeners by referring to the secret ways in which they broke God’s commandments. 

 

We are familiar with what he said about the motives for living a religious life when he spoke about prayer, giving alms and fasting. It is not enough to do them only to be observed by others, we must do them for right reasons. He also showed people how anger broke the sixth commandment about murder, how immoral thoughts broke the seventh commandment about adultery, and that they were to show love to their enemies as well as to their friends. 

 

We can imagine someone looking in a mirror on a dark night. He cannot see what he really looks like. But when someone provides a light, the man can see himself. That is what it was like to be a listener to Jesus. They may have come to assess him, in order to find out what kind of teacher he was, but they discovered that he had no difficulty in revealing themselves to them. 

 

We have an illustration of that effect in the story of the woman taken in adultery that leads into the occasion when Jesus made this statement. On the one hand, there are the Pharisees and scribes who think that they know how to teach the law that gives light. Against them, there is Jesus. We are not told what Jesus wrote on the ground; maybe he listed some heart sins of which they were guilty. But we are told what he said to them: ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ 

 

What was the effect? The light shone in their hearts and convicted them. But instead of asking for pardon for their sins they walked away from Jesus, still holding on to their self-righteousness. The woman was left alone with Jesus, but we can see that she had recognised who Jesus was because she calls him ‘Lord’. What light has Jesus for her? The light of mercy and the light of guidance. ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’

 

Of course, Jesus did not only teach about seeing one’s sin, he also taught about how pardon for sin was going to be provided. The only way the pardon could be given was if the penalty could be paid. The Pharisees wanted the penalty of the woman’s sin to be paid, and they wanted her to be the one who would pay it. Jesus too wanted the penalty of the woman’s sin to be paid, but he was willing to pay it himself, which he did on the cross. 

 

While he does not amplify the suffering of the cross here, he did assure the woman that he would not condemn her, and he knew that was only possible because he himself would pay the penalty. And later on, in verse 28, he refers to his death when he says that he would be lifted up.

 

Jesus is still the light of the world. He still teaches us about sin, but it is good to know that he does not teach like self-righteous Pharisees who have no remedy for sinners. Jesus can teach about our darkness and do it in a way that causes us to walk in the light, as the woman found.

 

Jesus is the light for all people

The Jews were privileged in the sense that God had given them ways by which they could know him. They had his Word, his authorised worship, and a long history full of occasions when he had revealed his punishment of them for their sins and his restoration of them when they repented. Sadly, they assumed that the fact that they had those privileges indicated that they were better than others, when it should have showed them how much they needed a Saviour.

 

In contrast, the Gentiles had none of those privileges. They lived in spiritual darkness. But now a new day had come. Jesus does not say that all Jews are going to cease having divine light. Instead, he says that the number experiencing it is going to expand. What we have here is a prediction of the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham that through his seed, that is Jesus, all the nations of the world would be blessed.

 

We can imagine the Jews looking at Jesus here as he stood in the location where the lamps were out. Although there is value in looking back and thanking God for what he did in the past, it should never become a substitute for what he could do for them in the present. They enjoyed their happy festival, but what value did it have if it was preferred to experiencing the light of mercy that Jesus could give to them? 

 

This danger is not confined to Israel. We too can be in danger of looking back and putting something from there in place of Jesus. Sentimentality is not the same as faithfulness. Liking something is not the same as experiencing the light of Jesus. We need him to shine in our hearts to show us who we are, and then to shine into our hearts with the light of the cross.

 

Following the Light

As mentioned earlier, Jesus gave this saying shortly after an incident recalling the pillar of cloud and fire that guided the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. They were going on a journey through a terrain they knew nothing about. We can read in the Pentateuch about some of the incidents that befell them. They certainly faced a lot of problems, even if the biggest problem was themselves. Still, God provided them with directions to follow.

 

Jesus is with his people as they make their way through life. It is a different journey for each of them, although the destination is the same for all of them. He indicated that he would be with his apostles when he gave to them the Great Commission. The roles that he has require his presence with his people. A shepherd must have a flock, a teacher must have learners, a commander must have soldiers, a bridegroom must have a bride. They will face all kinds of situations, but the reality that is common to all of them is the presence of Jesus.

 

How does he reveal his light? He does so by a combination of two helps – the involvement of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of his Word. Both of them work together and the result is enlightenment. In other words they are given light by the Saviour. They often find themselves in situations of darkness, but there is nothing that is so dark that it prevents his light from penetrating. Maybe they face the darkness of temptation, the darkness of failure, the darkness of disappointment, the darkness of betrayal, the darkness of ill-health, the darkness of weakness, and many other kinds. Yet Jesus is there as the light.

 

Even when they leave this world and reach the heavenly destination, they will find that one detail does not change. We are told that in the heavenly city, the Lamb is the light. There is no darkness there, of course, but perfection will need to be explained to believers. And we will find that the One who was our Light in the deepest valley will be our Light even at the top of the mountain.

 

Think about one of the verses of Horatius Bonar’s hymn:

 

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

‘I am this dark world’s Light;

Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,

And all thy day be bright.’

I looked to Jesus, and I found

In Him my Star, my Sun;

And in that light of life I’ll walk,

Till trav’ling days are done.