Skip to main content

195. Jesus Is the Light Of The World


John 1:3-5, 8:12, 1 John 1:5-7 & 2:9-11
Key Verse: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12

The feast of Tabernacles took place after the Autumnal Equinox, when the days would become shorter and the nights longer. Along with prayers for water, the worship service would also include bringing light back in the spring.

At first, as we explored two days ago, Jesus declared Himself to be water, responding to the concern for water. Now, He declares Himself to be the true light which will never depart. If you are in the light as He is in the light, you will walk in truth and have no fear of darkness.

John seems very concerned that we understand this concept of Jesus being light. He refers to Jesus as light and in his first epistle, he uses light and dark as a test for all of us to determine whether or not we are truly Jesus' disciples. "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." (1 John 2:9-10)

Jesus stands at the temple announcing to the crowd that He is the "light of the world!" Follow Him and you will have the "light of life!"

What does this light mean? Light can mean truth and understanding. It can mean living outside of sin. John, however, makes sure that we also understand that light means love. "Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness…”

In John 3:16, John recorded that Jesus said that, "He so loved the world," now again, John brings attention to Jesus' love by shining the light of God's truth upon it. Jesus’ death on the cross is the greatest act of love known to the world. It is through that act that we can receive His life. We will gain the light of His life and not walk in darkness again. His light is His love for us that we are to share with others. If we hide it under a bushel, then we hide God's love from the world, but Jesus tells us to let it shine so that others will see it, through our good works and give God the glory. (Matthew 5:16)

"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

Hymn: "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
& "Here I Am To Worship"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

October 27 Save the Glaze for the Bunny

Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips of an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips. But in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. ~Proverbs 26:23-28 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 16 Thick Skinned Love

Whoever covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. ~Proverbs 17:9 If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ~Matthew 18:15  The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:7-8  Being offended seems to be the battle cry of the day. Instead of freedom of speech, everyone has the right not to be offended. If one is offended, then one has the right to exact vengeance on the offender because, of course, the offender KNEW that he or she was being offensive and just didn’t care. Is that how you see much of society behaving today?  There seems to be all of this offending and finger pointing that just keeps growing and growing. Nothing is being resolved, just more blame that grows louder a...
Post a Comment
Read more

January 24 You’ll See, He Remembers

The wise inherit honor, but fools He holds up to shame. ~Proverbs 3:35 “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.” ~Isaiah 3:10 “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” ~Hebrews 6:10-12 “The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.” ~1 Timothy 5:24-25 “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~Matthew 12:36-3...
Post a Comment
Read more